Fluorescent Lights Issue

[Tom NJ]

I have seven fluorescent light fixtures in my cellar on the same circuit, each holding two 48" T12 fluorescent bulbs. Three of the fixtures work consistently, but four of them are not working properly, that is, they come on when they want to. One fixture will eventually come on if I flick the light switch on and off enough times. The other three would not come on at all, or sometime just one bulb would come on weakly.

I replaced all of the fluorescent bulbs in these four fixtures and there is some improvement but not much. The one that came on eventually with switch flicking behaves the same. The three that would not come on at all now will light randomly. As I flick the light switch on and off repeatedly, sometimes all three will come on, sometimes none come on, , and sometimes one or two will come on randomly. When they do light, both bulbs will light and they are bright.

These fixtures are hard wired and are likely as old as the house, 28 years. Is this a ballast issue? If so, are ballasts reasonably easy to replace without taking the fixture down. I know I should replace them all with LED fixtures, but I don't use these lights often and am looking for an easy fix.

 

[eljefino]

Ballast or ground issue. Treat yourself to some electronic ballasts if you don't have them already. Also make sure the "tombstone" contacts aren't corroded.

T12s are ancient and relatively inefficient, so unless you're in love with the aesthetic I'd retrofit to T8s with electronic ballasts or LEDs.

 

[Hall]

Not diagnosing this, just commenting about ballasts - yes, they are replaceable. Quality ballasts are expensive though, much more expensive than entire LED-equipped fixtures. Sure, you can buy cheap ballasts, but you'll probably replace them in 2-3 years.

Personally, I'd replace the hard-wired connection point with outlets and replace the fixtures with plug-in units.

 

[Nukeman7]

These fixtures are hard wired and are likely as old as the house, 28 years. Is this a ballast issue? If so, are ballasts reasonably easy to replace without taking the fixture down.
I know I should replace them all with LED fixtures, but I don't use these lights often and am looking for an easy fix.

Ballasts are easy to replace, but that is not the proper way to resolve your situation. The currently available replacement ballasts are cheaply made overseas electronic units that will fail in a couple of years, if not sooner. I learned that the hard way after wasting ~$100. Your best strategy is to remove the ballasts altogether and simply rewire the tombstone connectors to utilize direct wired drop-in LED replacement tubes like these:
SHINESTAR 12 pack

I finally decided to do the very simple conversion in 2020 and have had zero failures since then. The lights turn on immediately without flicker or delays and the the LED tubes are much, much brighter than the old fluorescent tubes while consuming less energy.

Here is how to rewire the fixtures to eliminate the ballasts:

 

[Jetronic]

There's no starter? That would be my first suspect if the tubes refuse to come on or flicker.

 

[sparky123]

I personally would not replace the old magnetic ballast w/an electronic one which most certainly not last as long as your old ballast. Buy Type "B" bypass LED T8 bulbs and hopefully your end caps will still make good electrical contact w/your bulb's pins.

 

[Rand]

bypass the ballasts they are pricey and inefficient.
swap to direct wire LED. get a box of wago clips its super easy to do.

Do you have single pin or 2 pin t12's

if 2 pin t12 get a product such as:

Feit Electric $10 a bulb​

18-Watt 4 ft. T8/T12 G13 Type B Ballast Bypass Linear LED Tube Light Bulb, Selectable White (2-Pack)​

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-El...ble-White-2-Pack-T4815-4CCT-B-LED-2/321037737

Good ballasts run more than than the bulb retrofit.

 

[Foreman04]

I have seven fluorescent light fixtures in my cellar on the same circuit, each holding two 48" T12 fluorescent bulbs. Three of the fixtures work consistently, but four of them are not working properly, that is, they come on when they want to. One fixture will eventually come on if I flick the light switch on and off enough times. The other three would not come on at all, or sometime just one bulb would come on weakly.

