Is there an electrician in the house?

[Zhukov]

Alright, I guess this sort of goes under "Home Improvement"

I just bought a four-foot 3 bulb flourescent ballast/fixture/whatever, and it doesn't seem to work.

The bulbs don't appear to be burned out.

The bulbs appear to be making good connection on the ends.

It's 120V, and I plugged into a normal outlet.

I have a fan that is 120V and that works fine in the same outlet.

When I first plugged it in, there was some noise as if it were about to turn on, then nothing.

Now it makes no sound at all.

It's imperative that I get this thing working asap....can anyone offer any troubleshooting advice?

 

[Mr. P]

Alright, I guess this sort of goes under "Home Improvement"

I just bought a four-foot 3 bulb flourescent ballast/fixture/whatever, and it doesn't seem to work.

The bulbs don't appear to be burned out.

The bulbs appear to be making good connection on the ends.

It's 120V, and I plugged into a normal outlet.

I have a fan that is 120V and that works fine in the same outlet.

When I first plugged it in, there was some noise as if it were about to turn on, then nothing.

Now it makes no sound at all.

It's imperative that I get this thing working asap....can anyone offer any troubleshooting advice?

Sounds like it may be the starter..
It should look like a little drum or barrell..
Move it (rotate) a bit see what happens..

 

[Zhukov]

Sounds like it may be the starter..
It should look like a little drum or barrell..
Move it (rotate) a bit see what happens..

Would that be inside the black box in the middle?

Rather loathe to open that thing up and start messing with it to be honest with ya.

 

[dilloduck]

Would that be inside the black box in the middle?

Rather loathe to open that thing up and start messing with it to be honest with ya.

you shouldn't have to open that box--just like Mr P said--you should see the top of a round aluminum cylinder that you can just turn maybe 1/4 turn and pull it out. Replace it with a new one and see how it goes. They're cheap and I bet you can do it safely !

 

[Zhukov]

I don't see anything remotely like that.

There are wires and a black box. That's pretty much it.

I'll take a picture of it and post it tommorow morning.

 

[Zhukov]

Pictures.

 

[Mr. P]

I'm afraid the starter is part of that box Z..Be sure the bulbs are twisted
securely in position..Is this new?
If so take the sucker back. Or replace the box. Wish I could help more.

 

[no1tovote4]

Is this for a reef tank? You may have a problem with the grounding of the socket. Have you tried plugging the thing in at another location to see if it works?

 

[Zhukov]

Yeah I tried a few other sockets. Nothing.

So I brought it into work and had our maintenance guy check it out. Perhaps not the brightest guy in the world but I'm sure he knows a hell of a lot more than me about things like this.

Anyway, he looked it over, put in some different bulbs, nothing. He figured it's the ballast (which the seller also suggested must be the case failing all else) so I have mailed it back to the people I bought it from. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for them to get me a replacement.

I had hoped the problem was something I could take care of myself and not have to waste more time, alas this is just my fucking luck.

Thanks for the help though.

 

[Mr. P]

Yeah I tried a few other sockets. Nothing.

So I brought it into work and had our maintenance guy check it out. Perhaps not the brightest guy in the world but I'm sure he knows a hell of a lot more than me about things like this.

Anyway, he looked it over, put in some different bulbs, nothing. He figured it's the ballast (which the seller also suggested must be the case failing all else) so I have mailed it back to the people I bought it from. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for them to get me a replacement.

I had hoped the problem was something I could take care of myself and not have to waste more time, alas this is just my fucking luck.

Thanks for the help though.

Hate it when that happens..your welcome..