Pissed off at Philips

[BFBOB]

I've converted several of my old two-tube 48" fluorescent fixtures to LED's - I've used the Philips UniversalFit in the 4000K color. I really like them - tons of light, not too blue, not too yellow. Great.

I've converted several of my old two-tube 48" fluorescent fixtures to LED's - I've used the Philips UniversalFit in the 4000K color. I really like them - tons of light, not too blue, not too yellow. Great.

I have another fixture to convert, so got the exact same LED's, same color and all. They don't work. In fact, they are doing the same thing the old fluorescents were doing: one tube glowing dimly, the other doing nothing.

OK, stuff happens, so I called Philips tech support, who proceeded to explain that their LED's are only supposed to work with Philips ballasts, and might or might not work with others. Offered NO support or advice on how to proceed.
That is, to say the least, NOT UNIVERSAL. I don't care if they want to make their LED's so they only work with one special ballast, just SAY SO UP FRONT.

And so we come to the real point of this message. Can anyone out there in GJ-land give me a direction to proceed? I suspect the ballast is bad, but don't really know how to test it. I have a dim understanding that it's a kind of transformer, but that's about it. I did whip out a meter and measured 56 ohms between the red and blue wires, zero between the two reds and the two blues, and about 2 ohms between the yellows.

Does the ballast actually need to be there at all? don't really know how to test it. I have a dim understanding that it's a kind of transformer, but that's about it. I did whip out a meter and measured 65 ohms between the red and blue wires, zero between the two reds and the two blues, and about 2 ohms between the yellows.

Does the ballast actually need to be there at all?

Just for laughs I plugged it in without the tubes and measured 289VAC between the red and blue wires, and 6vac between the yellows.

 

[The Cobbler]

I don't know if your beef should be with Philips, it sounds like you have bad ballast, which is a good reason why I wouldn't convert to LED without removing the ballast.it's just one more think along the path that can go bad.
not sure if those bulbs are non ballast compatible. maybe call the support line & ask them if there's nothing in the instructions, I would guess that answer is a no

 

[Bert_]

For F40T12 rapid start I would be expecting
~300v red-blue
3-4 volts red-red, blue-blue and yellow-yellow
Your numbers are close to that.

I'm guessing those LED tubes only need the 300v from red-blue since they don't have filaments that need heating. I would check voltages with the tubes installed. It's possible the ballasts has a failed capacitor or a high resistance connection that would give normal voltages with no load but not with a load.

 

[cybrdyke]

Philips *****. And their customer care people are idiots. You were misinformed. This chart shows ballast compatibility with brands other than Philips (see page 15 for your tube) https://www.assets.signify.com/is/content/PhilipsLighting/Assets/philips-lighting/canada/20191129-plt-16118cr-instantfit-ballast-compatibility-guide-apr2019.pdf
Having said that, your ballast is too old to fire up the new LED tube. You can replace the ballast with a new one, either electronic or magnetic, as long as it's on the compatibility list. Option 2 is to remove the ballast and put in different tubes that dont need a ballast. (Your tubes wont work without a ballast). But then you'd have one oddball fixture.
Or, you can bypass all the ballasts and use different tubes. It's a tough spot to be in since you've already started.
Good luck,
CD

 

[Robbie B]

You’ve got a bad ballast. Might want to call an electrician.


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[Milton Shaw]

I rewired all my 4 footers to use the no ballast required bulbs, and left the old ballast hanging in the fixture but not connected to anything. Ballasts are very hard to dispose of so I just left them in the fixtures. Why get the advantages of led's but still have to mess with ballast problems too. Just get the bulbs that require a rewire of the fixtures and be done with ballast problems... Takes less than 10 minutes to do each.

 

[BFBOB]

WTF????
Thanks for all your suggestions (Except calling an electrician.)
I decided to try Bert's idea and check volts under load. Popped the tubes in, plugged it in AND THERE WAS LIGHT!
They're shining big and bright- maybe there was a little corrosion on a terminal and all the fitzing around scraped it clean..hunoz. But, at least that's the good kind of WTF!
Anyway, I'm thrilled ... and really lit up!