My projector has been working just fine for quite a while. The last few days it has taken a while for the bulb to fully warm up. Now it won't get bright at all.

I'm using a venture s51 coil ballast and the ushio s400dd. Anyone have any ideas? Dead bulb? Dead ballast?

I've taken the bulb out and cleaned the bulb tip and mogul contact with sandpaper, same story.

check all the wiring from ballast to lamp,,,, could have a high resistive joint somewhere,, in fact check connectors right from mains plug,, is your power switch still good,,, contacts can go high resistance (carbonise )

I would replace the lamp if your connections all look good.

Does the arc chamber look hazed over? Any bad looking spots on the lamp?

We definately reduce the lamp life when we use a reflector.

Soon hopefully, ceramic arc chambers will be common.

[edit] Pulsareus, you've been running that rig for over a year now if I remember correctly? Any estimation of your hours on that lamp?

I'd guess hours to be somewhere between 1000 and 2000. I've fallen asleep quite a few times with it on, but there are times where I'll go a week without using it.

I looked it over last night and can't find any connection problems. Looks like I'll try ordering a new bulb, and if that doesn't fix it I'll try a new ballast. It wouldn't hurt to have a spare bulb lying around anyway.

Anyone have any recommendations for online stores? Looks like Bulbster and Atlanta Lighting both have it for about the same price.

another trick is to rotate the lamp 30 degrees and try to fire it,, if not rotate more

they do get a bit funny with mercury in tube

another thing about lamps,,, is the min recomendd run time is ten hours per run,, of course this is not always practicile for our usage,,

its a quirk with MH,,, they have a halogen cycle, which basically scrubs the chamber,,, othewise the tungsten probes become carbonised,, or should I say electron depleted (tungsten) and they are sort of loose inside arc chamber , which is why they dont fire up well, in essence contaminated (tungsten halides)

hehehe e&oa spelling sucks,,, been out bit of live music few reds heheh feel better now mmmmmmm

Most literature indicates lamps that no longer come to full brightness as an indication of the end of lamp life. They should no longer be used and be replaced. My bet is the lamp is bad and should be replaced. It is not the 15k or 20k hours as indicated, but we shouldn't expect that life for how we use them... the 15k and 20k life numbers are for when the lamps are run more or less continuously, if we get 2000-5000 hours on a lamp, we're still way ahead of the game vs. commercial.

cheers,
gs

Just a quick update. There doesn't appear to be any hazing in the bulb. The chemicals in the arc chamber don't seem to be melting, even though there's a blue arc passing through it. I've tried rotating and it doesn't seem to be helping.

Trying to find a local store so i can get this thing working again asap.

I had the same problem several months ago. It is the bulb. Mine burned out with less than a year of casual use on it. I guess short burn times do significantly reduce the life of the bulb.

Pulsareus,

I'm curious... what is the model number of your venture s51 coil ballast? Is it V90D1912 or V90D1911 or something else?


Cheers!

Fulcrum