Are there any precautions that should be taken when measuring Open Circuit Voltage (OCV)?
Any fixture that includes a ballast with an ignitor will have high voltage pulses at the lamp socket, when power is applied to the ballast and the lamp is not operating, that can damage a voltmeter used to measure OCV. The ignitor should be disabled or the meter protected by a high voltage capacitor (approximately .0027 uF, 2,000 V) across the input. Metering could also be connected after the lamps starts (at which time the ignitor shuts off). Troubleshooting: What do I need to know about measuring Open Circuit Voltage? To determine if the ballast is supplying proper starting voltage to the lamp, an open circuit voltage test is required. The proper test procedure is as follows: Measure input voltage (V1) to verify rated input voltage is being applied to the ballast. If the ballast has an ignitor (HPS, low wattage MH (35 –150W) or pulse start), the ignitor must be disconnected or disabled with a capacitor (1000 pF or larger) across the voltmeter input to protect the meter from the high
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