Wall Pak Lighting Troubleshooting

[Buzzie8]

I have about ten lights out between my two washes. All wall paks. This might seem like a lot but I have two really well lit washes. I need help troubleshooting these. I know a few are out because they need a new bulb, easy. One looks like an orange exploded inside it. The other is burning purple which I was told is either the ballast or starter. I was also told that you need to release the charge of of some component or you will get zapped. Lastly, a few of these seem like I am replacing bulbs way too often. Any knowledge in this area would be greatly appreciated.
Buzzie

 

[MEP001]

The one that looks like an orange exploded needs a new ballast. The one that's burning purple probably does too. On the ones going through bulbs, try a new capacitor. You can get all those components at 1000bulbs.com for a very reasonable cost.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I'm not much at diagnosing electrical issues, but when I have a wall pack that a bulb doesn't fix it gets a ballast kit. When I can replace both the ballast and capacitor for 40 bucks I'm not gonna waste a lot of time up on a ladder trying to figure out which part is bad.

 

[Buzzie8]

Do you need to do something to discharge the capacitor so you do not get shocked!!! This is what an electrician told me.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I've always heard that myself, but have never been shocked. I am careful around the capacitor terminals though

 

[Ghetto Wash]

Do you need to do something to discharge the capacitor so you do not get shocked!!! This is what an electrician told me.

I wait 15-20 seconds after removing power from the capacitor before touching anything and have not had a problem. You could also short between the capacitor terminals before touching anything to remove any residual charge if you are worried about it. it will spark a little as the charge is removed.

 

[MEP001]

I've never been shocked either. I think it's just certain DC capacitors that have that risk, and lighting capacitors are AC.

 

[Rudy]

Be careful. A lot of capacitors have "bleeder" resistors. Sometimes they are externally mounted, but sometimes they are internal. In the case of the internal ones, it should be indicated on the case.

The purpose of the resistor is to "bleed" the charge off preventing a shock from touching a charged capacitor.

I've bought a lot of caps over the years.....and some of them come WITHOUT bleeder resistors. These are the ones you have to be careful around. They will shock you if they are not discharged and you touch both terminals.

I always.....ALWAYS...short the two terminals with an insulated screwdriver before handling.....resistor or not.

There's no way to know if the resistor is good anyway. I had a friend learn the hard way. He saw the resistor, assumed the cap was discharged....and it wasn't.

Just short the terminals briefly and go have a nice day.....