ballast questions lol need help

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #1

i picked up a mag ballast it says 240v on box in marker but it has a 3 prong plug so it fits into normal plug.
my qustion is how do i know for sure if its 240v or 120v?
i pluged it into my wall plug and it worked..but is it safe..
if its 240v can i make it 120v to work in my plug lol
what are my options for this??? heres my pics of the ballast so take a look pls..

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #2

anyone tech savy lol i cant figure it out. ive checked on here google there a wire guide but id rather have others thoughts or smarts since i dont have a f-ing clue bout this

 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #3

I personally would have opened it up and looked at the wiring of the transformer.

 

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ExtremeMetal43

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #4

Do 240 volt things have a different plug than 120 volt? I know my ballast i have to buy a different cable to use it at 240. Just sayin if the plug fits but check first.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #5

cant you see the pics?

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #6

metal... thats what i thought.. but just dbl checking first here i dont need to light my box on fire or blow shit up

 

rarebreed619

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #7

Im no electrician but that looks like a fire waiting to happen lol. but you could cut the end off and wire a 240v end plug and plug it into a 240v recepticle and see if it fires.

best of luck

-ballasts are cheap nowadays 400 watt like 140 on amazon maby less just my 2cents

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #8

ok so a 240v plug is like a dryer or stove plug... this has ur normal 3 prong plug on it. before i bout it the guy pluged it in and it fired no prob no weird sounds ect ect but if someone is a wire guru an could take a peek at the wiring to see if it meets spec that would be great.
or have any other questions ill be on for a bit

 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #9

Simplest answer. Its a 120v - 240v ballast, There's 4 wires coming off the transformer if your using all 4 wires than its 240v 3 wires 120v.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #10

ty top. if you look in pic 3 you see the orange wire. the cream wire it not conected to nothing.

 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #11

Double check man. Google wiring diagram ballast 240v and a 120v. Make dame sure man.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #12

im scared now lol

 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member

• Jan 14, 2013

• #13

Just to check out the all the wiring, ignitor, capacitor. Like I said if your only using 3 wires off the transformer it's 120v

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 15, 2013

• #14

ok so i learned you still can get a shock form it not being pluged in. i found a page but it dont have wire colors. and just a question theres more then 3-4 wires comming out of the tranformer that r tieid/twisted to something. i will look again take few more pics in detail and show what comming outa what. im new to this and would be happy to have few extra eyes looking over the shoulder to help.

 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member

• Jan 15, 2013

• #15

I found this for you. You just need a multimeter there cheap like $10
http://www.ehow.com/how_4434500_test-a-transformer.html
after you do this test there should be no doubt what voltage your transformer is putting out.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 15, 2013

• #16

nice ill check that out an try to figure it out. found something on youtube too im looking at.

 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member

• Jan 15, 2013

• #17

You'll be a expert. I just don't want to give you any bad advice. 100% sure is the only way to go when it comes to electrical.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 15, 2013

• #18

ok so here r the pics of wires from transformer. in this pic you can see (from top to bottom) (black not used) purple (peach not used) blk/white, orange, yellow, white, white. now this pic (the back) from top to bottom, red, yellow,black/white,blue.
now from reading shit online the peach wire is 120v. is this correct.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 16, 2013

• #19

there has to be someone on this site that knows.

 

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cosmoridez

Active Member

• Jan 16, 2013

• #20

anybody ???