Repairing fluorescent tubes and fixtures is quite simple and require some basic electrical skills like installing wire nuts, identifying wires by color, and stripping wires insulation from the end of cut wires. It is a simple task and if you understand the terminology well, this article will surely help you repair fluorescent light fixtures.
Though fluorescent lighting fixtures come in a number of shapes and sizes, and they vary in construction as well but the manner they operate is similar for all. All the fluorescent tubes and bulbs work by exciting a gas at a high voltage in a sealed glass tube. After the gas is excited and illuminated, the voltage is reduced and the gas continues to provide light by the fast movement of the gas molecules.

Causes of Dead Fluorescent
There are numerous causes for a dead fluorescent. It can be caused by shortage of electrical power (a blown fuse or tripped breaker), a non-functional starter, a dead ballast or a dead tube. First of all you should check for the power supply then the starter and then tubes. Even now the problem persists, the ballast will have to be replaced. Since it is the most expensive part of the entire fixture be sure that it is really dead before changing. In case of flickering tubes, all these checkouts can be implied as well.

One very important point to note is that flickering fluorescent tubes can overheat the ballast and cause it to fail prematurely. It can even burn the starter. So flickering problems should be handled quickly before they cost you too much.

1) Check the Tubes First
If the tubes are darkening near either ends, it is defective or near to it. The darkened tubes may give light but it days are counted. Either ends of a tube has an electrode located inside, which has two visible pins that fit into the sockets. Both the electrodes should be working and that can be checked by checking the continuity across the pins. But working electrodes don't insure the lighting tubes as there may be various other reasons for it failure. If you have to check a number of tubes or even a single one, the most reliable method is to install the tube/s in a working lighting fixture.

2) Then the Starter

Most of the modern fixtures don't use starter but the old ones do. A fluorescent starter is a small cylinder like object that plugs into a socket attached to the fixture's frame. It supplies a delayed shot of high-voltage electricity to the gas inside the tube. The delay gives the gas time to become ionized in order to conduct electricity. As this is not an instantaneous process, the tubes flicker for a few seconds prior to lighting. So a defective starter can cause either flickering or total darkness. If you have lost the starter or the current one is defected, then write down the wattage of the tubes as that would help select the proper starter becausestarters are rated by wattage. However there is no such way to repair the starter except replacing it with a new one. To install a new starter, press it into the socket and turn it clockwise. To remove the starter, press it and turn it anti-clockwise.
 

3) At Last the Ballast
Ballast

are of two types. Magnetic and electronic. Magnetic ballasts are traditionally working in fluorescent world, are inexpensive and generally give 10 to 20 years of service. Electronic ballasts are modern ballasts having specific advantages over magnetic ballasts. First of all they don't hum and start more quickly than magnetic ballasts. Replacing a defective blast cost as mush as a new fixture, especially the electronic ballast that lights the tubes faster, runs cooler and are hum free. While buying a new ballast make sure that the new one is wired identically to the existing one. Most modern ballasts come with a wiring diagram on the body itself, clearly marked with the wire colors. In case the diagram is not printed on body it will be packed in the box or printed on it. However common ballasts use the same color scheme, making your job easier.

 

Useful Resources

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