● Installation● Troubleshooting● Warranty

Lamps and Dimming – Test Your Knowledge

True or False: Dimming will reduce the life of a lamp.

FalseDimming has no effect on the life of a lamp. Properly designed dimming ballasts will provide

sufficient filament heating and will maintain the full rated life of the lamp.

True or False: Dimming will extend the life of a lamp.

False

Dimming has no effect on the life of a lamp. Properly designed dimming ballasts will provide sufficient filament heating and will maintain the full rated life of the lamp.

Fixture Construction and Best Practices

Lamp spacing from the ground plane: Minimum lamp spacing to the fixture shall be > 6mm for the duration of the fixture life. (quite often, belly pans sag over

time leading to lamps touching grounded metal.)

Issues resulting from fixtures sagging will always be a fixture issue. The lamps and ballasts cannot prevent or cause the fixture belly pan to sag over time.

Symptoms to look for:

Belly pan is touching the lamp (obvious?)

Lamps are bowed or bending

Lamps drop out in dim mode

Lamps are turning black in the middle (where the metal touches the glass)

Inconsistent starting

Inconsistent light levels

Fixture Construction and Best Practices

Wiring in the ballast chamber is critical to the quality of light and dimming consistency between lamps. To minimize inconsistent dimming light levels and to eliminate inconsistent lamp starting and lamp dropout, the following guidelines MUST be followed:

– When the ballasts are installed, all lead wires should be kept as short as possible

– Output leads (wires from the ballast to the lamp sockets) should not be bunched, twisted, wrapped, or cable tied together.

– Input wires (power wires and control wires) should not be bunched, twisted, wrapped, or wire tied together with the output wires.

– Input and output wires should be routed on opposite sides of the wire way channel as best as possible.

Rapid vs. Instant Rapid vs. Instant start sockets start sockets

vs.

Instant start Instant start socketssockets

Shunted Shunted JumperedJumpered

S

Rapid start Rapid start socketssockets

Common Issues – Incorrect socketsCommon Issues – Incorrect sockets

Common Issues – Incorrect sockets

Dimming ballasts must NEVER NEVER NEVER

be connected to instant start or shunted sockets!

Doing so instantly voids the warranty!

ALL BALLASTS AND LAMPS CONNECTED TO INSTANT START OR SHUNTED SOCKETS MUST BE REPLACED AS THEY

HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY DAMAGED.

YES, THE LAMPS TOO!

Common Issues – Wiring issues

Short lamp life – Is almost ALWAYS the result of a wiring issue

Wiring issues, Symptoms to look for:

Severe end blackening

Lamps drop out at lowest dimming level

Inconsistent / failure to start

Lamp flickering / flashing / strobing

Lamp Striations

Short Lamp Life

Short Ballast Life

Common Issues – Wiring issues (examples)

Correct parallel yellow Correct parallel yellows

Incorrect parallel yellows

Common Issues – Wiring issues (examples)

Correct series yellow Incorrect Correct series yellow

Common Issues – Wiring issues (examples)

Incorrect – Shorted Leads

Correct

Incorrect – Shunted Sockets

Common IssuesOther

Incorrect Control – Must be Mark 10 controlFlickering or drop out will occur if the input voltage is lower than 56vac for 120vac applications or 129vac for 277vac application (as measured AT THE BALLAST)

Flickering due to a shared neutralThis is a requirement of some control manufacturers. This is not a function of the

ballast. The end user must be aware of the requirements of the controls they install.

Overloaded ControlsThe control must be sized to handle the load. Overloaded controls could fail or result

in performance issues.

Common IssuesOther

Pinched or Shorted Control WiresThe system will be stuck in full dim mode. Will not respond to control signals. The issue must be corrected for the system to work, but this will not result in permanent

ballast damage.

Reversed Control Wires (purple and grey reversed)System or individual fixtures will dim out of sequence. Single fixture occurrences

could reduce the top end light level of the entire circuit.

Overloaded ControlsThe control must be sized to handle the load. Overloaded controls could fail or result

in performance issues.

AC voltage applied to the control wires (purple and grey)Trick question, this will not damage the ballast. The control leads on a Mark 7 ballast are designed to withstand electrical shorts, pinched wires, and the misapplication of ac voltage. However, potential damage to the controls will need to be reviewed with the

controls manufacturer.

Common IssuesOther

Pinched or Shorted Control Wires: Will not respond to control signals.

Reversed Control Wires (purple and grey reversed)Trick question, it doesn’t matter for ROVR. There is no polarity.

Noise on the control lineWire routing is critical. Noise will result in sporadic dimming control.

Wiring Comparison

LampLampLeadsLeads

BLACKBLACKWHITEWHITE Mark 10 Ballast

Mark 7 BallastLampLampLeadsLeads

BLACKBLACKWHITEWHITE

0-10V0-10VControllerController

VIOLET (+)VIOLET (+)GREY(-)GREY(-)

DIMMERDIMMER

ROVR BallastLampLampLeadsLeads

BLACKBLACKWHITEWHITE

DALIDALIControllerController

VIOLET VIOLET VIOLET VIOLET

Resources

www.advancetransformer.com/warranty

www.advancetransformer.com/support