k2 viper 150 watt metal halide problem

[HPballer76]

i picked up a new tank the other day and it came with this 150 watt k2 viper metal halide. the previous owner said she wasn't sure what was wrong with it but that it started smoking so she unplugged it and let it sit. i pulled it apart today and it had a melted wire which i think may be a ground wire not sure. here are a couple pics.

is this fixable? if so what should i do to fix it? i have some experience with car wiring but have never messed with a light. i think i could replace the wire pretty easily but not sure if that would fix the problem. what do you guys think?

thanks for any help.

 

[ccCapt]

I'm not an electrician, but if the ground wire melted, it must be making contact with the "hot" wire somewhere in the fixture. There should only be 3 wires coming from the ballast (hot, neutral and ground) so you can probably rewire the whole thing. The ballast can also be bad causing the short. The safest bet is probably replace the ballast and rewire the whole thing.

 

[HPballer76]

hmm i may rewire the whole thing then. i don't think it is worth it to get a new ballast. i just wanted to fix this so i can sell it to get some of the money back i spent on the tank that it came with. i'm planning to do an led panel instead of this.

 

[cale]

Grounding

I'm not an electrician, but if the ground wire melted, it must be making contact with the "hot" wire somewhere in the fixture. There should only be 3 wires coming from the ballast (hot, neutral and ground) so you can probably rewire the whole thing. The ballast can also be bad causing the short. The safest bet is probably replace the ballast and rewire the whole thing.

I Second changing the ballast. Usually the only thing to go wrong with ballast fixtures is the ballast and the bulbs. Also the ballast should come with all the wire you need for the lamp.
But you could also try cutting your wires as if you are going to replace just them. Plug it in and check your current flow. If it works it works. Careful to not conduct the current with yourself.

 

[HPballer76]

is there anyway i can test the ballast to see if its good before i do anything?