Need help, wtf is this!?

that plugs into a ballast, the ballast then plugs into the wall.

Think of the ballast as the black box on a laptop power cable or on an XBOX

Cut it off, then with a pair of pliers (side cutters) or a razor knife you make a slit down the middle of the cable , parallel with the cord, about 3 inches down. Don't worry if you slice through some of the underlying wires. After grabbing the the slit open outer insulation with your thumbs, tear out the wires peeling downward so as to use the wires as a means of helping you slit the outer insulation even further back ( about 8 inches if you like ). Cut off any wire ends that you may have slit through when making the razor slit, and buy a male plug cap to attach to the cord by cutting back the three enclosed cable wires about 1 3/4" and stripping the ends of the wire about 1/2" back with a klein wire stripper selecting the #14 groove. Terminate the wires in this order : Green (ground) Black (Hot) White (Neutral). The white is always on the left side (it is the larger of the two vertical slits in a wall receptacle. Screw down the wires to the male plug cap with a #2 phillips head screwdriver. Make sure your connections are tight. This is what you would do if you wanted to change it to a regular plug, although I'm thinking now that this is what you meant in the first place.

I bet you thought you had the deal of the century. Unfortunately, it's true. Need a ballast to go with it.

just so you know, that is a socket and cord. not the reflector. yes you need a ballast.

yikes dont listen to problem solver, more of a problem failer :/

Originally Posted by problemsolver

Cut it off, then with a pair of pliers (side cutters) or a razor knife you make a slit down the middle of the cable , parallel with the cord, about 3 inches down. Don't worry if you slice through some of the underlying wires. After grabbing the the slit open outer insulation with your thumbs, tear out the wires peeling downward so as to use the wires as a means of helping you slit the outer insulation even further back ( about 8 inches if you like ). Cut off any wire ends that you may have slit through when making the razor slit, and buy a male plug cap to attach to the cord by cutting back the three enclosed cable wires about 1 3/4" and stripping the ends of the wire about 1/2" back with a klein wire stripper selecting the #14 groove. Terminate the wires in this order : Green (ground) Black (Hot) White (Neutral). The white is always on the left side (it is the larger of the two vertical slits in a wall receptacle. Screw down the wires to the male plug cap with a #2 phillips head screwdriver. Make sure your connections are tight. This is what you would do if you wanted to change it to a regular plug, although I'm thinking now that this is what you meant in the first place.

that sounds extremely dangerous. there's a reason you need to run these lights through a ballast! your wall plug in cant handle all that power. so you need a ballast, and a reflector!

Don't cut it, it's worth money.

Take it to your local hydro shop and trade it in, for what you really need.

Word of advice to all - never fuck with a ballast cord, you're only asking for trouble.