Ballast resistors can just die or have an intermittent issue – depending on how they failed.
Many ballasts have a white concrete substance that holds the resistor in firmly in place. This style, the resistor wire will burn though and that’s it, its dead.
The open back style – you can see the resistor and it does have a chance to move a bit. That style if a wire burns through – or breaks, it can cause an intermittent on/off (or off/on).
Which either way it failed – they are not worth fixing (I have tried).
A volt gauge will help on diagnosing them. First you have to figure out which side is 12 (or 14) volts. The other side should be a constant voltage (I don’t remember what it is off hand, but thinking 9 volts off of the top of my head, maybe) when running.
If the voltage is not constant – then a bad resistor or problem in the wiring harness.
BudW
Many ballasts have a white concrete substance that holds the resistor in firmly in place. This style, the resistor wire will burn though and that’s it, its dead.
The open back style – you can see the resistor and it does have a chance to move a bit. That style if a wire burns through – or breaks, it can cause an intermittent on/off (or off/on).
Which either way it failed – they are not worth fixing (I have tried).
A volt gauge will help on diagnosing them. First you have to figure out which side is 12 (or 14) volts. The other side should be a constant voltage (I don’t remember what it is off hand, but thinking 9 volts off of the top of my head, maybe) when running.
If the voltage is not constant – then a bad resistor or problem in the wiring harness.
BudW
