Metal halide lights trip GFCI all of a sudden

Marc
Check the GFCI it is the most likely problem theis switches are known to go
bad. I had one go bad two weeks after installling.
Tink.
"MAG" wrote in message
.net...
Hi folks-

I've got an established tank with (among other things) a pair of metal
halide lights in a Hamilton hood. Nothing has changed with the setup in
more than 5 years.

Everything electrical for the tank is on a GFCI (ground fault circuit
interrupter) circuit. The metal halide lights are on a timer (a hard-
wired one, not one of those little plug-in jobs) on this circuit.

All of a sudden, about a week and a half ago, when the lights turn on,
it immediately pops the GFCI and I need to reset it. This has happened 3
times now over the last 10 days. It's a real problem because I travel,
and losing power to the filter isn't a good thing.

Given that I haven't changed anything in years, what could be causing
this all of a sudden?

Some theories:

1. The MH bulbs (a couple years old) are aging and perhaps for some
reason one of them is causing a ground fault when it's dead cold?

2. Maybe the timer itself is getting defective and causing the fault
when it clicks over?

3. Problem with the MH transformer? This is my less-likely theory at the
moment.

Not only is this an annoyance, I'm about to put the house on the market
and I need to resolve this quickly! Time is flying.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Marc