Fluorescent lights not working after two new ballasts (AC, cost, basement)

[Moby Hick]

We have circle-bulb fluorescent lights in our halls and basement. We put them in 15 years ago and sometimes one will stop working. I figured out how to put in a new ballast and have fixed the lights many times by changing the ballast. Dark to dark, white to white, ground to bare. However, the last one to go out didn't work after I changed the ballast and the bulbs. So I changed it again (brand new ballast) and tried with three different bulbs. No go. The voltage tester says there is juice at the outputs of the ballast (both new and old).



Does anybody have any idea what I'm missing? I could change the fixture for less than I could hire an electrician, but I don't see what the gets me. The fixture itself doesn't seem to have any functional components in it except for ballast and the bulbs.

[Tn_eddy]

Does the bulb plug into some kind of socket ?



Have you checked for voltage at that point if it does ?
(Not personally familiar with round bulb type units is why I ask)

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Tn_eddy

Does the bulb plug into some kind of socket ?



Have you checked for voltage at that point if it does ?
(Not personally familiar with round bulb type units is why I ask)

Yes. There's voltage at the socket that you hook into the bulb. It's a socket with four holes for a bulb with a 4-pin connector.

[Electrician4you]

One or more of the pins is worn out and not making contact. You need a new socket

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

One or more of the pins is worn out and not making contact. You need a new socket

The socket is brand new. It's attached to the ballast and changed with it.

[greglovesoldtrucks]

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.

[lvmensch]

See if you can find a LED equivalent. Than clip the AC feed and connect it to the equivalent.

Electrician4U is almost certainly correct. You got a bad connection somewhere. But unless you feel the urge to find it better to replace the whole thing with something unlikely to fail in your life time.

[Moby Hick]

There is an LED that looks similar.

[VTsnowbird]

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?

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by greglovesoldtrucks

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.

That may be it. I'll check that when I'm back in a position to do so. I wasn't using a real meter (though I have one), but just a thing that beeps when there is power.