new halides/ballast/not working/should ballast make noise?

[reefer0924]

ive always posted in reef forums but id figure i try this due to the relevance of my issue. got a new light 4 t5s 39 watt/250 watt halide, went to hook up and the halides doing nothing, got it from ebay new for 200, so aint gettin much help from seller, should the ballast make noise? or warm up? i wanna make sure its the ballast thats broken, and if it can be fixed, like a fuse or something? thanks alot in advance!!!!!

[charlie]

I sounds to me like you may want a new ballast. JMHO any ballast will heat up, but it sounds like this one is a little extreme. I don't think it should make noise either. JMHO

Ah, the joys of buying something on ebay.

[reefer0924]

no its not making any noise or its not heating up at all, its doing nothing,the lights arent working (the halides). i was asking if it should make some kinda noise or heat up to give me some kind of indacation that the ballast is or isnt working, im trying to figure out if its the ballast or something else wrong

[gregony]

A 250W bulb means that even a 90% efficient electronic ballast should be dissipating 25W, and you should be able to feel that when it's on. If the ballast doesn't get warm at all, then that's an indication it's not switching. Cap and coil ballasts will make a bunch of noise when power is applied to them. That's one of the reasons they invented electronic ones. What kind of ballast is it? Can you send it back? If you can't send it back, I could help you if you posted some pictures, but go one step at a time.
Was it you that posted a bad experience with Reef Warehouse? Maybe you got some bad online mojo going on right now.

[reefer0924]

it doesnt say any name on the ballast, i got it off ebay(new) 36inch 4 39 t5s 250 watt halide all in one unit made by oddysey, i ended up gettin a message back ,(he was away for a few days), and sent it back and im currently waiting for a new one, should have it in a few days. hopefully it works fine, but i will post back once i try it out. thank you for the offer the was exceptionally nice of you, i see your from new york, are you a yankees fan?

[gregony]

Actually, I'm not from NY, I'm an Air Force brat who's pretty much from everywhere. I moved to NY from Colorado (company got bought out) a few years ago. I'm a fair weather Rockies fan (like most Rockies fans, to quote Rick Reilly "My friend's office was broken into, nothing was stolen, but someone left two Rockies tickets.")
I hope your new ballast works. Odyssea is supposed to be hit and miss, so your first one was probably a miss. The next one should probably work. Unfortunately, they're low in price for a reason. If you get one that works, however, you can make out like a bandit.