Well these HX ballasts can be run without the cap so I don't think it would affect it
The CWA ballasts probably could fry because of a bad cap, but usually they loose farads and lamp is dim/ intermittently striking up, it happens a lot with shoeboxes unfortunately
I believe the single tap HPF ones don't need a cap but I'm not sure about the multitap ones as I tried running it without cap and it was acting up so I stuck a replacement cap in.
hmm strange. Joe MAurath thinks that the OV-15 TuDor that I'm buying from him has a bad capacitor. Afterall, it's HPS so it must have been removed because something went wrong with it. If it was a merc it would have been removed for an upgrade but he thinks the cap is bad because it won't start. It could be the igniter though. It's a (BIG) 50W HPS choke ballast with a capacitor. I haven't seen it in person but he sent me pics a while back and I guess I never uploaded them... I'll do that now...
The CWA ballasts probably could fry because of a bad cap, but usually they loose farads and lamp is dim/ intermittently striking up, it happens a lot with shoeboxes unfortunately
Yikes, I bet the smell would be unforgettable to be around when one of those burned up!