Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I was doing portraits during a wedding with 2 lights setup at the reception. Suddenly one of the XL1600 had a powerful burst, the next thing I know was that strobe didnt fire. I checked the flash tube but it looks alright; the thin lead wires inside the bulb wasnt burnt or short fused, however the ends of the tube what look like the cylinder-shape looks as they're melted solder remains. I spent the next few minutes diagnosing and fired few pops; that XL1600 somehow fired, then stopped again. So I end up using with one strobe instead. I dont know if it's time for me to replace the flash tube - I've had this for about 6 years but rarely use them.

Coincidentally, I ran into a sailboat near the venue named "White Lightning" on the same day.

It is not the flash tube. The a failure of tube itself will not lead to an increase in intensity. A bad tube will either work or not, with the possibility of gradual decrease in intensity over a brief period of time if the tube fractures.

It sounds like the flash unit will need to come in for repair. Please visit this link for repair assistance: http://www.paulcbuff.com/repair.php