I replaced all of the fluorescent bulbs in these four fixtures and there is some improvement but not much. The one that came on eventually with switch flicking behaves the same. The three that would not come on at all now will light randomly. As I flick the light switch on and off repeatedly, sometimes all three will come on, sometimes none come on, , and sometimes one or two will come on randomly. When they do light, both bulbs will light and they are bright.

These fixtures are hard wired and are likely as old as the house, 28 years. Is this a ballast issue? If so, are ballasts reasonably easy to replace without taking the fixture down. I know I should replace them all with LED fixtures, but I don't use these lights often and am looking for an easy fix.

Two words. You

I have seven fluorescent light fixtures in my cellar on the same circuit, each holding two 48" T12 fluorescent bulbs. Three of the fixtures work consistently, but four of them are not working properly, that is, they come on when they want to. One fixture will eventually come on if I flick the light switch on and off enough times. The other three would not come on at all, or sometime just one bulb would come on weakly.

I replaced all of the fluorescent bulbs in these four fixtures and there is some improvement but not much. The one that came on eventually with switch flicking behaves the same. The three that would not come on at all now will light randomly. As I flick the light switch on and off repeatedly, sometimes all three will come on, sometimes none come on, , and sometimes one or two will come on randomly. When they do light, both bulbs will light and they are bright.

These fixtures are hard wired and are likely as old as the house, 28 years. Is this a ballast issue? If so, are ballasts reasonably easy to replace without taking the fixture down. I know I should replace them all with LED fixtures, but I don't use these lights often and am looking for an easy fix.

I was going to say two words, but it’s actually one word. YouTube. If you don’t replace fluorescent fixtures now that utilize a ballast, you will be dealing with them in the future. Just pull them out and use LED fixtures. Very simple and all the instruction you will ever need is on YouTube. Then you’re done with it and that’s the end. I have replaced numerous old fluorescent fixtures with LED and so happy I’ve done so. It’s over with. As long as it has a ballast, it will need attention in the future. You’re retired, you have all the time in the world for this easy project.

 

[Rmay635703]

I had this issue and installed the cheapest LED universal bulbs I could find from hd they were said to work with both types of ballast.

They work fine with mediocre ballasts, the expensive ones Feit are noisy.

 

[Zee09]

I have the same issue.....26 years
I no longer work in that space so I blew it off....lol
Let the next guy figure it out...

 

[jhellwig]

There is still a starter in the T12 magnetic ballasts but they don't always last forever especially if they are switched on and off frequently. If they are turned on once a day and left on the rest of the day they last forever. I have changed ones that died finally from the 60s and some ones with external starters from the 50s.

If you can find GE electronic ballasts they are the best. Advance are also good. This might have changed in the last 10 years since I have changed out many fluorescent ballasts. Longhorse ballasts are a neat universalish one. Magnetics are long gone unless you find old stock.

 

[Hall]

There's no starter?

Starters went away a LONG time ago in fixtures. If it has a starter, it must be many decades old.

 

[Danno]

As quite a few have suggested, move to all in one fixtures. I have these in a new build garage, they work great, good light color, start instantly, great light output. It's a Canadian listing, but it's an example of what works. 3 years now, no issues, garage is unheated. Can get to zero Fahrenheit.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/...r-4000-lumens-4-ft-daylight-40w-0529463p.html

 

[Hall]

As quite a few have suggested, move to all in one fixtures. I have these in a new build garage, they work great, good light color, start instantly, great light output.

In the US, Harbor Freight sells similar fixtures and they go for 1/2 that price and frequently go on sale for less. I have (4) in our garage and they're a number of years old. If/when one dies, I'll unplug it, unhook the chains, and swap it. They replaced (2) of these so the lighting improvement was quite dramatic ! I removed those and swapped in duplex outlets that the fixtures plug into.

