Odd, Is there a date somewhere on the light or the ballast?

Not that I could find.
Edit/Update: I tested the light and all the lamp did was flicker a bit and then glow blue Not to mention I can't get it out of the socket either

Yep,just like mine,it has Westinghouse labels on the inside and Crouse-Hinds on the bottom door.

I guess it has both brands because this was during the merger when Westinghouse and Crouse-Hinds merged together, you know how mergers work. Before the Merger it was Westinghouse, For a bit it was both Westinghouse and Crouse-Hinds. Then at last it was Crouse-Hinds.

Yeah I think so, now what do I call it, my "Westinghouse Ov-15" or my "Crouse-Hinds OV-15"

I call mine the Crouse Hinds OV 15 as it has the PC moved up and the front more rounded.

Update: I changed out the socket for another Westinghouse one I have and tested the light, all the lamp did was flicker "violently" and blacken the arc tube quite a bit

Hmm ballast problem?

I'm thinking its more likely the igniter, it was also pulsing and making noise.

It can be lamp.....and is the socket you put in Pulse Start rated? If the socket is NOT pulse start rated....there's a likely this kind of thing would happen!

Jace it was an identical Westinghouse socket to the one I took out, it came of of another HPS fixture, the lamp is brand new (less than an hour on it) and worked great in my Powerlite B2227, I'm pretty sure its the igniter.

Before assuming it's an ignitor.....a few other possibilities before going through trouble replacing the ignitor (it acutally doesn't sound like an ignitor issue from my experience and knowledge)


Try tightning the lamp (scratch off a bit on the contacts because it also sounds like a loose connection between the lamp and connection...sometimes with HPS...you have to twist the lamp back and forth to make a better connection...

Because the problem started when you switched sockets, it leads to the socket issue! Maybe backwards connection to the socket, or maybe socket is too dirty (that does happen when socket is dirty) Maybe faulty lamp...

I suggest try tighting the lamp, lift the center of the socket up higher, clean the socket, try another lamp before doing the ignitor replacement...

Like I already said the lamp is fine, and the socket worked fine when I used it for other lamps, I'll try what you said though.

Hmm if it's the socket I would clean it off with some contact cleaner and also do what Jace said about adjusting it.

Just don't forget it started happening when you moved the socket, so maybe a mis-wiring, or something....plus each ballast I've noticed have different characteristics....even MORE for HPS most of all......I have some lamps that was removed because it didn't work on a streetlight...stopped dead...but trying it on another fixture just fires it up...(seems common for Philips ALTO HPS lamps) Also my McGraw Unidor won't fire up 100 watt Sylvania lamps, but fires up most of the GE and SOME Philips lamps....

This is a complex thing.....HPS are complicated stuff LOL

Well Jace the lamp that was in it before was a 250 watt lamp (stuck in the old socket) and it did the same thing.

then there is a possiblity the ignitor is weakening.....try a 100 watt HPS lamp

And have it eat it another lamp, no thanks Jace

Hmm. Well, it can't hurt to replace the ignitor, so do that. If it doesn't work, it might be either a loose connection or a ballast issue. You said a 250w lamp was in the 150w fixture, so it may have been just too much for the ballast.

Yeah, I might try doing that.