When to replace the HID lamp
Defective lamp - the service life of the lamp has come to an end when it is old and unstable. The lamp may start to switch off suddenly now and then at first, perhaps only once every 24 hours. When the lamp begins to switch off by itself, the ballast unit will automatically light the lamp within 0.5 s. The ballast unit lights the lamp so quickly that you may not even notice that the lamp went out. When the lamp gets older, it may begin to go out by itself more often - in the end over 30 times per minute. When the lamp begins to go out by itself more often, the ballast unit receives an extremely large and repeated current feed. An extremely large amount of repeated relighting - where the ballast unit is not given time to cool - leads to permanent ballast unit damage. As a protective measure, the ballast unit will not try to light the lamp again when it detects repeated ignition impulses. The ballast unit is then switched off and the lamp goes out.
The following symptoms indicate that the lamp has reached the end of its service life:
- Flickering light is the first sign that the lamp is reaching the end of its service life.
- The lamps go out, which occurs when the ballast unit detects repeated ignition impulses.
- Colour change - the lamp changes colour to a dull pink shine.
The input current to the ballast unit must be cut off so that the fault circuit of the ballast unit can be reset. Cut off the input current to the ballast unit by switching the lights OFF and then ON. When the lights are switched OFF and ON, all fault circuits in the ballast unit are reset until the next time the unit receives an extremely high number of repeated ignition impulses. Replace the start-up/electric arc unit when there is an extremely high number of repeated ignition impulses. The ballast unit initiates the start-up process when the start-up/electric arc lamp unit has been replaced. Repeated resets of input current can cause overheating of internal components and cause permanent damage to the ballast unit. Allow the unit to cool down for a few minutes between each reset attempt.
The fault is often sporadic in the beginning and difficult to repeat. Inoperable lamps can be identified through a gradual deterioration of performance over the subsequent 100 operating hours.