first off, WHAT a site this is, love it, anywho,every time i plug my 400w lamp into the mains it sparks at the socket and wont come on, it has an integral ballast .i have had the lamp working once (to try it) and took it down because i had work on the grow room, so when i finally got ready to grow. BANG. no lights so could some sparky from uk help i would be eternally gratefull. ta

are you using a 240 volt and not the 120? The 120 is for the states and europe uses the 240. Where did you buy the ballast?

holland. i forgot to mention that i shortend the cable, would this affect capacitor?

and yes it s 240 volts ,i have had it running once

Sounds like a wire (prolly in the socket) is shorting out to ground. I grabbed the housing once when it was on and had the shock of my life. I actually had to sit down a few seconds while my brain rebooted. WM

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its not the socket, got fans plugged in ,to check there working.

Definitely sounds like a short. Did the problem start after you shortened the cable? Did you remove the plug and cut a bit of cable off the end, or split the cable and put a joint in? Double check your work to make sure two wires aren't touching somewhere (could even be wires that you "think" are still insulated but might be tiny nicks in the plastic allowing a spark to cross between them).

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i,ll do that thanks mate

Plug it into a Fuse Protected Surge protector....

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Not the electrical outlet the light socket itself.

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