How to Test Tridonic Digital Ballast

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Hi folks,
See attached photo.
My outdoor light has stopped working.
No fuses were blown at fuse box. Light is bolted to underside of soffit and had a heap of water in it when I took the cover off.
Tried replacing 38W DD bulb but no luck.
Wanted to test the ballast but don't know how - I have a basic mulimeter.
Grateful for your thoughts.
 

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Not sure you can with any normal test gear, due to the type of output they give out.
Obviously you can confirm the supply side is ok
 
All you can do is prove the supply voltage to the ballast is present and correct and try plug in a lamp which you know to be working. Some of these ballasts will not strike a lamp if you plug it in when the ballast is powered. You have to plug the lamp in and then apply power.

Make sure the lamp is the correct type - 38W 4 pin 2D
 
Thanks for the replies folks.
The mains power is measuring abt 240v.
But when powered on, the terminals that bulb pushes into only at 0.05.
That ballast is obselete now so is it generally ok/easy enough to replace it with similar type? Anyone know how to disconnect the push fit wires? Data sheet seems to indicate pushing a flat blade screwdriver into the slots on top but doesn't seem to work for me......
Or just buy a new light......
 
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There is some debate as to fluorescent lamps, the electronic ballast is no taken account of when comparing fluorescent to LED, and it means lamps last around 5 times longer, it uses less power and the lamp produces more light and with less strobe effect, so looking at around 95 lumen per watt fluorescent and 100 lumen per watt with LED, however the fluorescent tubes are getting harder and harder to source, the 65 watt 5 foot tube has completely dried up, however personally I like the idea of replacing a tube not whole lamp.

But with the 2D the ballast was shaped to fit lamp, so likely better to renew whole lamp, the ballast on Amazon is £4.08 so cheap enough if it will physically fit, the 2850 lumen at 38 watt claimed for tube is with a wire wound ballast, so in real terms more like 3200 lumen at 36 watt, and this is the problem with going for LED to find an LED lamp as bright.

What I have done is increase number of lights in the room, but this is a lot of work.
 
Not a good idea putting a multimeter across the output of a HF ballast, pretty sure, if good, it could blow your meter
A screwdriver pushed down will release the wires, however as the ballasts now broke, you can either cut them close to the ballast and restrip them again as 10mm shorter is nothing.
Or break the terminal ends off and the wires will fall out, however a screwdriver will release them and you dont need to worry about being gentle now and damaging the ballast.
Note one lamp end has Brown wires and one lamp end has Blue wires

Alternatively upgrade to an Led fitting, depends how much you liked the fitting and is it worth the cost of a ballast and lamp.
First check the lamp connection is still ok and not water damaged

Them ballasts earth through the backplate, therefore when you take it out you may see a black burn mark on the back where its blown
 
Not a good idea putting a multimeter across the output of a HF ballast, pretty sure, if good, it could blow your meter
I'd be interested to hear the thinking behind that. It might well not be useful, but I'm not so clear as to how/why it would "blow the meter".

Kind Regards, John
 
I'd be interested to hear the thinking behind that. It might well not be useful, but I'm not so clear as to how/why it would "blow the meter".

Kind Regards, John
Thats why i tried to word it ,unsuccessfully, to show i am not definite it would, not to hot on electronics in multi meters, so was not sure what affect the HF output would do, if anything.
Though it appears on his ballast it states OUT 250V
I do remember blowing my 300 pound clamp meter on voltage by putting it across an Ignitors output, though that was 4.5 KV voltage, but since then i wont probe anything if i am not totally sure
 
Thats why i tried to word it ,unsuccessfully, to show i am not definite it would, not to hot on electronics in multi meters, so was not sure what affect the HF output would do, if anything. ... Though it appears on his ballast it states OUT 250V
Provided the magnitude of the voltage is not sufficiently high to do harm, I can't see that the frequency makes much difference.
I do remember blowing my 300 pound clamp meter on voltage by putting it across an Ignitors output, though that was 4.5 KV voltage, but since then i wont probe anything if i am not totally sure
Hmmmm. 4.5 kV is in a somewhat different ballpark - I would image far beyond what the meter was meant to be able to tolerate :)

Kind Regards, John
 
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Thank guys.
Still couldn't get the wire out the ballast even pressing down the slot with screwdriver but managed to break them out eventually.
Took the old ballast off and it has some blackness behind it.
Thankfully managed to source a like for like ballast on amazon 16 quid. So hope that resolves things.
More concern is how the water is getting in. It must be running down the pitched roof soffit boards and entering the light fitting through the hole that the power cable comes through. Not sure what the hell can do about that though..... Will suck it and see if happens again..... Cheers
 
It was a spy detector supply to the set up transformer should have been 250 volt, on highest range. While ago now around 1980 but one remembers wrecking such a meter.
 
It was a spy detector supply to the set up transformer should have been 250 volt, on highest range. While ago now around 1980 but one remembers wrecking such a meter.
Fair enough (whatever "a spy detector supply to the set up transformer" means :) ), but I find that difficult to understand.

Kind Regards, John
 
Fair enough (whatever "a spy detector supply to the set up transformer" means :) ), but I find that difficult to understand.

Kind Regards, John
It was designed to put around 20,000 volt on the pipe line rap to check no holes in the rap, and it measured the power used and set off an alarm if the coil connected to ground, clearly putting the meter on output was a no no, however it generated 250 volt to start with then that was further transformed up, so on the 1000 volt range I thought I was safe, wrong. Looked like this
upload_2021-4-5_13-45-16.jpeg
there is what looks like a speedo cable inner which comes out of the handle and drags on the ground.
 

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