Spikes

[Friday]

I just connected an old fluorescence detector but what it gives me were spikes. Was my connection wrong or the cell/lamp have problems?

[HW Mueller]

Assuming that the lamp started:
Did you have a flow through the cell while observing spikes? If so, stop the flow and see what happens, or flush the cell with de-airated water and check under stop flow, make sure there is no air in the cell. Also, keep the detector on for two hours before doing anything with it. If the spiking is small enough to get a spectrum I would then run a fluorescing substance through to see wether there is still a response, if not, clean the cell, if that doesn´t do any good go for the lamp. Still a problem? Call the vendor.

[Friday]

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to clean the detector now with water, and it seems the problem is with air trapped inside the detector. I"ll keep your suggestions for future reference , too.