Any simple fixes for fluorescent light fixture?

[GON]

Gents, thanks for all the tips. This was my day to do the timing belt, water pump, etc in the gx470.

Decided to work under less light, and work on the fixture at a later time.

Thanks again.

 

[brianl703]

Florescent lights are in- efficient by todays standards. LED uses an 1/8th of the power.

No, they don't. It's more like 1/2 the power, if it's even that much.

 

[sk_pete]

The garage I work in has three florescent eight foot light fixtures. One of the fixtures, the one in the bay I service vehicles in, went very dim.

I replaced both eight foot elements, but no improvement in lighting. Are there any simple repairs that can be performed, before I look into tearing apart the fixture or replacing the fixture?

View attachment 150561View attachment 150562View attachment 150563

tube ends are weird, whats the type ?
or consider these, it´s strong

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[Warstud]

Before changing over to LED's you need to consider this :
If these lights do not get much use then theres not much savings changing over to LED's
If you bought extra fluorescent bulbs .....then there no good anymore and your out the money you paid for them .
I personally cant see throwing out a perfectly working incandecent or flourescent bulb when it doesn't get much use .

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Fluorescent lamps are in the process of being banned from sale globally because of mercury content and higher energy use compared with LEDs. The European Union is banning their sale effective this September. If that was my fixture, I'd bite the bullet and convert the lamps to LED.

 

[4WD]

Fluorescent lamps are in the process of being banned from sale globally because of mercury content and higher energy use compared with LEDs. The European Union is banning their sale effective this September. If that was my fixture, I'd bite the bullet and convert the lamps to LED.

Yeah … new commercial thing is black ceilings with hanging LED’s

 

[tmorris1]

Before changing over to LED's you need to consider this :
If these lights do not get much use then theres not much savings changing over to LED's
If you bought extra fluorescent bulbs .....then there no good anymore and your out the money you paid for them .
I personally cant see throwing out a perfectly working incandecent or flourescent bulb when it doesn't get much use .

His existing lights do not work, so what is he out? Cost more or same to replace the ballast as buying LED bulbs.

 

[tmorris1]

Bit more work putting back up 8ft fixtures, compared to replacing with 4ft LED. Maybe you can do 8ft without a helper, but I can't, but can do 4ft. If it takes two people, twice the man-hours equals more work? I can take down 8 foot fixtures to replace with 4ft LED without a helper because I don't care if they get damaged once the bulbs are out, housings can crash to the floor for all I'd care.

You shouldn't even need to take them down.

 

[Dave9]

You shouldn't even need to take them down.

Why would you leaving old dead fixtures on the ceiling? Or do you mean rewire them? Depends on the design, some have a top panel that comes off to access wiring and ballast, have to take them down.

 

[tmorris1]

Why would you leaving old dead fixtures on the ceiling? Or do you mean rewire them? Depends on the design, some have a top panel that comes off to access wiring and ballast, have to take them down.

You tear out or bypass the ballast and get direct wire LED tubes to replace the fluorescent tubes. You use the same fixture.

 

[Nukeman7]

Before changing over to LED's you need to consider this :
If these lights do not get much use then theres not much savings changing over to LED's
If you bought extra fluorescent bulbs .....then there no good anymore and your out the money you paid for them .
I personally cant see throwing out a perfectly working incandecent or flourescent bulb when it doesn't get much use .

He said that two of the three fixtures with the fluorescent tubes are working fine. Therefore, if he only intends to repair/replace/upgrade the third defective fixture, he can save the fluorescent bulbs to use in the other two units. In addition, I am pretty sure this is a temporary rental home for GON, so he probably does not intend to upgrade all three light fixtures.

Another significant factor to consider, an upgrade to direct wired LED tubes would very likely provide higher lumen output/increased lighting in the garage bay where he does the repair work (in addition to some energy savings).

 

[RaymondP]

Don't waste your time with the old fluorescent fixtures and tubes. For a few dollars check out something like these or similar if there is a Harbor Freight near you....

5000 Lumen 4 ft. LED Hanging Shop Light

Amazing deals on this 5000 Lumen 4Ft Led Hanging Shop Light at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

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Will save you energy too!

 

[brianl703]

Where's he gonna plug that in? Permanent use of an extension cord is against electrical codes, by the way.

 

[RaymondP]

Easy enough to cut off plug and hard wire into the existing circuit used by the former fixture. Or perhaps there is a convenient outlet nearby?

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I've replaced literally 1000s of ballast for work. They are very picky with the energy saving junk now days. Either try new lamps, a new ballast or go led. Try to find non energy saving and I bet it works fine. LED may be the only option these days

 

[y_p_w]

People would always say, "the ballast is dying".
Assuming the tubes are OK/new, there ain't much else in those fixtures.
I remember seeing ballasts on hardware store shelves commonly. Today, I doubt they're there.

Unless you have a stock of replacement tubes you want to realize the value of, it might just be time to go with an LED fixture.

I tend to agree on going LED. If anyone is comfortable enough to replace a ballast, then it should be just as easy to do a direct wire. And LEDs will last considerably longer and make less noise that electronic ballasts.

But ballasts are still readily available. A typical neighborhood hardware store might only have a few varieties - mostly 2 tube for 4 ft tubes. One for 8 ft tubes might be harder to find.

 

[JHZR2]

I just replaced a ballast in a 8ft fixture that is probably 50 years old. Works perfect.

I then replaced a ballast in a 4ft fixture that was probably 35-40 years old, if not older. Again works perfect.

I’ve found that purpose built LED fixtures work well. The 5000 lumen HF LED lights are awesome. But they don’t work for every application or location.

I haven’t worked with direct wire LED. I have used LED tubes that drop into a fluorescent fixture, and have been underwhelmed.

 

[y_p_w]

I just replaced a ballast in a 8ft fixture that is probably 50 years old. Works perfect.

I then replaced a ballast in a 4ft fixture that was probably 35-40 years old, if not older. Again works perfect.

I’ve found that purpose built LED fixtures work well. The 5000 lumen HF LED lights are awesome. But they don’t work for every application or location.

I haven’t worked with direct wire LED. I have used LED tubes that drop into a fluorescent fixture, and have been underwhelmed.

Drop ins generally come with a list of compatible ballasts.

Direct wire LEDs come in two basic types (besides single or double ended) - dimmable or not. I’ve got dimmable and non on the same 110V circuit. The nondimmable is rated for 100-250V operation. Those work great. The light is bright, they turn on almost immediately (the nondimmable ones have maybe a half second delay for some reason) and they should theoretically last 50 or more years at the rate I’m using them. I did have one fail, but that was from a likely manufacturing defect with the pins, and it was replaced under warranty. I took the opportunity to see what was inside the bad tube, and it was just an LED strip.

It’s pretty simple. Just an AC to DC transformer. Must have been something different with the dimmable version.

 

[Donald]

The make simple LED refits where you gut the existing fixture and install the LEDs. I would go that route.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I’ve posted something similar before. I’m in the process of replacing my fluorescent tubes as they fade out after 11 years, but if the ballasts fail, I plan to cut them out and do the LEDs. So far they’re holding up.