Lamp not igniting

[cody84]

Hi, I am using galaxie software on a Varian HPLC with a PDA. Our methods are set up to turn the lamp off after a sequence. If I want to turn the lamp back on after a run it won't and says "LMP_CC_D2_LAMP_DIDNOTSTRIKE". I can try closing the software and then opening, starting and stopping the connection, restarting computer and also restarting the detector module. This is very frustrating and it happens every time the lamp is turned off by a method or manually in the instrument control part of galaxie. The only thing that seems to work is restarting everything and then waiting for at least 15 mins before starting up.
(Just so you know, I turned the lamp off yesterday and came in today and it will not strike...so it's not an overheating thing or anything)
Does anyone know how to fix this or what is going on?

[skunked_once]

How old is your lamp? How many hours of use? In my experience with other brands of HPLC detectors, one sign of the end of lamp lifetime is failure to light.

[cody84]

It's actually new as of Feb.

[JGK]

It's actually new as of Feb.

Assuming you mean Feb 1 running 24/7 will put it over 3000 hours use. Say your usage is 16 hours/day 5 days/week that would be ~1500 hours.

Lifetimes of PDA lamps are generally < standard UV detector lamps which are normally guaranteed for 2000 hours.

Chances are you need to relace the lamp.

[unmgvar]

have you called a technician?

if the lamp does goes on after you have disconnected everything and waited for a few minutes then the problem is most probably not the lamp but the detector itself.

there was something similar for dionex instruments for a while.
it was a faulty batch of mother boards design and firmware update.

they were serious about it and recalled all the bad parts and replaced them.

your case looks very similar.
I would start by a firmware update if there is one to do,
if it is a new instrument then remember you have the warranty. use it
your vendor will probably say to try and change the lamp, agree to it but i would not pay for it.
since it is a new instrument you probably did not use it up to 1500-2000 hours already since you turn off the lamp.
look at the dates of your certificates of QC of the module, see how long has passed until you got it, this is the amount of time the lamp has been sitting doing nothing and getting old in the module until you started using it.

[Victor]

I remember having this problem with an old Thermo Separation products detector. The lamp would not strike when it was hot, but this had apparently nothing to do with the age of the lamp and there were no other problems.

The obvious question is-why do you turn the lamp off at the end of the run? How long is it before you want to do another run? Are you trying to save the lamp by turning it off? I am not at all a detector engineer, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the break even point when balancing saving lamp use against reducing lamp lifetime by turning it on and off was several hours. So I only turn the lamp off when I do not intend to use the detector fo a long time-eg overnight, but otherwise leave it on all the time.

[cody84]

The HPLC is over 5 years old. The lamp is NEW it was put in during preventative maintenance in February. The previous lamp we had was around 2 years old, but still worked fine an passed all calibrations. The Tech said as long as it passes calibration obviously it has laster longer than the expected lifetime hours. It is not used constantly, when I have an HPLC project to work on, it could be all week and then not for 2 weeks. We set up all of our methods to turn off the lamp at the end of the sequence to save lamp hours overnight and on weekends, but while developing methods, it can get in the way. It seems to me to be a software or firmware problem. Something to do with the 'server' connection between the module and the software.

[ksharp]

I run an Agilent 1100 with a DAD, and every so often (usually when I'm doing development work, messing around, changing columns and connections, etc.) I'll miss something and the instrument will detect the inevitable leak and shutdown (pump off, colcomp heater off, lamp off...)

If I turn the system back on *immediately*, the DAD ignition will almost always fail due to a "UV heater current" problem. The manual states, "During UV lamp ignition, the processor monitors the heater current. If the current does not rise above the lower limit within one second, the error message is generated."

But if I wait for a minute after the lamp is shutdown before I turn it back on, the DAD ignites no problem. No need to restart the system or anything.

If this doesn't help then I would think it is a bad lamp. So if you can trigger the problem intentionally, try doing it with a new lamp. If the problem persists then it could be a main board problem.

[cody84]

I can wait 24hrs and it still won't ignite sometimes. It's some sort of electronic problem, our other varian HPLC has the same problem. I think its just a bad job on Varian's part.

[Chris0000]

Hi

Did you install the latest Drivers/updates for the galaxie? Maybe this is a already fixed bug.

Maybe you can consider to change the Methods to leave the lamp on - Switching the Lamp on and off after each run will give you less hours on the counter but the ignition of the Lamp also impacts lamp Lifetime.

Best regards
Chris

[cody84]

I think that all the drivers are up to date. Varian said the lamp lasts around 6 months....so I will try a new lamp and see what happens. Definately changing all of the methods to leave lamp on.

[cody84]

Ok problem solved, the lamp was prematurely expired. New lamp ignites no problem.

[srattier]

I guess you are talking about PS-335. That's sound a hardware issue. You may also check with your local Varian service if you are running latest firmware revision.