Problem with my PC lighting, help!

[leafyseadragon]

I have a CSL 65W PC fixture on my tank, I bought it about a year ago.

The problem is that the light now goes off intermittently. It goes off for a minute or two, and then it comes back on again. I just put a new bulb in last week, so I am pretty sure it's not the bulb. This behavior just started happening recently.

Anyone have any idea what's going on here? Is my ballast giving out and I need to get a new one? Or do I need a new fixture altogether?

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

sometimes if the bulbs are cold they do that. Does the bulb do this all the time or just when they are first turned on.

 

[malkore]

sounds more like its overheating and tripping a switch that turns it off. my 5gallon FW tank has a screw in PC, and it does the same thing, since it gets hotter than a 15watt incandescent which is what the hood was meant to run.

 

[leafyseadragon]

I hope it's not an overheating problem. I've had this fixture for more than a year, using the recommended bulb wattage, but this never happened until this past month. I have the light on a timer, and normally I don't see it until a couple of hours before it turns on. I assume it's not cold then.

 

[phases99]

Is there a fan on the hood? Could it have stopped working and the ballasts are overheating.

 

[darb2]

I would check the electrical connections. Sometimes the salt will corrode the lamp or fixture contacts enough to be intermittent. Clean them up with some fine sandpaper.