So I’ve got an 8 bulb 48” TEK Systems fixture running ATI bulbs over my frag tank. There are 2 power cords that power 2 ballasts – 1 powers the outer 4 bulbs and 1 powers the inner 4 bulbs. A month ago, 2 of the bulbs wouldn’t fire on the outside. The bulbs were good, so I took apart and checked all the connections and wiring – no fix there. So I replaced the 1 ballast with a brand new identical model (Universal) tied to those bulbs. I swapped 1 wire at a time to ensure everything was done exact to factory spec. All the bulbs fire and run now. However, now the outer bulbs are tripping the GFI outlet. The weird part is that it trips it hours after they have been running – not when I plug it in or while they are ramping up (1-3 hours after they have been running). I’m running them through my apex, so I can see what is switching on & off when the GFI trips and nothing else is powering on/off around when the trip occurs. Completely isolated trip.
Did some searching online and I’ve seen a lot of info stating that the GFI outlets might be too sensitive OR the wiring might be “off” … exactly my 2 speculations. No issue if the GFI outlet is too sensitive – I can override that, but if it is wiring – I’d want to address that, but it looks all fine to me. I even broke it apart again and triple checked all the connections – still trips after 1-3 hours. I’m certainly mechanically inclined, but I’m no electrician. Would it be safe to say that my problem is outlet sensitivity since the trip only occurs after hours of operation or is that a dangerous line of thought? My simple mind keeps telling me wiring issues would show up immediately or very soon after firing the bulbs. Thoughts?
Did some searching online and I’ve seen a lot of info stating that the GFI outlets might be too sensitive OR the wiring might be “off” … exactly my 2 speculations. No issue if the GFI outlet is too sensitive – I can override that, but if it is wiring – I’d want to address that, but it looks all fine to me. I even broke it apart again and triple checked all the connections – still trips after 1-3 hours. I’m certainly mechanically inclined, but I’m no electrician. Would it be safe to say that my problem is outlet sensitivity since the trip only occurs after hours of operation or is that a dangerous line of thought? My simple mind keeps telling me wiring issues would show up immediately or very soon after firing the bulbs. Thoughts?
