Metal Halide Lamp Ignitor Circuit

This peak voltage along with the ignitor when used is used to start the lamp and control the lamp current crest factor typically 1 60 1 65.

Metal halide lamp ignitor circuit.

The metal halide and high pressure sodium ballasts also incorporate wave shaping of the open circuit voltage to provide a higher peak voltage than a normal sine wave. The ballast in an hid lighting system requires a capacitor this is a current limiting device that prevents too much amperage to be delivered to the hid bulb. Pulse start metal halide ballasts provide the proper combination of open circuit voltage and high voltage pulses to start the lamp. Once a new lamp is installed the metal halide bulb will light and come up to full brightness.

A metal halide lamp is an electrical lamp that produces light by an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides compounds of metals with bromine or iodine it is a type of high intensity discharge hid gas discharge lamp. Although metal halide bulbs are long lasting still they wear out. Gas discharge lamps an electric lamp. So when you begin to experience rapid flickering dimming buzzing and changing colors the fault could be with the bulb but most times it is a faulty ballast.

Ansi code american national standards institute ansi code that indicates the electrical operating designation of the lamp which must match that of the ballast. The pulse is provided by a specially designed ignitor or starter that is used in conjunction with the ballast. So once these occur with your metal halide lamp getting a replacement bulb doesn t have to be your first step.