My daughter and son in law bought a house where it has two GE 201 SA lights that need repairing.

I am currently working on one of the two that was hanging off the pole.


I am not familiar with street lights and the types of bulbs.  I was hoping to get some help troubleshooting and identifying the correct parts.

The photoelectric cell on top was broken open so I replaced it. I was hoping that would fix it but when I power it on it doesn't work. I think the bulb is a High Pressure Sodium but I have no clue as to the wattage. I am also not sure if the current configuration (bulb and ballast) are correct since it was not working when they bought the house.

I have attached some photos to show the light bulb and the ballast transformer. There was only a ballast transformer (no cap or igniter although I don't think is is mercury vapor).

Any suggestions appreciated

The lamp is definitely HPS but I can't tell the wattage from the picture, is there no visible etch on it anywhere..?

Can't help with the ballast as I'm UK based and our ballasts are rather different to yours..!

I rechecked the bulb. I can barely make out a number. I think it is 17103105

The NEMA tag looks like its 175 watt MV on the 201Sa. there are replacement reflectors on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/194195341177. if you are going to throw out the reflector top, i'll take it.


Admin edit: long link shortened

Good morning. I actually own couple of 201s myself.

To start off, the fixture looks to be actually mercury vapor, the “17” number on the front means it’s 175 watt. Also the ballast looks to also be mercury vapor judging by the coils. The bulb you have is a high pressure sodium which will not work off a mercury ballast, so I would purchase a proper 175 watt mercury bulb and then try it out.

If a mercury bulb doesn’t work, my guess is some sort of a ballast issue. The copper windings on the ballast look rough so the worst that should happen is it has a bad ballast. There are a few members here that have a little bit more knowledge on ballasts than I do, they’ll probably chime over the next few days.

Hope this helps.

Ok, thanks for all the help!! I suspected that they had the wrong type of bulb in the light. I will try the mercury vapor bulb. Hopefully that fixes it.   Also, than for the reflector info as I needed that also.

It doesn't have an ignitor for HPS. Are both refractors Broken?

First try to measure the continuity of the ballast winding. It is supposed to read a couple of Ohms between each wire combination (well, except obviously for the core grounding wire, if present).
Then you may truy to connect the input to the mains and measure the voltage at the lamp socket. There should be something between 200..350V (yes, it varies so much among the ballast models and it is OK). The ballast may slightly hum in this state and may get very slightly warm. If there is no continuity, loud hum, too low output voltage or the ballast gets scorching hot in a short time, it is very likely faulty.

As a lamp, if the voltage you measured at the lamp socket is closer to 300V (or even above), you may use not only the H39 MV, but also a probe start M57 MH bulb (more efficient so more light, better light quality, but needs higher open circuit voltage ballast, otherwise it is compatible with an MV of the same wattage rating).

@GE PM only one refractor broken. The other appears to be ok but, I haven't been able to check closely. 
I will let you know about the reflector top.
@Medved the voltage is 220at the socket. So hopefully the new bulb will get it working.

Thanks for all the help!!

 Since the NEMA tag on top says "17" and you said there's no capacitor or ignitor, just a ballast , I'd say this is 175w Mercury Vapor .

I just received a GE Mercury vapor 175 Watt bulb (use with H39 ballast) but, the light does not come on but, now it buzzes. Can anyone recommend a replacement ballast? Thanks in advance!!

Interesting, sounds like a ballast issue then. What I would do first is check the wire layout to make sure everything is connected securely and wired properly. Mercury ballasts (specifically the types 201s use) are fairly straightforward. So yeah check the wiring first.

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Now on the other hand, on what should you do if the ballast is a loss.

Option 1 - Keeping it Mercury:
From my experience, mercury ballasts are fairly hard to find simply because they’re obsolete and haven’t been made since they were banned in 2008. Replacements do show up occasionally on eBay and members here could help, but there are other options as well.

Option 2 - Converting to Sodium:
This option (which I think is the easiest) is to replace the ballast and convert it to high pressure sodium. GE 201-SAs are kinda odd as only few ballasts will fit in the housing. A 70W HPS reactor ballast (120V only) should fit. It will run a 70 watt HPS lamp.

Option 3 - Get a new fixture:
This involves just buying another 201-SA instead. There’s a eBay vendor selling a brand new 201 with all the bells and whistles (head, lens, bulb, hardware, wire, etc) for under $90, which might actually be the same amount you’d pay for repairing the one you have.

There’s probably another option so other members feel free to chime in and share some ideas, especially the ballast nerds.

My hunch is on a ballast issue too, especially if the wiring is original. If the wiring has been messed around with, it is possible to miswire these HX ballasts so that there's only 120v at the output instead of the 200+ v at the output.

Econolite03 has already given some good options. If you do pursue option 1, keep in mind finding the correct ballast might be pretty hard since these fixtures were designed for use with HX ballasts instead of the CWA ballasts that most of the replacement kits on eBay are. A CWA ballast kit has a additional capacitor that's required and there isn't a good spot in the SA 201 fixture for one that's away from the heat.

There is another option to rewire the head for either incandescent/LED or for remote ballasting.

Option 4A - Rewiring for incandescent/LED:
Fairly straightforward, you basically remove the ballast and wire the switched output on the photocontroller socket directly to the center contact on the lamp socket, then tie all the neutrals. Low cost for the actual conversion, most of the cost would be in the lamp you choose to get. They make LED lamps with a ED28 outer glass now that looks more or less like a MV lamp to casual observers.

Option 4B - Rewiring for remote ballasting:
A bit more involved than rewiring for incandescent/LED if you want to keep the functionality of the photocontroller socket. Basically you have to bring the switched output of the photocontroller socket back out the arm to a external ballast and then back in to the light's lamp socket. The advantage is you can basically run any lamp type you have a ballast for, even metal halide. However weatherproof remote ballasts often cost more than core and coil internal ballasts. Or you need a waterproof enclosure if you want to use a standard ballast.

Personally I'd go with either Option 2, Option 3, or Option 4A depending on what you want.

you can only buy a fixture since Multi-Volt ballast is the only GE replacer ballast kit sold and they won't fit. Here is the link to the fixture. https://www.ebay.com/itm/385208281869. I will take the old fixture if you are going to throw it out. Did you buy 3?



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@GE PM: Who said to use a GE replacement ballast kit, let alone a multi-tap type? I suggested just any replacement 120V reactor type ballast. The 201s by default have reactor ballasts that are usually only a single voltage such as 120V (both of mine are that type), and plenty of the Advance reactor ballast kits for HPS on eBay could fit.