Fluorescent light ballast ?

[aka rotten]

Is there a way to determine on a 4 light ,2 ballest fixture to tell which ballest is bad if just the 2 inside lights are burning ,or do you go ahead and replace both?At one point i saw outside flicker and went out.replaced all 4 bulbs and still no go on outside set.Idont have meter,just wondered if anyone had an idea?,Paul

 

[wrench409]

Re: Fluresent light ballest ?

I'd check the bulb sockets condition and the wires that connect to them before condemning the ballast itself.

 

[pattenp]

You need to follow the wires from the non-working lamps to the ballast that powers them. That's the bad ballast if nothing else is wrong with the wiring or sockets. You can replace one or the two. May be practical to just replace both while you have it apart.

 

[tfi racing]

If one is bad,time to upgrade to a 4 lamp ballast T8 while you are in there,unless of course you have a stockpile of T12 lamps.

 

[pop pop]

Give up. There is no way to keep fluroscent lights working. I've 18 4' bulbs in my garage for the past 14 years. Never have had more than 90% working and usually about 50%. I think balasts wear out/fail faster than the bulbs. Just this week I've change out two balasts before getting one fixture to light. Need to do 2 more 4 bulb fixtures that won't light, but it won't stop raining so I can move stuff out of the way. I hate 'em.

 

[aka rotten]

Guess i,ve been real lucky because the lights i have i bought used almost 20 years ago.Did however replace all the tubes when i put them up at that time and replaced mabee 5 tubes since.Seems like over last 6 months several have started to fail and now im replacing ballests and bout half the tubes which are t-8,s.i,m not complaining thou,i,m just not electrician and in wheelchair now,so grandson does the ladder part and anything else that requiers good eyesite,gettin old ***** sometimes.Paul

 

[Rookie2]

before i would replace two ballasts, i would up grade to a new t8 4 lamp fixture. when you fire it up let it burn all day, the lamps will last a lot longer.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Yeah I would agree with the others in checking the sockets first. All too often I've tried the easy route just replacing the ballast only to have it still not work. Then I end up changing the whole fixture... So now most of the time if it looks marginal I just change the whole thing out and be done with it... life is too short.

I would also recommend upgrading to T8 from the T12... I haven't noticed a shortage of T12's yet but I think the T8's do tend to look nicer.

As for longevity... I've had some bulbs last many many years, and others I end up replacing maybe once a year. Ballasts going out is rare, but it does happen and usually on a day when I really don't have time to fix it...

 

[aka rotten]

Yeah I would agree with the others in checking the sockets first. All too often I've tried the easy route just replacing the ballast only to have it still not work. Then I end up changing the whole fixture... So now most of the time if it looks marginal I just change the whole thing out and be done with it... life is too short.

I would also recommend upgrading to T8 from the T12... I haven't noticed a shortage of T12's yet but I think the T8's do tend to look nicer.

As for longevity... I've had some bulbs last many many years, and others I end up replacing maybe once a year. Ballasts going out is rare, but it does happen and usually on a day when I really don't have time to fix it...

If sockets appear ok [not broken] does that mean there ok?have a couple lights that 4 bulbs will burn fine all day then next day you turm them back on and only two will light till ya move a bulb a bit,[same two].And while i,m at it one 4 bulb set up when i turn switch on 2 will light and about 2 min later other 2 will come on and remain lite all day![just wonderin].Be patient with me,learnin a lot.Thanks,Paul

 

[EOC_Jason]

I would try changing the bulbs first and see if that makes a difference. Usually you can tell when a light is going to go out because the ends start to turn black.

If not then it's probably the socket that has an issue. You can check the socket to see if there is some corrosion, but usually they are just so cheaply made that like I said usually in the end you just end up replacing the whole fixture rather than F-ing with it for hours on end...

 

[alfredeneuman]

Fluorescent ballasts that burn out will usually be cold to the touch.

Multi ballast fixtures.......... just find the one that's cold.