[vtec si]

Last night I spent over 2hours working on this problem; I have a Ice Cap 660 that is wired to three 5' bulbs! I have checked, checked and, rechecked the wiring and according to the instructions I have it right! The problem is when I plug it in the 1st bulb woun't fire but, the 2nd and 3rd bulbs do for just a second and shut down! I think I have a bad bulb! I just bought them! URI bulbs!?
Please help if you can!

Thanks,

VTEC SI

[icemark]

If you replace the non working bulbs with a couple of cheap 48 inch NO bulbs does it fire?

If they do I would figure bad bulbs, if they don't a wiring or connection problem.

Maybe you want to contact Andy or tech support at Icecap

[Reefland]

Happens to me all the time.

All you need to do is make sure each of the bulbs are making good contact in the endcaps. Take the bulbs out and reinstall them. Once the endcap is screwed on good, give the bulbs a twist (turning the reflector to the top) and then plug in the ballast. If you get the same thing, unplug the ballast, twist the bulbs one click and plug the ballast back up. The ballast will not re-fire without being plugged into the outlet again.

If this doesn't work, it could be a bulb.

Best of luck,
Scott

[ASH]

From IceCap:
The situation you describe suggests that the bulbs that flashed on and off are fine. The 1 lamp that didn't either has a connection problem or a bad filament. Here's a copy of what I've posted before to help find and solve the problem. Sorry you're having such a ruff time with it:

An IceCap ballast will not work for a minute, more like a fraction of a second, before it shuts down. Unlike a conventional ballast that only know on and off, our ballast will not keep trying to run if it detects an open circuit. In this case, it sounds like it was a bad bulb filament. It could equally be a bulb not making contact with an endcap's pins.

For those with an OHM meter or continuity checker there's a quick test that can be performed to trouble shoot a system run by an IceCap VHO ballast. This is for situations where some of the lamps flash on and off for a split second while other lamps do nothing. The lamps that flash are fine. You need to check the other connections. With an IceCap, you need to power off and on again to check to see if it will work. Fixing it without powering off will not cause the lamps to light. Repeatedly turning it on and off quickly will cause a ballast failure so don't go crazy. Always call us when in doubt. 800-742-3227 ext. 25 for service. If you have another ballast of the same model, try switching ballasts to see if the problem follows the ballast. Otherwise, read on.

1. Disconnect from the power source (un-plug it).
2. Pull the harness connector off the ballast. You don't need the ballast or AC electricity to do this test.
3. With the endcaps MOUNTED and lamps in place, you can now test the entire system from the end of the harness (the male Molex connector, the part usually inside the ballast).
4. Use the two probes as follows:
For each pair of colored wires used in your application you want to test for continuity. To do this you insert the probes into the exposed Molex pins that are connected to the correct wires. Wires not used, like for a Model 660 using 2 or 3 lamps are ignored (these wires should be individually CAPPED OFF for possible use in the future).
5. If you find you have continuity (the signal from one blue wire, for example, goes down the wire, to the endcap, to the lamp's pin, across the filament, back to the pin, the endcap and to the blue wire and back to the connector) check the other pairs. If they all have continuity, the only other connections are the jumper wires. Check those lamps at that end by going pin to pin on the same end of the lamp.
6. If it shows continuity on all connections, your ballast needs to be sent in for a fast service. Send the ballast only and a note inside with your name, address and daytime phone number. Turnaround is 2 days or less.

Andy

[vtec si]

Thanks to all that replied to my post! I took It all a part and rewired the ballast to the caps and I worked fine!

VTEC SI