I replaced all of them with new ones and 1 comes on and is dim and flickers. is there a way to fix these things and not have to replace? Would that be a bad starter or ballast? When I remove the outer ones, they seem to light up just fine. Two days before Thanksgiving I walked into our laundry to wash my underwear and noticed the light wasn’t working. Learn how your comment data is processed. I have a broken fluorescent tube (housing is intact, but it flickers instead of lighting up properly) that I have to change (bottommost type in the image). To avoid having shattered glass all over the floor I highly recommend removing the fluorescent light bulbs. Do I seat the 4 prongs first & just push the bulb ’til the metal clips snap around the bulb? Rightfully so, too!! It was much easier than I thought and gave me more confidence to try other projects on my list. Loosen all the wire nuts. Does it matter which ballast is plugged into the inner circular light and the outer circular light or are they interchangeable? There are CW ( cool white ) brighter bulbs and WW (warm whites ) duller bulbs. I like to take apart the black or hot wires, then the white or neutral wires, and lastly the ground. Mathematical convention: starting at 3 o'clock and counting counterclockwise. Set the light tube off to the side. If you are troubleshooting a 4-tube fluorescent fixture, this is easy! A few people have said there is nothing I can do. The ionized gas then conducts electricity and the bulb lights. Now, one works and one doesn’t. Right now the garage has two double four footers with only one lighting up immediately. I checked the ballast with a voltage tester and the whole fixture is getting juice but the lights still won’t come on. A good way to check that your ballast is the culprit is to turn on a voltage detector and hold it next to the wires supplying power to the ballast. The new bulbs worked or 2 days and then went out. Tighten the screws, add the fluorescent light bulbs, and replace the light shade. The light diffuser is the plastic piece that covers the light fixture. I use silicone spray with a straw to shoot some into the socket when I encounter one that's semi-spotwelded itself in. I called around to several places that didn’t have the ballast I needed. I need help. It flickers constantly. If that doesn't sound If you suspect that a … However, after replace the new one, those 4 lights would light up brightly but then they went off within a second. Removal can be a real pain the first time you do it as the pins can weld to the brass contacts and you will end up breaking the socket if you get rough with them. In a 4-lamp troffer run for 10 hours a day in an office setting, you might save about 10 cents a day in energy from this switch. T12 take 40w to run I found it on youtube, watched carefully, headed to Home Depot, and got the job done myself. I have a 4 tube Fluorescent Light in my walk-in closet,and the other day I turned it on to select some clothing, but when I went to turn it off, it would not turn off. Hi Jeff, your tutorial is greatly helpful. Hi Jeff, i have purchased a new Ballast of 36w, T8 U Lamp of 36w, i have made connection with a starter of 4-65w. Twist the wire nut until the connection between the wires from the ceiling and the ballast are secure. After a short three word phrase (use your imagination) I started to have flashbacks about what led to this moment in time. Ask your questions below and we’d be happy to help. Typically, a standard 100-watt incandescent bulb emits approximately 1600 lumens. Now I can’t get the bulb to stay in place and keep the bulb lit unless I stay there on the step stool and hold the bulb in place. Hi can you help? I have in my kitchen 4 fluorescent tubes ( 48″). A fluorescent socket uses tension to hold the bulbs in the light fixture and maintain an electrical connection. The lights come with a warranty but removing the light and returning it about once a year isn't worth the trouble. I’m afraid it could be the ballast. It has a 36 in. I guess I am left with a ballast issue? Please update your guide, for the safety of your readers, that they purchase a multimeter and test via that. But the problem still occurs. What is cauing this? It’s the wires coming from the ballast, because when I switch them around, the other one works. It worked fine. I went out today and bought a new 120cm fluorescent bulb along with a new starter. But be careful, as you’ll see in the video I almost broke the light bulb during this step. But for some reason the lamp dosent light up. So it could be worth it to change out the ballast. For the color match on the bulbs look at the description on the bulb. Won’t Turn On. And in fact, I still ran into a bit of trouble with the ballast I bought (I explain at the end of the video). What is the policy on publishing work in academia that may have already been done (but not published) in industry/military? I've Google endless sites that all say just slide the pins into the groove and then twist the tube a quarter turn and bingo, it's in. 8 Turn the switch on. However, just by looking at the tube, I think it appears as if the "led strip" inside the glass starts from one side then goes to the end, but not completely. Learn how to remodel your bathroom, save money, and increase your home’s value with Bathroom Repair Tutor. 99% of the time it will be one of the Three had worked before this exchange but colors weren’t identical. I believe it should say replace! At this point take a picture of the existing wiring. The title of your post is “FIX YOUR FLUORESCENT LIGHT BALLAST”, but you didn’t fix it, you replaced it. But there are other causes of flickering lights: some are also trivially easy to repair while others require more expertise and cost. No it's not! I dont know anything about power usage and all that. My fluorescent lights takes more than 5 times or more switching on/off before it lights. None of the bulbs worked the other day when I flipped the switch. Fluorescent lights are a common fixture in most homes. I have a broken fluorescent tube (housing is intact, but it flickers instead of lighting up properly) that I have to change (bottommost type in the image). You’ll only need three kinds of tools for this project: One clue that your ballast is the reason for a non-working fluorescent light is the light bulbs struggle to turn on. Our laundry room has one of those four fluorescent tube lights. But I like saving money for the grocery list that seems to grow every week. Thanks for your fantastic video for replacing a fluorescent light ballast. Hello, great video but you didn’t fix anything. No way to repair them, so the actual “fix” is to replace the ballast. I hate the lights (I thing they are ugly) do I try to fix them following the directions or just get new fixtures and hire someone to put them in? The slimmest, most cost-effective alternative to fluorescent shop lights is our Integrated 8ft LED Shop Light Fixture. I have changed the starter – still not working. In 20 years of changing fluorescent tubes, the answer has been no. Position yourself to look directly into the end of the lampholder at the end of the tube. Finally removed both bad bulbs. O'clock would probably have been a better choice (although note that "vertical" and "horizontal" was also stated). Bulb during this step or light it was much easier than I thought and me! It lights new ones and 1 comes on then… any suggestions??... Diagnosed the problem and Neutral power on one side of the tube holders down off the by. My T8 florescent light fixture will be one of the tube to remodel your bathroom, save,! 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