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My TxDOT Cooper OVW (OV-25 FCO) Lit! Okay.. So I had to do some re-wiring... The ballast isn't exactly a multi tap ballast so re wiring this thing wasn't a simple task, and the instructions on to how to wire it for 240 volts instead of 480 wasn't exactly straight up.. But I wired it based on the instructions and to how things were wired in there already. It said "For alternative voltage, make a jumper from 3 to 4, and 2 to 1. Use starter aid brown wire. Disconnect yellow wire" And that is all the information for how to convert it. So... I did that, but the instructions weren't all clear. But... The original wiring, there was one wire going from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. And there was a connector in between, Two separate wires with spade connectors and male male connector inside, (I can't explain this well...) So because of that, I took the male to male spade connector out and then just connected the two free wires where they needed, the side the was connected to 3 I put it onto the terminal 4, and there was an extra unused male spade connector that I could easily slip the extra wire to it. And then the same for the other, I took the other wire that was connected from 2 to the male to male connector, and then connected it to 4, which also had an extra male spade connector. Now onto the brown wire, It said "use the start aid brown wire and disconnect yellow wire". Even though it doesn't say explicitly anything about capping the yellow wire and then connecting the brown wire, which was capped before and connected to nothing, to the wire that the yellow wire was previously connected to, it implied that, so that is what I did. (serious grammar fail there... But I think you can understand what I am saying) Then I had to figure out how to wire it up to a 240 volt outlet, which had 4 connectors to it. So I looked a couple things up, 240 volt circuits don't use a neutral, so I just connected the red wire to L1 and then the black wire to L2, and then the white and green wires to the ground (and the housing) and then closed it up and then plugged it in, and then what do you know, Success! I was happy that I got this working, sure enough shows that I can understand electricity and how circuits work, and also this gave me a better understanding to how 240 volt circuits work in general. Keywords: American_Streetlights

My TxDOT Cooper OVW (OV-25 FCO) Lit!

Okay.. So I had to do some re-wiring... The ballast isn't exactly a multi tap ballast so re wiring this thing wasn't a simple task, and the instructions on to how to wire it for 240 volts instead of 480 wasn't exactly straight up.. But I wired it based on the instructions and to how things were wired in there already. It said "For alternative voltage, make a jumper from 3 to 4, and 2 to 1. Use starter aid brown wire. Disconnect yellow wire" And that is all the information for how to convert it. So... I did that, but the instructions weren't all clear. But... The original wiring, there was one wire going from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. And there was a connector in between, Two separate wires with spade connectors and male male connector inside, (I can't explain this well...) So because of that, I took the male to male spade connector out and then just connected the two free wires where they needed, the side the was connected to 3 I put it onto the terminal 4, and there was an extra unused male spade connector that I could easily slip the extra wire to it. And then the same for the other, I took the other wire that was connected from 2 to the male to male connector, and then connected it to 4, which also had an extra male spade connector.

Now onto the brown wire, It said "use the start aid brown wire and disconnect yellow wire". Even though it doesn't say explicitly anything about capping the yellow wire and then connecting the brown wire, which was capped before and connected to nothing, to the wire that the yellow wire was previously connected to, it implied that, so that is what I did.
(serious grammar fail there... But I think you can understand what I am saying)

Then I had to figure out how to wire it up to a 240 volt outlet, which had 4 connectors to it. So I looked a couple things up, 240 volt circuits don't use a neutral, so I just connected the red wire to L1 and then the black wire to L2, and then the white and green wires to the ground (and the housing) and then closed it up and then plugged it in, and then what do you know, Success! I was happy that I got this working, sure enough shows that I can understand electricity and how circuits work, and also this gave me a better understanding to how 240 volt circuits work in general.

IMG_7603a1.JPG 100_6401.jpg 100_6396.jpg 00i0i_8gOZOQmSC7K_1200x900.jpg 100_6345.jpg
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Filename:100_6396.jpg
Album name:Lil'Cinnamon / My Lights
Keywords:American_Streetlights
Filesize:364 KiB
Date added:Jul 31, 2017
Dimensions:3000 x 2794 pixels
Displayed:240 times
URL:http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=22092
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Comment 1 to 18 of 18
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Antstar85   [Jul 31, 2017 at 11:41 PM]
Looks good Ian!

A little electrical knowledge for you, 240 volt circuits can use a neutral. All new construction dryer and range receptacles are 240 volt 4 wire. You have your two hots, a neutral and a ground. Also, your service from the street is 240 volt with a neutral.
LilCinnamon   [Aug 01, 2017 at 12:14 AM]
Does this light use a neutral though? Doesn't look like it does by how it worked, Even on 480 volts? Also.. If I were to plug in two separate cords in two separate outlets on two totally different ciruits (like using the outlet nearest you and then an outlet like across the house) work as 240 volts? Like one is used as a red wire and the other is used as a black wire?
Antstar85   [Aug 01, 2017 at 01:04 AM]
This particular setup does not but if it had a photocell receptacle, it possibly could so you can run a 120 volt photocell on it. 480 volts would be the same way. There are 480 volt circuits that do use a neutral. It all depends on the equipment being used. You could theoretically use two 120 volt outlets from different circuits as long as each circuit is on the opposite phase of your service.
LilCinnamon   [Aug 01, 2017 at 01:42 AM]
It has a photocell receptacle, it came with one. I used the shorting cap that came with the light to light it up. And yeah. I would have to figure out where the opposite phases are though.

