Conventionally, metal halide lamps were struck by voltages higher than those required for breaking down the electrodes to ensure successful ignition. These high ignition voltages may hurt the electrodes to some extent, leading to a shorter lamp lifecycle. In practice, the breakdown voltage can be affected by the dark current which occurs when a voltage is applied on lamp before the electrodes have been broken down. A lamp model to account for the dark current is derived from the test results. Three ignition schemes with single-pulse, multiple pulses and step voltage are used for describing the effect of the dark current on the breakdown voltage. Experimental results exhibit that the breakdown voltage can be lowered by applying a higher dark current or allotting more times of dark current to the lamp. The investigation provides useful information for the design of the ignition circuit.