Defender Ballast Buzzes / Very Hot

acidburn7683

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Hi,

I am in the UK and I have an imported Defender machine from the USA I am running it on a 120vac step down transformer.

There is a loud buzz coming from the ballast area and the ballast itself gets VERY VERY hot (too hot to touch actually)

a few questions really...

is the ballast safe?
do I need a new ballast?
where can I get a new ballast from?
what type of ballast do I need?

Thanks ^_^
 
Replace it. Unplug it until you get it replaced so it doesn't cause any damage when it goes. You can unplug it from the back of the aluminum plate it is mounted on.

ken
 
The two most common things that get damaged are the fluorescent tube and the wiring.

If it burns out the tube, you will need to replace it when you replace the ballast.

If the wiring burns out it can either cause an open circuit (the best case) or a short circuit. If it is the short circuit, it can draw too much power through the lines and burn out the isolation windings on the big transformer before the fuse blows or burn up the AC lines heading to the ballast. I have heard of 2 machines that have caught fire because of ballasts going bad.

IMHO, it is not worth the risk.

ken
 
That ballast number has been superceeded by this:

Philips/Advance # LC-14-20-C-TP (also written as LC1420CTP) and is barcode 781087101322
 
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