Replacing the Ballast on a Fluorescent Light Fixture
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2015
- In this video, I remove and replace a dead ballast from a fluorescent light fixture in my garage. Because the wiring is different from the available ballasts at my local hardware store, I have to do some work. I am not an electrician and a professional electrician would probably have done something else.
Anyone following this video for help will need a new ballast that is of the appropriate type, wire caps (or nuts), some heat-resistant tape, and an electrical wire cutting/stripping tool is priceless.
Don't forget to turn off the electricity to the fixture before making this repair.
If this video was helpful, feel free to 'like' this video, leave positive feedback and subscribe to this channel at bit.ly/1Izuux4! - Jak na to + styl
Thank you! I watched several videos before finding one with my specific configuration. I've installed the new ballast and it's working fine.
+E3ECO Great! I'm thrilled that the video was useful.
Thank you so much for this instructional video! I have been searching for over a week to find the same fixture and replacement ballast as the one we have in common in your video.
You did very well with explaining how to do it. Now I can replace mine myself without having to wait on anyone to do it for me or pay someone else.
+Sonora Thank you for your polite comment! It's really enjoyable to be able to do things like this, isn't it?
Thanks so much! I had the same fixture and bulbs but my bad ballast was ancient and discontinued. It had 2 reds 2 blues on one end then black white green blue red and yellow on the other but I am now back in business after buying the same GE ballast and following along with this video.
Hi, Ben! I'm glad to be able to help.
Thank you for the video. It was concise and explained it well enough for me to understand!
I'm really glad to hear that!
Jon, thank you for posting your video. It helped me. God Bless.
+Somewhere Usa I'm glad I could be useful!
Always disconnect the black power wire FIRST, and re-connect it very last.Your way is a Good way to blow up a new ballast
Thanks for the pointers! (*I am not a professional.*)
Thanks, man. Your video game me the confidence I needed :-)
I'm glad to hear it! Good luck!
thank you for your help
Anytime! I'm glad the video was useful!
Good job I enjoyed watching your videos 👍
Glad you like them!
very helpful thank you
+Albert Covarrubias I'm glad it was useful!
thank you
Thank you!
great!
thank you for taking the liberty lol
Did anyone notice the hole in the lamp where power enters the fixture , possible shorting cause there's no inner plastic washer to protect the wires from being scathed by the sharp edged metal
That's something that really bothered me. The reason I didn't say anything about it is the insulation on the line.
thanks godbless
Thanks for your comment!
im using the same replacement ballast but the only difference is the fixture itself has two yellow wires coming out form one side. what do i do with the two yellow wires?
Oh, I'm uncertain intuitively. Does the ballast include marks on what the two yellows do?
Nice work, but it I were you, I would have saved that white wire sleeve and used it for the wires of the new ballast (so that the colored wires wouldn't be too visible through the lens)
That's a pretty good idea! The lights are in a work space in the garage. I'm not too particular about aesthetics in that location. :)
I have 2 4-bulb florescent fixtures I'm my kitchen. Only 2 bulbs work in each one (don't ask me why). Recently, one sets of bulbs don't work and the other doesn't and vice versa. sometime both fixtureswork, sometimes they don't. thought was the switch but that doesn't seem to be the case. the issue is intermittent. the bulbs are new and secured properly (the some of the plastic pieces where the bulbs go into the fixture are broken or cracked). Anyway, if it was a bad ballast, fine. but two? the latest seem to work and not work intermittently? thoughts?
So, you have problems with both fixtures working simultaneously? However, you also have troubles with the same two bulbs working in a single fixture?
+Realsuddenlike There are four seperated bulbs, two in each fixture. There are two fixtures. Sporadically, both lights in the one fixed would come on and neither of the lights in the other fixture would come on. Sometimes the first fixture works then the lights in the second fixture won't come on. Sometimes none of the lights in any of the two fixtures come on and sometimes they work fine. Either I have two ballasts going bad at (strangely) the same time or there is a wiring issue somewhere. What confuses me is that none of this is consistent. Ever heard of this?
I've never heard of this.
However, the two lights in my garage (in the video) had the ballasts go out within a short window of time from each other.
How old are the fixtures in your kitchen? Are they the original ballasts?
+Realsuddenlike One balast is original (15 years or so - can't believe it's lasted as long as it has) and the other is only 2 years old.
I did some googling and found this link with some basic steps for troubleshooting.
diy.stackexchange.com/questions/40803/why-are-my-fluorescent-lights-not-working-sometimes
I think it's a pretty good list of places to start. The very first step, the switch, sounds odd but I've had 5 or 6 switches in my house go bad in the last 2-3 years. Sometimes they would work; sometimes they wouldn't!
There's also a comment about a starter. I have zero experience with these.
If the light is wired up wrong due to the confusing colors, can it be rewired?
Sure. Just undo the connections and give it another go. Be cautious with electricity and wirings, though!
How do you know it's going bad?
That's a great question.
If nothing has changed in the electrical connection (switches, fixtures, wiring, circuit breakers, etc.) and the bulb is not particularly ancient or excessively well-used, then the ballast is probably your culprit. In my case, when it failed, you could visibly see the heat damage on the body of the ballast.
Thanks for asking!
Lol i got belted by not turning the electric off...I screamed when i got belted my naighbour was on the phone at the time and screamed for me then crapped her self and ran to the toilet 😂😂😂 This is true it happened last week 😂😂😂😂 Thanks for the video weve still an issue with the t5 light unit weve bought a new ballast but no lock down pins inside and I think we are going to get an electrician now...
Electricity goes off first. We had a switch to keep the electricity off but I always through a breaker.
Calling an electrician is never a bad thing. Plus, most of them will let you ask questions and even show you how to do what they're doing. Just ask. :)
Did you get burnt?
Mine was enclose, leaking, smelling.
Can’t see what you’re doing at many intervals
Thanks for the feedback! I'll work on this for future videos.
that old ballast is really weird i never seen a ballast like that before
Something proprietary, I presume. Thanks for the comment!
Bc it’s a cheap throw away light.not a commercial fixture with a ballast like what he’s installing now. That’s a 10 dollar Lowe’s shop light, the ballast prob cost as much as the light did new
Adam Wise I was thinking the same thing. That ballast probably cost 20 bucks at least.
god, fluorescent lights are the worst. screw this, my landlord can deal with this
If you've got a landlord, he/she should definitely be the one to handle it!
Iam the landlord, & electrical guy wants $50. & I bght parts..It maybe worth it..I'm giving up!
Thanks for the response!
You're a landlord or you're SeanP87's landlord?
It's only worth the cost-savings of doing it yourself if you're confident. Otherwise, $50 seems like a good price, to me.
Realsuddenlike lol that'd be weird if my landlord started stalking my CZcams comments
Hysterical! Thanks for the laugh!
Which is likely why they are phasing them out. Why have something that can last a long time when you can get consumers to buy more frequently? Ugh.
where are your Klein's (line man)??? Lol
missing the belly pan
I use cheap tools!