Need help with connecting the ballast to the reflector/light!

[eimsy]

Hey, so here's the deal...

I just bought a HPS lighting system which wasn't assembled when it came and had no instructions on how to put it together. I think i've managed to figure out how to set up most of it but there's one particular part I'm confused about. There is a lose wire that connects the reflector to the ballast (presumably) and on one end the live and earth wires are exposed, allowing me to connect it to the reflector, but on the other end the live and earth wires aren't exposed atall, so basically the wire is cut. I can't understand the logic behind this as I need to connect that end to the ballast but I can't because the live and earth wires aren't exposed! So I'm wondering if I should just strip the insulator around the earth and live wires to allow me to connect them to the ballast? This seems like my only option but I'm really weary of doing this incase it's wrong and i've just ruined a piece of really expensive lighting! Also, I don't understand why the guys who sold it to me didn't strip the insulator off that side of it because they stripped the other side... so I'm wondering if they just forgot to strip that side of it maybe?

Any input would be really helpful, I dunno what to do!

Thanks, Eimear

eimsy Reviewed by eimsy on 11-02-2011. Need help with connecting the ballast to the reflector/light! Hey, so here's the deal... I just bought a HPS lighting system which wasn't assembled when it came and had no instructions on how to put it together. I think i've managed to figure out how to set up most of it but there's one particular part I'm confused about. There is a lose wire that connects the reflector to the ballast (presumably) and on one end the live and earth wires are exposed, allowing me to connect it to the reflector, but on the other end the live and earth wires aren't exposed Rating: 5

[killerweed420]

Can you post a couple of pictures?

[eimsy]

Not in the near future I won't have a camera for another week. I will post some photos then if that's any good.

[killerweed420]

Either that or try to draw some pictures about the leads. Do some of them not have a connector already attached? If not this must be a DIY ballast kit?

[eimsy]

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There's the pictures, sorry it took so long! The first one is of the leads, as you can see the black lead is the plug connection, you can easily connect the two exposed wires to the ballast. The white lead is the connection for the light. On one end the wires are exposed, allowing me to connect them to the light. The other end has no exposed wires though so therefore I can't connect it to the ballast! This is what I'm confused about... Should I strip the insulator to expose the wires and allow me to connect it to the ballast? The second photo is just of the ballast where you put in the wires, the first two sockets on the left labelled F are where you put the two live wires from the plug connector, and the N on the left is for the neutral wire from the plug connector, and then the LR and LA sockets on the right are where you put the live wires from the light connection and N is the neutral wire again. The third photo is just of the bottom of the light where you put the two live wires in. The first photo is the only real important one.
And to answer your question, none of the connectors are already connected So yeah presumably it's a DIY kit (wasn't told that when buying it though!)

Your help is really appreciated!!

[killerweed420]

Looking at the pictures this must be a low wattage ballast? The wires are fairly small, or at least appear so in the picture.
In the first picture the plug in must plug into the ballast and then the other end you wire into the light socket. It appears to be an odd socket design too. Are you in europe?
That ia also a very odd ballast to have so many wire hookups on it. Usually there would only be 3 wires unless it was a 220v ballast.

[bigsby]

Yeah that is a EU socket set. KW420 is on to the right question. What is the wattage of this thing? The wire gauge seems kind of skimpy. You don't want to fighting any fires... safety first and all that.

[eimsy]

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Forgot to mention I'm in Ireland, so yeah it's a European plug. The wattage is 250, the wires aren't that small i think it's just the picture, here's some more pictures that might be a better description (sorry about the darkness of the first one, it's of the plug connection). I don't really get what you mean by plugging it into the ballast, there's no plug socket in the ballast, if that was the case then the ballast would have to generate electricity itself and I can't see how that would work?? That picture is of the whole ballast, maybe you can get a better idea of the set-up from it? It's like a 3 way system with the plug going into a socket in the wall, the other end of the plug connection going into the ballast by means of the small wires coming out of the other end of the connection, and then the separate white connection links the ballast to the light, again by means of the smaller wires, in which one end connects to the ballast and the other to the light... but there is no smaller wires on one end of the white connection.... meaning I can't connect it to the ballast! See what I mean??

[killerweed420]

I've never seen a setup like that. It appears the ballast is set up to run 2 lights. I would take the name and model number off of the ballast and see if you can't google a wiring diagram for it.

[eimsy]

Two lights? I don't think so like there's no plug attached to it at all so that has to be connected and when you've finished connecting that up there's only room for one light to be connected. There's a small diagram on it of the way you're supposed to connect it up and it shows how you connect the light up to it and the plug socket as well. I would take a picture of it but it doesn't come out well with the camera. Found out also its a 230v ballast if that's any good to you. That idea about googling the ballast model is genius, but when i looked it up I found the exact ballast but there's no information on how to set it up at all!! I guess I'll have to go with stripping the insulator to connect it to the ballast cos I don't have any other opinions it seems! Thanks for your help though