Bowens 500 flash blown ??

Hi,

I was just getting going in a session. I did have the modelling light on full power but the flash on 3/10ths . One shot the flash was fine, the next the flash power was way down , i took another 2 or 3 shots hoping that the flash would return to full power and then the flash stopped firing completley. I noted the unit hot. The modelling light was fine. If i push the fire button on the side of the unit it turns of the modelling light as if firing the flash but nothing happens. Then theres the beep as if the unit has recylced , other times the unit does not behave as if the flash is firing. THere is a clicking noise coming from the point where the flash bulb inserts into the unit when i try to fire the unit.

Any ideas , or is the unit just screwed. I dont know whether to send the unit back to the shop for repair or get another flash bulb. There is no visible damage to the flash bulb.

This is the first time something has happened the flash system that i have. It could be just the flash tube has fired. When a flash tube " goes " is there anything visible on it ?

Maybe the flash tube needs replacing (not unusual after lots of use). Does it look darkish? I've never seen a blown flashtube, so can't really tell you what to look for!

The unit has probably 500 exposures maximum and doesnt seem visibly different. I have a feeling its only the tube now , but im not so impressed that its gone so quickly.

freefallu wrote in post #2244198
This is the first time something has happened the flash system that i have. It could be just the flash tube has fired. When a flash tube " goes " is there anything visible on it ?

If a flash tube goes bad from wear, it starts to look dark, especially around the terminals. But it takes hundreds of thousands of flashes cycles to get to that point.

But, I have seen flash tubes that look nearly perfect that are bad.

So, it may be the tube, but I suspect that since it it so new that a visual inspection will not be of any real help. Certainly 500 or even 5,000, and possibly not even 50,000 flash cycles would not wear out the tube.

Enjoy! Lon

Well things get stranger. With another unit , i am starting to see something that i had mentally brushed aside before. When i touch the pole that the flash is mounted on ( e.g. the stem of the tripod ) the flash fires. Its almost like there is something static building up on the metal surrounding the flash unit and me touching it triggers it.

Im sort of worried theres something about the electrics in the place i am in. Spanish electrical systems dont come with earths by nature whilst the bowens unit has three terminals on the end of its plug. Basically there is no earth on my studio system and i think this may be contributing to the randon discharges and therefore potentially somehting going wrong inside the unit , maybe the flash tube is fine... I dont really want to start undoing trigger wires on a good flash to test the theory. Ill bring the unit to the shop and see what the engineers say.. Moral of the story is though when i found a plug in another room with an earth the random discharges stopped. Make sure your unit is earthed

freefallu wrote in post #2247153
Make sure your unit is earthed

Good advice.

For Americans, the "earthed" term translates to "grounded".

i have been unable to replicate the situation where the flash fired by touching the tripod so far... this is with the unit plugged into the earthed socket.