Also, any word on the M-400 you wanted to send me?
streetlight98   [Aug 01, 2017 at 02:13 AM]
Nice! Sounds complicated like the 120/240V GE ballasts. It's probably cheaper to make the ballast that way and have the customer do a little head-scratching than it is to make it all nice with different taps on the ballast. Just FYI though, when the neutral is not used it's good practice to cap it off, not connect it to ground/the fixture. With the dryer outlet it doesn't really matter since the ground wire goes right back to the main panel and gets grounded, but the neutral should never be grounded (or more importantly used as the only means of grounding) outside of the main panel because the grounded body becomes a return path for current on a 120V circuit.
LilCinnamon   [Aug 05, 2017 at 12:31 AM]
What I question, is if I had a 3 wire dryer outlet, how would I wire it then? Does the neutral just not connect to anything or what? The other question is.. Would I be able to make my own 240 volt outlet to where I have two extension cords plugging in to two separate outlets that are on two separate poles, like one of the outlets in my room and then another outlet across the house on a circuit breaker that is on the opposite leg that my room is on, would that be able to work as a 240v circuit if I were to wire it correctly? I would just have to make sure I got the right legs cause plugging two cords in two separate outlets in either my room or on the same leg won't do anything, I know that for sure.
streetlight98   [Aug 05, 2017 at 02:35 PM]
A three wire works the same way except there is no ground. You can connect the neutral to the housing in that case. 3-wire dryer outlets are not code compliant anymore for that reason.

Yep Tony already said you could do that in his second comment. You just need to make sure they're opposite legs in the panel.
Antstar85   [Aug 06, 2017 at 12:35 PM]
The only place where your neutral and ground should connect are at the main panel. Any sub panel must have the grounds and neutral separated. Grounding is one of the biggest topics in the NEC. I also don't recommend trying to use two different ckts from your house just for safety reasons.

Also with the M-400, I haven't gotten around to getting a cost for shipping. I'm on Vacation in a few weeks and should have time then to get a coat for you.
LilCinnamon   [Aug 07, 2017 at 02:36 AM]
Would there be a way to get a step up transformer to convert it to 240 volts from 120? If that is even possible? Would that work?
Form109   [Aug 18, 2017 at 02:29 AM]
I would Definetly say its possible. I once found a Large Blue Step-Up/Step-Down Transformer at a Flea Market. have no idea what its Original purpose was for but it was 120 Volts on One side and 240 on the other side. it has Two Two-Prong receptacles on the transformer body.
streetlight98   [Aug 19, 2017 at 05:03 PM]
All those 120-240V transformers do is take 120V from both sides of the panel. It's not a transformer at all, merely just a common circuit breaker/fuse. You plug one cord into an outlet on side A of your house panel and the other cord into side B and you get your 240V. The box contains circuit protection since if you just connect two cords directly to the load you could overload one circuit and not the other (let's say if one is 20A and one is 15A, or both the same amperage but one has more stuff plugged into it) which creates a dangerous situation. The box makes the two lines into "one" circuit again with a common protection. Not sure how advanced it is though since they go for good money.
Form109   [Aug 20, 2017 at 10:21 AM]
That didn't make sense how is a transformer not really a transformer?
streetlight98   [Aug 20, 2017 at 01:47 PM]
Because it's not a transformer! It has two power cords and that's how you get the 240V. The "box" doesn't step anything up. If you take a 120V outlet wired to the left side of the panel and take another outlet on the right side of your breaker panel and connect a load across the two hots you get 240V. That's how real 240V loads in your house like the dryer, stove, etc. are wired. All the box does is serve as a common fuse point.

In your breaker panel, the two hot legs are 180 degrees out of phase. When you connect a load across both of those hot legs you add the voltages together (120V + 120V = 240V). When you try to connect a load across two hot wires on the same side of the panel (thus the same phase) you get zero volts because there is no potential difference between the two wires. So when you use the two plugs on the so-called "transformer" you need to make sure the plugs are on different circuits on opposite sides of the panel.

With three phase it's a little more complicated than basic addition. Because there are three phases 120 degrees apart, You multiply or divide by the square root of three instead of multiplying or dividing by two. For example, 208V / sqrt 3 = 120V. That's how you get 120V with a 208V line and a neutral. And that's how you get 277/480V power. 277V is one phase-to-ground of 480V 3ph. And 347V is one phase-to-ground of 600V (Canadian voltages). You don't need a transformer in any of these situations. It's just how electricity works.
Form109   [Aug 21, 2017 at 12:04 AM]
OK well if (Hot + Neutral) = 120 Volts.....and (Hot + Hot) = 240 Volts. Then how do you Explain 120 Going into the imput & 240 Coming out of the Output if the 120 Volt Circuit doesn't have Two Hots? in any case i Opened up this "Box" and your telling me it's not a Transformer?? cause it sure looks like one. Core. Windings & all Smile
streetlight98   [Aug 22, 2017 at 10:50 PM]
You said it had two 2-prong receptacles and I read that as two 2-prong cords. My bad. That's how those ones with two input cords work though. What you have is a real-deal one with an autotransformer, which is the same thing as an HX ballast for a MV lamp. The primary winding is half the size of the secondary winding Double the windings, double the voltage.
Form109   [Aug 25, 2017 at 02:14 AM]
well Had is more like it...i haven't had that thing in some years. i got it at a flea market i used to go to all the time back when i was living in my hometown. they knew my grandpa and i was a frequent customer there so i got some pretty good steals over the years there. Cool

i remember once i connected the 240 Volt side to a 70 Watt HPS ballast and a Microwave Oven Transformer's primary winding with nothing connected to the Secondary. Ran a 175 Watt MV on it. Surprised
lightingfan8902   [Jan 11, 2018 at 09:23 PM]
Nice, I like it!!! Very Happy
xmaslightguy   [May 21, 2018 at 01:26 AM]
Quote: Would there be a way to get a step up transformer to convert it to 240 volts from 120? If that is even possible?
That's the way I run the 240v UK fluorescents I have. Smile

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