Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-29-2018, 09:32 AM
 
946 posts, read 1,116,219 times
Reputation: 406

Advertisements

I have 4 sets of fluorescent light fixture, two no longer worked and I tried replacing the bulbs and reset the breakers. That didn't work and now a 3rd set of light went out. I have no idea what else I could do to troubleshoot this issue. Could it be the ballast? Is it time to call in a electrician?

3 months ago two stopped working and now there is only one that lights up
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-29-2018, 09:43 AM
 
Location: Southern California
12,713 posts, read 15,390,571 times
Reputation: 35511
Most likely the ballasts. They aren't that difficult to change out but please do call a professional if you have any doubts. Messing with electricity isn't the best idea if you don't know what you are doing.

I'd probably just buy some ballasts, watch some YouTube videos on proper procedure for changing, and then make sure you cut the power to the area and are 100% sure it is cut.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 09:44 AM
 
13,040 posts, read 20,693,569 times
Reputation: 21214
Could be the ballast. Could be loose wires or connection. How much do you know and how comfortable are you working on these light? Of course, you could replace those fixtures with LED and not have much to worry about again.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 10:02 AM
 
946 posts, read 1,116,219 times
Reputation: 406
I'm definitely not comfortable working with electricity so calling in a electrician would be my best bet.
What would be a average charge to fix 3 light fixtures?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Boydton, VA
4,521 posts, read 6,211,640 times
Reputation: 10395
Do yourself a favor and replace those antiquated fixtures with LED fixtures....lower your electric bill and never have another worry about changing bulbs or ballasts.

Regards
Gemstone1`
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 11:08 AM
 
946 posts, read 1,116,219 times
Reputation: 406
Quote:
Originally Posted by gemstone1 View Post
Do yourself a favor and replace those antiquated fixtures with LED fixtures....lower your electric bill and never have another worry about changing bulbs or ballasts.

Regards
Gemstone1`
I was thinking about doing that. How much would a electrician charge for this work?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 12:54 PM
 
Location: Johns Creek, GA
17,403 posts, read 65,528,173 times
Reputation: 23515
Replace ballasts- it's an easy job. Don't pay an electrician for something so simple. Or if you want to convert to LED, there are bulbs on the market that don't require ballast.

Or, you can replace the ballast and use LED replacement bulbs that work with the ballast.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 01:31 PM
 
8,071 posts, read 9,985,879 times
Reputation: 22604
That "heavy bag" is likely part of your problem. The pounding is vibrating the ceiling which is shortening the life of your light fixtures. Could be loose wires, but most likely ballast which has given up pre maturely.


Get LED bulbs and eliminate much of the problem.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 02:04 PM
 
Location: Texas
5,717 posts, read 18,760,922 times
Reputation: 11222
If it were me, and I was in the same situation last year, I'd replace the entire light fixture with LED fixtures. I had one double 8ft fluorescent and 2 double 4 ft fluorescent fixtures in the garage. It was close to daylight in there at night, or so I thought. I had major issues with dim lights during cold spells where the lights would come on but were more like moonlight until they built up some heat. During the summer, no problem. I replaced the units with 4000 lumen, 5000K dual LED bulbs fixtures. I have only 2 in there now. They come on instantly no matter the temperature and the 2 fixtures are far brighter and yield far more usable light than the others. They are extremely bright units. You might need to rethink the lighting. These strip lights, LED or fluorescent, yield most of their light to the sides of the fixture with little throw of light out of the ends. In regards to just replacing the current bulbs with LEDS, all I could find at the time were cool white bulbs. Cool white(2700-3000K) is a yellow light in LED bulbs. The Kelvin rating(temperature/color of the light) needs to be at least 4000K or the usable light suffers. I went with 5000K and wouldn't change a thing about them. You need to also look at the lumens rating. The lumens is the actual amount of light that the bulb puts out. No, they are not all created equal. My 4000lumen lights puts out more light by 200% of some of the common LED units. Make sure to research the output and color of the light. In my book for a garage, the more the better.
Here is a 5200 lumen light fixture at 4000K at HD.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...7141/207050927
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2018, 02:40 PM
 
946 posts, read 1,116,219 times
Reputation: 406
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrapperL View Post
If it were me, and I was in the same situation last year, I'd replace the entire light fixture with LED fixtures. I had one double 8ft fluorescent and 2 double 4 ft fluorescent fixtures in the garage. It was close to daylight in there at night, or so I thought. I had major issues with dim lights during cold spells where the lights would come on but were more like moonlight until they built up some heat. During the summer, no problem. I replaced the units with 4000 lumen, 5000K dual LED bulbs fixtures. I have only 2 in there now. They come on instantly no matter the temperature and the 2 fixtures are far brighter and yield far more usable light than the others. They are extremely bright units. You might need to rethink the lighting. These strip lights, LED or fluorescent, yield most of their light to the sides of the fixture with little throw of light out of the ends. In regards to just replacing the current bulbs with LEDS, all I could find at the time were cool white bulbs. Cool white(2700-3000K) is a yellow light in LED bulbs. The Kelvin rating(temperature/color of the light) needs to be at least 4000K or the usable light suffers. I went with 5000K and wouldn't change a thing about them. You need to also look at the lumens rating. The lumens is the actual amount of light that the bulb puts out. No, they are not all created equal. My 4000lumen lights puts out more light by 200% of some of the common LED units. Make sure to research the output and color of the light. In my book for a garage, the more the better.
Here is a 5200 lumen light fixture at 4000K at HD.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerci...7141/207050927
I will need a quote from a electrician for this.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top