Ah...so this is what the lamp looks like new...Cool!...looks just like mine,except mine has quite a few hours on it and the arctube is blackened quite a bit

Ahh, no worries. Perfect for French reader

Hey that's my side LOL XD I sometimes prefer to read english sides of packages, because french translation is awful....

Funny how down in the states you still got a Canadian packaging

Yeah. The chinese lamps have english and spanish though. I'll have to show my lamps. I have 2 250w metalarcs. One's used and one's new. I'm using the used one 'til it blows because I want to keep the new metalarc new as long as possible. I keep getting more and more. It's getting hard to keep track of what I already posted.

I have this exact lamp, and it is made in the USA. The China (mercury vapor) lamps had English, Spanish, and French on them.

I have one of these too, it's in the bulk packaging instead of the retail pack though.

This is the lamp that is in the high-bay in the garage. I am not sure if this lamp is at EOL already as it's acting funny, or if it's the ballast that is making the lamp turn on weird. (As when I turn it o it starts to fire up then after a bit it turns off at mid-bright then after like 5 or 7 minutes it turns back on and brightens up normally)

Did you ground it yet? That may or may not be the problem but even if it's not you'll be better off if you ground it.

Did you try using another MH or even a merc inside the high bay, if it's the lamp you shouldn't see a problem if you use another lamp or a merc.

Could a loose neutral connection cause this problem? Sounds like you have a dud lamp or a fussy ballast to me though.