Reversed polarity, fingerprints, loose terminals and starved cooling account for most early failures. Here is the list.
The large, blunt electrode is the anode (+); the pointed one is the cathode (−). Connect them the wrong way and the small cathode is asked to carry the anode's heat load. It melts within seconds to minutes and the lamp is scrap. Check the marking on the lamp and the lamphouse before you tighten anything.
Skin oils bake into hot quartz and create a devitrified spot that weakens the wall. Handle the lamp by the metal ends. If you do touch the bulb, clean it with isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth before striking.
A loose terminal arcs and overheats the seal; an over-tightened one cracks the base. Use the torque figure in the lamphouse manual, and use a second spanner to hold the base so the twist does not go into the quartz.
On cable-type lamps, route the cable so its weight and any vibration are carried by the lamphouse clamp, not by the lamp's anode terminal.
Blocked filters, tired blowers and closed exhaust dampers push seal temperatures over their limit. Seal failure follows. Clean filters on a schedule and check airflow after any booth rearrangement.
Running above the lamp's rated current shortens life sharply. When you change wattage or family, reset the rectifier. Some replacements have a different current range even at the same wattage — it is on the datasheet.
Repeated hot restrikes erode electrodes. Let the lamp cool as the manual specifies before restriking. Horizontal-burn lamps in many lamphouses should be rotated 180° at mid-life to even out electrode wear; if the manual calls for it, do it.
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