IB700 current

Are you sure the ballast is tapped at the right voltage?
It sounds like you may be tapped at 240v, instead of 208?

Otherwise, is there any chance this is a Intellibeam 400? not a 700?

There is no 208 tap in an Intellabeam . . . . 100, 120, and 230 are all she wrote . . .
Not sure how big the effect were if it were set to the wrong freq. though . . .

- Tim

Thanks for your replies, the wires are in the correct spots: 230V, 50HZ

If someone in the past did connect the ballast wires wrong - ie mixed the 50/60Hz taps - could that be a cause? Is there a way to measure the ballast - or is there any danger if I set it to 60Hz for testing?

I've never seen a IB400, but I could imagine the differences would be quite obvious?

The ballast wiring is documented - you can check to see if it is wrong. The connectors to the ballast, lamp, etc. are a weak point in the IB, so it's not unlikely that they may have been changed at some point, introducing the possibility of an error. No real danger if on the wrong tap and "close" . . . . typically either a dim lamp, or lose strike due to overheating of the lamp over time . . . Short term test, no real issues.

- Tim

Thanks again for your advise, I did check the ballast wires last week and they are in correct places.
I measured the lamp voltage and it is around 75V AC both directly on the lamp as well as on the power PCB - what seems fine with the MSR700 being listed with 72V.
Don't have another idea...

Stupid question, perhaps, but have you optimized the lamp? IE, aligned it with the reflector with the adjustment screws on the bottom of the IB? If the lamp is out of position, dim is a definite possibility . . . Also verify that all lenses/optics/heat shield glass are intact, dimmer is full open, etc.

- Tim

I don't think it's an optical problem. Mainly because measuring the mains power draw is quite different.

How about the power factor cap? I had one here recently that was getting a bit brown, and then started blowing fuses . . . granted, the opposite of what you have, but caps can fail in two ways . . . and changed the PF cap, and I can't say that I ever recall the fixture as having output as nice as it does now. Since you have other fixtures, try swapping the cap between two and see if anything changes . . . it's easy, and won't cost you anything to try. There are also two SCRs switching the cap, so be sure those are good as well (or just swap a power board between two fixtures while you are testing.) If it's not the PF cap or power board, or lamp, well, not much left other than the ballast or igniter, and I can't say that I have heard of an igniter giving intensity problems . . .

- Tim