Bulbs or Ballast

[upnorth]

Got a call from my wife asking me to pick up new bulbs for our florescent light in the kitchen. She said all of a sudden it just went out. I had her check for blown fuses etc but everything seems to be working OK. I am thinking more like the ballast went than both bulbs but I am no electrician. Anyone?

[pureinsanity]

I guess the only thing you could do is take a bulb out and test it in some other light. Or get out the volt meter and see if you got power coming out of the ballast. Most likely a Ballast.

[Hookmaster]

I recently replaced the bulbs in a fluorescent light at my house. The symptom was low light output not no light. More likely the ballast in your case.

[BobT]

For some reason I've got it in my mind that some of those dual bulb fixtures have the bulbs in series so that if one burns out they both go off. I could be blowing or inhaling smoke though.

[upnorth]

Kind of a funky ballast. Runs 4 bulbs not 2, forgot that earlier and it also has another set of wires coming out of it that most ballast don't so I have no idea how to test the dang thing. Took it out and hit a few hardware stores but nothing on the shelves matches. Can't find it on the web either. Emailed the manufacturer hoping they can tell me how to get my hands on a replacement or if there is something else is going on. Did make sure I have power to the ballast tho just to rule out the switch or something like that.

[Tom7227]

In the interest of martial harmony and your sanity - go buy a new fixture and be done with it. You cannot win when it comes to a wife and her kitchen lights.

[upnorth]

O I agree. "If Mamas happy everyone is happy" But she is willing to wait a little to see if we can get it fixed. I am sure we won't be sitting like this the end of next week

[JohnMickish]

My guess is bulbs. I'm thinking one bulb was already burned out and you just didn't know it, so when the second one went bad the fixture went dark.

[CAMAN]

You probably won't find an exact match on the ballast. But as long as you find a ballast that is correct for the size and number of bulbs you will be fine. Some rewiring may be required with the fixture, but should be fairly straight forward if you follow the diagram printed on the ballast.

[upnorth]

My guess is bulbs. I'm thinking one bulb was already burned out and you just didn't know it, so when the second one went bad the fixture went dark.

All 4 bulbs? I updated that on a later post.

[upnorth]

wound up finding a workable ballast at Menards, little rewire and we are Golden. Flip the switch and "Let there be light"

[pureinsanity]

wound up finding a workable ballast at Menards, little rewire and we are Golden. Flip the switch and "Let there be light"

Go snatch another one up incase it happens again in 15 years

[upnorth]

The thing is only about 4 years old. 15 years old I would have just replaced the dang thing. But at $120 or better and only that old had to fix it.

[JohnMickish]

I thought it was a two bulb fixture. I was assuming (you know what that means) a round kitchen fixture, with two round bulbs, one smaller than the other. With this fixture the smaller bulb can be overpowered by the larger bulb and you might not know its out.

[JohnMickish]

All 4 bulbs? I updated that on a later post.

So was this a four bulb fixture or a two bulb fixture, now I'm confused? One ballast or two?

[upnorth]

My first post was just after my wife called me and we were thinking 2 bulbs. It had been a while and that was what the old one was, got home and pulled it apart and remembered yeah we put in a 4 bulb unit. It is a 4 foot unit, really brightens up the kitchen tho.

Any yeah one Ballast for all 4 bulbs. Not as odd as one would think.

[CAMAN]

Yeah, newer ballasts can handle 4 bulbs. I've replaced a few fixtures recently that are around 30-40 years old. 2 ballasts and 4 bulbs in each fixture, the ballasts that did last that long were MONSTEROUS and two of them barely fit in a 4 foot fixture. Probably weigh 30+lbs a piece and not very economical.

The newer ballasts are about the size of a TV remote, very lightweight, and can handle 4 T8 bulbs.

[upnorth]

Yeah these were about the size of remote. And not real cheap @ $30 but better than the $120 or for a new fixture.

[JohnMickish]

My first post was just after my wife called me and we were thinking 2 bulbs. It had been a while and that was what the old one was, got home and pulled it apart and remembered yeah we put in a 4 bulb unit. It is a 4 foot unit, really brightens up the kitchen tho.

Any yeah one Ballast for all 4 bulbs. Not as odd as one would think.

Sometimes it's hard to remember what a guy has in his house, but without proper info, it makes it hard to help a person when he is asking for help.