Fluorescent lights not working after two new ballasts (price, better, replacement)
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Last time I had a florescent fixture with a ballast problem, the ballast cost twice as much as what I originally paid for the fixture, with 2 bulbs. I replaced the whole fixture and saved a bunch of money. Of course I did not hire an electrician. Would that be an option for you?
Replacing it myself is an option. I'm just want to know that the fixture is likely to be the issue before I replace it. There seems to be no working parts in the fixture other than the ballast.
Replacing it myself is an option. I'm just want to know that the fixture is likely to be the issue before I replace it. There seems to be no working parts in the fixture other than the ballast.
Yeah - I'd be questioning why the things don't work, since basically everything has been replaced. I'd check the connections again before scrapping them altogether.
Last time I had a florescent fixture with a ballast problem, the ballast cost twice as much as what I originally paid for the fixture, with 2 bulbs. I replaced the whole fixture and saved a bunch of money. Of course I did not hire an electrician. Would that be an option for you?
The electrician that we called out to replace the ballast told us that exact thing
Cheaper to replace the entire unit
So I went to Lowe’s and got them
We have tall ceilings and my husband wasn’t about to try either one on a tall ladder
He will replace the light tubes because that is lot easier to do
Some old fluorescents, especially the round ones, had a starter that would go bad well before the ballast would. Do you see a small aluminum cylinder somewhere near the end of the tube?
What does the voltage read when you put your DVM leads on the black and white power wires (house power)going to the ballast ? You may have a loose connection on the incoming power to the fixture and be getting less than 120 volts.
I'm just getting back to this. I don't have a digital voltage meter. I have two analog voltage meters that resister with lights. The first is non-contact and the second has leads. The one without leads registers "high voltage" when I put it in proximity with the wires. There is not label beyond "high voltage", but it reads the same as when I test a working outlet with it. The meter with leads registers no voltage when I touch the black and white wires. I even took steel wool to the wires to be sure they were clean. This same meter registers 120V for my outlets. I don't know how there could be volt in the wire but not at the end of the wire.
What is the ballast part number ? Is it the same as the original? Give me the ballast number and lamp number ...
Thanks, but I'm sure it's the same. We've got four of these lights and have had them for 16 years. I've ordered the same ballast from the same place to make a successful repair a few times.
I've talked to my father-in-law and he thinks the meter without the leads is just reading that the voltage from the wiring to light at the other end of the stairs* and that I should trust the meter with leads telling me there's no juice to that box. He said to call an electrician and say that I've got a light box with no power. It seems convincing to me. I can change a fixture, but I don't want to mess with anything in the walls.
* I don't understand how the lights are wired, but he put in the fixture we have now.
Thanks, but I'm sure it's the same. We've got four of these lights and have had them for 16 years. I've ordered the same ballast from the same place to make a successful repair a few times.
I've talked to my father-in-law and he thinks the meter without the leads is just reading that the voltage from the wiring to light at the other end of the stairs* and that I should trust the meter with leads telling me there's no juice to that box. He said to call an electrician and say that I've got a light box with no power. It seems convincing to me. I can change a fixture, but I don't want to mess with anything in the walls.
* I don't understand how the lights are wired, but he put in the fixture we have now.
make sure they are the same , many old magnetic ballasts are no longer made and have been replaced with electronic versions ....i have seen supply houses replace the older ones with the wrong updated one
Electrician came and said the issue was the switch. He put in a new one. Thanks for the help everybody.
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