TheStewart Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Hey guys, New on here, and quite fresh to the lighting industry so please go gentle on me. I have a Vari Lite VL1000AS with an arc-lamp and external ballast that is acting up.When the fixture is powered up, IE plugged in, the lamp turns on and the only way to get the lamp to power off again is to pull the plug. I am not able to strike or turn off the lamp from the desk or from the built in menu.The lamp has been set to NOT power on the lamp when powering up, but it still does.I have tried to replace the ballast, but to no avail. My suspision is a faulty ignitor, but I can not be sure.I have also been tipped that there might be a relay stuck on/burnt on, but I am not able to locate this relay. Any help or tips are greatly appreciated. CheersStu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itiba Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 I'd check the light thinks it's an AS and not a TS, this is somewhere in the menu options. There's somewhere on the control card you can meter to see whether the correct Voltage (+4v) is being sent to lamp off but try checking the menu first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStewart Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 The menu looks fine.Tried to reset to defaults, then setting up the lamp as normal, but it still powers up the bulb as soon as you plug in the power.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itiba Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Cool so deffo set to 'Arc' and not 'Incand'. In which case (and if you feel comfortable doing so...and also voiding your warranty I'd imagine) have a look at the bottom of the control card which is in the arm with the LCD screen; they'll be a connector marked 'Ballast'. From the side you'll be looking at you'll see the soldered joints with the card (should make sense when looking at it). Put a meter on this and you should read 0v DC when the lamp on command is sent and 4v when the lamp off command is sent; what do you get on your fixture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phenry Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 It does sound like the ballast is not getting communication from the MCB. If the ballast does not see control, it will automatically strike and cannot be controlled. A VL service center can check it out or you can call our tech support and they can talk you through some tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStewart Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 itiba: These lamps are ancient, so any warranty is loooong gone at least for us http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif I found the connector you where talkin about, and there was 4,9V present, but the lamp was still lit. I checked the cable for continuety from the board through to the ballast and I found a break in the red and the black wires, and also an intermittent break in the white and green.I located the fault to be inside the tube going from the base to the yoke. Fixed the wires and now I have a happy lamp! Thank you very much for all your help, I am greatful! CheersStu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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