Home Products Dealers Support Events Subscribe Search About

 

 

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
This section was created to help diagnose possible causes of equipment failure, and may be useful to read before sending equipment in for service. Technical repairs should only be done by qualified personnel. If you have any questions regarding a Frezzi repair, please call (973) 427-1160 between the hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm EST.

Troubleshooting Mini-Arc HMI Lamps
Troubleshooting Mini-Fill and Micro-Fill Lamps
Troubleshooting Plug-In Wall-Mount Trickle Chargers

Troubleshooting Frezzi Mini-Arc HMI Lamps:

Warning: Always test and/or use lamp with front cap assembly in place in order to prevent serious injury.
Warning:
High voltage present at lamp socket- do not attempt to measure unless using appropriate test equipment.

Mini-Arc HMI lamps with early style ballasts have LED indicator (normally red) which goes on when lamp is misfiring (fault indicator)

Mini-Arc HMI lamps with later style ballasts have LED indicator (normally blue) which goes on when lamp is on (power on indicator)

Lamp does not light at all, power indicator does not come on -

Check:

1. that DC power connector is inserted correctly -

a. if equipped with Power Tap connector, check capacitor filter inside

connector housing for short circuit, if connector had been inserted incorrectly (with polarity reversed)

Polarity for lamps with XLR power connectors:

XLR-4: pin 4(+), pin 1(-)

                    XLR-5: pin 3(+), pin 1(-)

Lamp ignites, brightens, then dies out-

Check the following:

1. Power source is working and rated to provide adequate power to lamp

a. Batteries are fully charged and have good capacity

b. Sony SX and DVCAM cameras w/ Power Tap receptacle have an internal regulator which limits power output at lamp connector to 30 or 50 watts depending on model (Frezzi 18 watt HMI version lamp recommended for use with these types of cameras.)

2. bulb may be failing - check that a known good bulb will work in lamp.

3. ballast may need repair or replacement

Lamp ignitor audibly buzzes, lamp does not light-

1. certain dry conditions may require supplying small amount of humidity to bulb, to allow bulb to ‘start’. With front cap and bulb in place, try directing small amount of humidity from breath through vent in front cap to bulb. Back away from lamp, then apply power.

2. bulb may be improperly seated or damaged

3. HV may be arcing to bulb socket springs or other adjacent metal surface inside lamp

4. internal HV wire(s)or insulating materials may be damaged or broken

5. bulb socket may be damaged

Some general operating guidelines for Mini-Arc HMI lamps:

1. Once lamp is shut off, lamp should be allowed to remain off for at least 30 seconds before restriking (applying power)

2. Lamp should be allowed to run for 2-3 minutes before shutting off-

Failure to operate the lamp within these parameters may result in damage to the bulb.

 

Troubleshooting Frezzi Mini-Fill and Micro-Fill Lamps:

This section was created to help diagnose possible causes of equipment failure, and may be useful to read before sending equipment in for service. Technical repairs should only be done by qualified personnel.

Warning: Always test or use lamp with front cap assembly in place (except for step 4 below) in order to avoid serious injury.

Lamp does not light at all-

(for dimmer control lamps)

Check the following:

1. DC power connector is inserted correctly

a. if equipped with Power Tap connector, check capacitor filter inside

connector housing for short circuit due to DC power polarity reversal

(for dimmer and on-off lamps)

1. Power source is working and rated to provide adequate power to lamp

a. Sony SX and DVCAM cameras w/ Power Tap receptacle have an internal regulator which limits power output at lamp connector to 30 or 50 watts depending on model (Frezzi PTS version lamp recommended for use with these types of cameras.)

2. Batteries are fully charged and have good capacity

3. a known good bulb will work in lamp.

4. voltage at lamp socket (remove bulb for test, set power switch to ‘on’ position)

a. on/off switched lamps should equal power source voltage

b. dimmer control lamps should be within 0.6 V of power source voltage depending on dimmer control setting.

Bulb lights when lamp is switched on, but then stays at constant brightness or starts to dim as Dimmer Control is turned up before reaching max. setting - power source may not be adequate to supply full amount of power to lamp-

1. check that power source is rated to provide adequate power to lamp

2. check that batteries are fully charged and have good capacity

3. try using a lower wattage bulb instead

 

Troubleshooting Frezzi plug-in wall-mount Trickle Chargers:

This section was created to help diagnose possible causes of equipment failure, and may be useful to read before sending equipment in for service. Technical repairs should only be done by qualified personnel.

Charging time- all models- NiCd batteries up to 72 WH should fully charge within 14 hours. Allow up to 23 hours for 130 WH NiMh batteries to fully charge. (@ 450ma charge rate)

chargers with indicator lamp- charge indicator lamp should come on when charger is connected to AC power and battery. Lamp normally will not go off at full charge.

Trickle charger failure diagnosis:

1. Check battery voltage with voltmeter- certain types of trickle chargers may not be able to recharge a dead or near-dead battery, and in some cases may be damaged if used this way. Frezzi brick-type batteries- check internal user- replaceable fuse, spare fuse is also included inside battery. Return battery for service if battery will not work after replacing fuse.

Over-discharged batteries may need to be ‘rescued’ by connecting to an automatic type charger (such as our ‘M’ series of chargers). Batteries that cannot be ‘rescued’ have reached the end of life and should be recycled- contact Frezzi for more information about our trade-in allowance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 


Frezzolini Electronics Inc.
7 Valley Street Hawthorne, NJ 07506
USA
(973) 427-1160