Question about changing MH ballast

[mike31154]

Is your MH ballast electronic or good old magnetic coil & capacitor? If it's older type magnetic, the capacitor will generally be the weak link & age as time goes by. Pretty easy to tell usually, since your lamp won't fire or takes longer than usual. In most cases the capacitor itself is easily replaced & ballast good as new again. Coil or transformer is pretty bullet proof. New electronic MH ballasts are sealed units & not repairable. They will simply die at some point & the whole thing is trash.