Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Strong igniter dead?

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-16-2011, 08:35 PM:

Hey guys, just looking to confirm my suspicion since I can't really do anything until the morning.

Have a Strong Highlight II with a 3k lamp and a white igniter.
Lamp was just recently replaced after an old, hard-to-strike lamp that was over hours had been changed out. Lamp has already been tested and works < 300 hours.

The no-load at the lamp is nice and high and you can hear the igniter clicking away but I see no spark in the lamp.

Just thought I'd ask and see if anyone can suggest something else to check before I go swapping igniters tonight when we close.

Posted by Chase Pickett (Member # 5975) on 02-16-2011, 09:40 PM:

Weird. We had the same issue with the same console, and a 3k bulb last week. Turned out it was the igniter, so after you change it out, that should work.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-17-2011, 02:12 PM:

Swapped over the igniter from another house, same symptom. No strike but can hear the igniter ticking away.
Can't see a spark in the bulb at all.

Capacitor?

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-17-2011, 10:50 PM:

How about your connections from the wall circuit box and the cabling that attaches to the bulb?

Switch out with another bulb and see what happens -Monte

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-18-2011, 12:48 AM:

Okay. Round two.

The bulb had less than 400 hours on it at the time it stopped striking. I swapped with a brand new one just to be safe.

Igniter swapped with another house. The questionable one works in the other house. Same symptoms here though.

Also swapped the 2 capacitors in the back of the console that connect up to the ignitor.

Checked all DC connections, snug, clean, no signs of burns.

Checked AC coming into rectifier at the shunt (after the front panel breaker) and read 207-208VAC pairing in every combination possible.

Still can hear igniter ticking but have no visible spark in anywhere in the lamphouse or in the envelope.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-18-2011, 04:00 AM:

Also checked the diodes. They're passing current forward only.

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 02-18-2011, 09:29 AM:

Dominic, not sure how you test diodes, but you should have 3 forward and 3 reverse diodes. I always disconnect them and test them individually.

Also check the DC cables again. I have had them arc to ground in new lamphouses, MegaSystems which is the same design (built by Strong). I've bypassed safety switches and worn welding goggles to get a good look inside. I am not advising this, just saying I've done it.

Rick

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-18-2011, 02:49 PM:

Rick,

I meant in their pairings they passed current in the direction as marked. I just use the diode test mode on my multimeter.

Anyhow, the problem is solved.

The fact that I could hear the ignitor and yet not see a spark in the lamp kept haunting me; there's current coming up but it's not making it to the lamp. It must be grounding somewhere.
So I opened it up from the non-operator side and turned it on.
What I saw was a spark coming from the back of the lamphouse. Down in the back of the cradle that supports the lamp. way down deep inside.

What seemed to be the case is that it was no longer insulating fully. Swapped it out and lo it worked.
It seems strange because there's not a whole lot to the part and I can't really see how it is faulty just by looking at it. But this is definitely the culprit.

Thanks for the help, everyone!