TRON lights not working

[Nebulon]

One of the three fluorescent lights in my 1982 full-size upright TRON cab was giving me trouble. So I took it to an electrician. He removed the ballast and starter and put on a modern combination ballast and starter.

 

Now when I power on the arcade machine, the fluorescent lights work for a bit and then the 1.5A fuse blows.

 

Any thoughts on why this is? Is it possible that the newer style of ballast spikes so high that it takes out the fuse?

 

Is it dangerous to put in a larger fuse? As far as I know, the fluorescent lighting runs separately from the rest of the machine. I.e. even if the fluorescent lighting circuit is not on, the monitor, logic boards, and coin door lights still work.

 

The last thing I noticed is that there's a plugin (like a conventional wall outlet) on the floor of the cabinet. Worse case scenario, could I just bypass the problem light and connect the wires together to close the circuit and then plug a separate light into the plugin and use that? Heck, I'm not even sure why there's a grounded wall-type socket (receptacle) inside the machine in the first place....

 

?

 

[chas10e]

the parts breakdown calls for "slow blow" fuses

 

page 5-1 http://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/T/Tron.pdf

 

are you using "fast acting" fuses instead ?

 

I guess the old lamp starter acts as a current limiter as well http://home.howstuffworks.com/question337.htm

 

a bit about "inrush current" http://europe.lutron.com/product_technical/pdf/362-649.pdf

 

Home depot still has the old pre-heat ballasts

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Magnetic-Metal-Pre-Heat-Fluorescent-Ballast-GEM120PH120DIY/203959172

[Nebulon]

Thanks very much for the info.

 

The fuse 'appears' to be a slow-blow fuse. However, I'm going to pick up a couple more from the store, just in case.

 

The newer electronic ballast really seems to be temperamental (and the sockets for the lamp are not so great). It seems like the loose sockets might be creating a possible short. So it's likely that either the electronic ballast's behavior or the touchy fixture ends are giving the arcade machine grief.

 

I'm intrigued by the LED alternatives. Looks like I'm stuck with fluorescents for the black lights. However, the LEDs might be a good solution for the regular fluorescents.

 

I found a listing for an LED lamp that fits the same fixture. From what I can tell, they say to bypass the ballast and starter since they're not required for LEDs. That might be a possibility too (assuming fluorescents and LEDs will get along in the same system).