 

[rszappa1]

I have seven fluorescent light fixtures in my cellar on the same circuit, each holding two 48" T12 fluorescent bulbs. Three of the fixtures work consistently, but four of them are not working properly, that is, they come on when they want to. One fixture will eventually come on if I flick the light switch on and off enough times. The other three would not come on at all, or sometime just one bulb would come on weakly.

I replaced all of the fluorescent bulbs in these four fixtures and there is some improvement but not much. The one that came on eventually with switch flicking behaves the same. The three that would not come on at all now will light randomly. As I flick the light switch on and off repeatedly, sometimes all three will come on, sometimes none come on, , and sometimes one or two will come on randomly. When they do light, both bulbs will light and they are bright.

These fixtures are hard wired and are likely as old as the house, 28 years. Is this a ballast issue? If so, are ballasts reasonably easy to replace without taking the fixture down. I know I should replace them all with LED fixtures, but I don't use these lights often and am looking for an easy fix.

Had the same issue... The ballast is going bad. I did the rewire and got rid of the ballast and use led t12 bulbs. The mod is super easy to do...

 

[rszappa1]

Ballasts are easy to replace, but that is not the proper way to resolve your situation. The currently available replacement ballasts are cheaply made overseas electronic units that will fail in a couple of years, if not sooner. I learned that the hard way after wasting ~$100. Your best strategy is to remove the ballasts altogether and simply rewire the tombstone connectors to utilize direct wired drop-in LED replacement tubes like these:
SHINESTAR 12 pack

I finally decided to do the very simple conversion in 2020 and have had zero failures since then. The lights turn on immediately without flicker or delays and the the LED tubes are much, much brighter than the old fluorescent tubes while consuming less energy.

Here is how to rewire the fixtures to eliminate the ballasts:
View attachment 285921

It took me about 1 hour to to the mod to led....simple to do..

 

[Jetronic]

Starters went away a LONG time ago in fixtures. If it has a starter, it must be many decades old.

it's 28 years old....

 

[JTK]

What you are describing sounds like a slight amount of corrosion on the florescent tube pins or on the spring contacts in the tombstones. This is pretty common in locations that are damp or have big temperature swings. Another culprit is poor tension on the contact points in the tombstones, or tombstones that are burnt crispy from years of T12 heat and UV rays. You'll know this is the problem if the fixture will light if you wiggle the lamps.

I'm with the others in this thread in that you can absolutely not find a quality replacement ballast these days. It's not worth even trying unless you have new old stock parts to work with. Same goes with fluorescent lamps. Any of them made today are total garbage and will not last. New old stock lamps will last seemingly forever.

In the right decor, I love old school fluorescent lighting that is working well. You just can't get that today. I don't necessarily love the look of today's LED lighting, but that's all we have and it is way more energy efficient. I've done many T12 and T8 fluorescent to LED retrofits. All ballast bypass.

 

[97prizm]

I have seven fluorescent light fixtures in my cellar on the same circuit, each holding two 48" T12 fluorescent bulbs. Three of the fixtures work consistently, but four of them are not working properly, that is, they come on when they want to. One fixture will eventually come on if I flick the light switch on and off enough times. The other three would not come on at all, or sometime just one bulb would come on weakly.

I replaced all of the fluorescent bulbs in these four fixtures and there is some improvement but not much. The one that came on eventually with switch flicking behaves the same. The three that would not come on at all now will light randomly. As I flick the light switch on and off repeatedly, sometimes all three will come on, sometimes none come on, , and sometimes one or two will come on randomly. When they do light, both bulbs will light and they are bright.

These fixtures are hard wired and are likely as old as the house, 28 years. Is this a ballast issue? If so, are ballasts reasonably easy to replace without taking the fixture down. I know I should replace them all with LED fixtures, but I don't use these lights often and am looking for an easy fix.

Likely a bad ballast. Get one while you can as many states are or have banned fluorescent bulbs.

 

[rszappa1]

Likely a bad ballast. Get one while you can as many states are or have banned fluorescent bulbs.

Just do the rewire and go LED.....Uses much less electricity....