Modern electronic ballasts won’t have starters, mine did as it was ancient 👍
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Help needed retrofitting LED to Fluval Roma 240L
- Thread starter Superfly
- Start date
I don't know if anyone can help. I used a dremel to cut open the lamp holder and all seemed to go well. I removed the electronic ballast, ditched that, and re wired the lighting unit to AC mains but it did not work at all.
The LED lights do have a sticker to indicate ac mains at one end but if that means the positive and negative are at one end, these LED tubes can't be used in this fitment. Going back to the makers downloads, I cannot see anything to suggest they are single ended tubes so if I made a mistake in buying them, I don't even know what to look out for so I don't repeat the mistake... any help appreciated.
The LED lights do have a sticker to indicate ac mains at one end but if that means the positive and negative are at one end, these LED tubes can't be used in this fitment. Going back to the makers downloads, I cannot see anything to suggest they are single ended tubes so if I made a mistake in buying them, I don't even know what to look out for so I don't repeat the mistake... any help appreciated.
Swapping T5 to LED
I've noticed the beginnings of light reduction from my latest T5 bulbs (Although it may have been my perspex being dirty...) and so I want to start looking at switching to LED lights. Last time I looked at this I got thoroughly confused and it inspired my username. The current set up is an...
www.ukaps.org
Hope it helps
Sorry, why can't you rewire it? There is only 2 wires from the AC side going to the one end pins
Now the ends ( playfully called tombstones) COULD BE shunted which would be a major issue.
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Which means the 2 pins on one side are wired together.. You would need to replace the tombstone.
Tubes are not my forte and I don't have a diagram of your old wiring Soo keep that in mind.
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Yes, as far as I can see there is a metal clip at each end providing the contacts with a "click" (they aren't designed to turn 90 degrees). And that will act as a shunt.
With regard to the link to some wiring diagrams, what I have is LED tubes which say they will work with a magnetic ballast plus the supplied starter, but are not designed to work with Electronic ballasts (which is what I've removed), and this is where the issue I mentioned about the shunt comes in.
Ok
Without wishing to sound rude or akward, you need to ascertain whether or not these tubes are “single ended” or require a shunt (double ended)
Not ever had to do this myself, I went from dimmable ballast t5 to fluval 3.0
If you have a meter, you could check the end not indicated to be for ac connection
If it’s zero ohms its shunted, make sure you are using a decent meter😉
Without wishing to sound rude or akward, you need to ascertain whether or not these tubes are “single ended” or require a shunt (double ended)
Not ever had to do this myself, I went from dimmable ballast t5 to fluval 3.0
If you have a meter, you could check the end not indicated to be for ac connection
If it’s zero ohms its shunted, make sure you are using a decent meter😉
No, it means zero ohms
The original wiring is not in doubt, it's the Type A electronic ballast.
The paperwork states these tubes don't work or retrofit an electronic ballast.
I didn't know until cut open what type of ballast I have.
I believe the fitment itself is shunted at each end but will confirm later with a meter as requested.
Hi fredi. Here is a picture of the end of the tube saying "AC Input" and pointing to that end. When measured with the meter, it ticks up for a split second and ends at zero ohms.
The other end there is a constant resistance of 14 ohms.
Surprisingly, I was wrong about the fitment itself and the two "holes" at each end aren't connected in the fitment, but there is no way to get into these "tombstones" and alter what is just one wire coming out of them.
Todays about the last day I can open a return for these tubes.
I appreciate your help
Attachments
By tombstones, are you referring to the fittings into which the pins on the tube fit
1. If you have 14ohm, it’s not a shunt
2. The change in resistance with time, across the pins indicated to be ac connection, is normal 👍
If you have connected a non electronic ballast ( a non electronic, “choke type” ballast will have originally had a “plug in” starter, electronic ballasts do not require a separate starter) to the pins indicated to be ac connection, and the led tube does not light, then imho if you do not have any connection instructions from the supplier, you should return it as faulty
You are dealing with mains electricity, the litigious world in which we live makes it very difficult to help further
Where abouts do you live
Edited to say, just seen you are in Hampshire, I am in kent, so not really practical to have a look, sorry
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OK, well I don't have that kind of money but following your message above, I bought a multilux light holder with LED tubes plus 2 spare LED tubes second-hand. Should be here in the week.
It's a shame I couldn't get my set up going by converting the existing light holder. If there had been more of a range of LED tubes available in the right sizes
and not at the online price of £49 a tube, and with AC at both ends of the tube and not just one ended, then I had the wiring sorted.
It is excruciating that a world class corporation can produce tubes with so much GUMPH on recycling the tubes and all their specs and data, plus state they can be used in two different configurations
including AC only (no ballast) but then fail to tell you how this is wired and fail to put a wiring diagram or any details at the point of sale to say so.
Thank you to all the others who helped also.
It's a shame I couldn't get my set up going by converting the existing light holder. If there had been more of a range of LED tubes available in the right sizes
and not at the online price of £49 a tube, and with AC at both ends of the tube and not just one ended, then I had the wiring sorted.
It is excruciating that a world class corporation can produce tubes with so much GUMPH on recycling the tubes and all their specs and data, plus state they can be used in two different configurations
including AC only (no ballast) but then fail to tell you how this is wired and fail to put a wiring diagram or any details at the point of sale to say so.
Thank you to all the others who helped also.
If it’s a regular fluorescent tube connector, as was in my old jewel, they come apart, it’s possible to rewire them using single strand wire, they need to be wired according to the diagram on the ballast, which obviously has to be suitable for the job in hand (led tubes)
I cut my Juwel lighting unit open after it stopped working. Reason was it had water in it after previous owner had left one end in water.
I got it open, got it dried out and it worked again. However I was never able to 100% reseal it again, as the original units are plastic welded shut. Best I got was melting the plastic with a soldering iron, with short lengths of wire embedded holding the parts together. Hot glue, especially high temp "borrowed from work" worked reasonably well, but eventually came away. Silicone didn't work too well the silicone didn't bond to the plastic.
I got it open, got it dried out and it worked again. However I was never able to 100% reseal it again, as the original units are plastic welded shut. Best I got was melting the plastic with a soldering iron, with short lengths of wire embedded holding the parts together. Hot glue, especially high temp "borrowed from work" worked reasonably well, but eventually came away. Silicone didn't work too well the silicone didn't bond to the plastic.
