Hello,
I am (was) using following setup for my projector
1) Philips 400 watt HPI T plus MH
2) 33 mfd capacitor
3) Philips SN58 starter
4) Philips 400watt magnetic core ballast

All the components are new.

I am pretty good at electrical circuits but totally newbie to MH bulbs. Today for the first time I tried to start the lamp. For about 10 seconds it tried to start with a very low intensity arc. I thought it might take some time to come up fully. But after 10 seconds I saw some smoke and smelt something burning and the starter was gone.

Tomorrow I will get a new starter but unless I know what could be wrong I may end up burning one more starter. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Best regards,
Nitin.

i dont know if i can be of any help, but make sure that you wire the lamp correctly. On my setup i placed the neuteral wire in the wrong place and the bulb wouldnt ignite, apart for the same faint light. Sorry if this doesnt help, just thought it might good luck

Thanks for your suggestion.

Finally I figured out that my ballast and ignitor were not compatible. Got a new ignitor 'Sl 51' and the bulb runs fine.

- Nitin.