Lighting apparatus including circuit to detect an electrical characteristic of a component of a lamp mounted in the apparatus

A lighting apparatus comprising:

• a high pressure discharge lamp including an outer bulb, an arc tube being suspended in the outer bulb, a base being mounted on the outer bulb for detachably coupling to a socket, and an indicating element (i) located outside the arc tube and within the outer bulb, (ii) connected in parallel with the arc tube, and (iii) having a predetermined electrical characteristic for indicating a type of the high pressure discharge lamp;
• a first power supply circuit electrically connected to the socket and configured for supplying a first level power to the indicating element for judging the electrical characteristic, the first level power being indicative of the electrical characteristic;
• a detecting circuit (i) electrically connected to the first power supply, (ii) being responsive to the first level power, and (iii) configured to discriminate the electrical characteristic of the indicating element prior to the arc tube being illuminated;
• and
• a second power supply circuit electrically connected to the socket and configured for supplying a second level power to the high pressure discharge lamp according to an output from the detecting circuit, wherein the second level power illuminates the arc tube.