Electrical wiring help - Installing a switch

Chino

Chino

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[Im very new to wiring for lighting, in this case power compacts. My fixture is a 2X65 watt power compact fixture with straight pin bulbs. It has one power cord for the whole fixture itself and two switches, one for the both the pcs, and one for the 2 LED moons. I want to be able to have actinics on alone for dusk/dawn effect. Question is, can I install a switch for the 12000k bulb by splicing one of the four wires going to the pins? Sorry if the question is not clear but basically I want to be able to turn my fixture on and only see my actinic bulb on and be able to turn my 12000k bulb on manually. If I can do this what kinda of switch should I use and where to get one. If this cant be done what are my other options. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.]
 
[I dont think you can,, the ballast you have is probably designed to run both at the same time. it needs all four wires as well.. If each bulb was on its own ballast you could rewire.. but otherwise I wouldnt ...

Nathan]
 
[It is doable but it won't be that easy.

You have to remember that the lighting is in series so it is really all one big circuit.

Like this: Power---->Bulb1---->Bulb2---->looped back to power supply.

So a break anywhere in there turns the whole thing off.

What you could potentially do is run a double throw switch that in one position runs through both bulbs but in the other postion bypasses the 12k bulb only firing the actinic.

If you can draw the current wiring in Microsoft Word or something like that I could probably help with exactly what to do. So yes it is possible but will require some work.]
 
[I think you'll need some resistors in there. I have no idea how many volts the ballast outputs.

When wired in series, each bulb 'pulls' the volts. So if each bulb takes 1000v, the ballast will put out 2000v. If you bypass one bulb, the other one will get all 2000v (i.e.: instant burnout).

Isn't that right?]



Edited By Trackz on 1101856069
 
[Actually, some ballasts have wiring diagrams for 1 or 2 lights. I wonder if there would be some way to switch it crossing wires or whatever.]
 
[with your setup I think you might want to try and running something similar to the diagram below. just an example. I am not sure on running a 1kv bulb at 2kv (instant blackout maybe?)]
 
@kwl1763 wrote:
[It is doable but it won't be that easy. You have to remember that the lighting is in series so it is really all one big circuit. Like this: Power---->Bulb1---->Bulb2---->looped back to power supply. So a break anywhere in there turns the whole thing off. What you could potentially do is run a double throw switch that in one position runs through both bulbs but in the other postion bypasses the 12k bulb only firing the actinic. If you can draw the current wiring in Microsoft Word or something like that I could probably help with exactly what to do. So yes it is possible but will require some work.] said:
[I havent got to gutting the fixture yet to see how the wiring is and not sure if I should. I was wondering about adding a switch to the wire I was talking about because its exposed and easy to get to.]
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@swampRx wrote:
[with your setup I think you might want to try and running something similar to the diagram below. just an example. I am not sure on running a 1kv bulb at 2kv (instant blackout maybe?)] said:
[This looks like a good idea and very nice diagram but I have no idea what a double pole double throw switch is and have never worked with resistors or even bought any. Thanks for the input and Ill do some researching on this diagram.]
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@Chino wrote:
[[I]@swampRx wrote:[/I][quote="with your setup I think you might want to try and running something similar to the diagram below. just an example. I am not sure on running a 1kv bulb at 2kv (instant blackout maybe?) said:
This looks like a good idea and very nice diagram but I have no idea what a double pole double throw switch is and have never worked with resistors or even bought any. Thanks for the input and Ill do some researching on this diagram.]"]
[radio shack will have the DTDT switch. they will also have the resistorsif you know the size. But they are kinda like a PetCo just in electronice (meaning they will have the stuff you need but you had better know what you need first)]
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[Thanks for the advice and info Jerry. Im still debating if I should mess with the fixture or not. I would be very dissappointed if my blew some bulbs or screwed up the ballast.

Another question, have you done this before and was it successful? Or is this just an idea you had or got somewhere?
Thanks again.]
 
[I have not modified a ballast yet, but I am an electronics technician (7 years as a sonar technician in the NAVY)

I have modified a camera to take pictures of wildlife as it passes an IR beam (automatic deer camera) and that involved soldering on very very very small circuit cards

one thing you can easily do to check if your lights are series or parallel is to simply remove one of the lights (day set or blue set) if the other stays on then you have a parallel circuit and everything become very simple (as in simply splicing the wires to that light and adding your switch)]
 
@swampRx wrote:
[I have not modified a ballast yet said:
[Yes, I have done this before if you are referring to just taking one bulb out and seeing if the other stays on. Ive taken the day light bulb out and turn the fixture back on and the actinic fired on with out any problems so I guess this means that its a parallel circut. This was the point I was trying to make therefore asking the question that I asked to see why cant I just splice one of the four wires going to each pin and adding a switch. Any clue on what kind of switch I should use or any precautions I should take besides unplugging the fixture while installing the switch. Thanks Jerry and that is very neat that you are sonar technician in the NAVY or were. The modified camera is also interesting too.]
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[ok, this is a much simpilar problem then.

1. with either bulb removed the other on still works meaning you gave a parallel circuit

2. you have easy access to the wires to the day and blue fixture

all you will need is a simple on/off switch. Cut the wire leading into the fixture (only one wire needs to be cut) and attach one end of the wire to on terminal of the switch and the other part of the wire to the other terminal. these switch's from radio shack usually have a threaded nut that you could drill a hole in the light fixture and slip the toggle part of the switch in and the thread the nut back on to hold the switch in place. maybe wrap some Elect tape around the exposed wiring for added protection.]
 
[Man thanks alot Jerry, you have been so helpful. One more thing, does it matter which wire to cut out of the four leading to the four pin bulb plug?]
 
[well not excatly. the only thing is if you cut the neutral side (the one after the bulb) then the contacts inside are allways "hot" even if the switch is off.

If you cut the "hot" side then when the switch is off there is no potential at the contacts.

if you can see which pin the wire leads to you can take a meter and see which side is hot and then unplug the fixture and cut that wire. otherwise you just need to know that there is always a potential that the contacts are hot and you need to unplug the fixture when changing bulbs just to be safe]
 
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