Fluorescent ballast problem

[dcason]

The ballast in my 4 lamp fluorescent fixture has gone kaput. I flipped on the light switch - pop, and then none of the lights worked. I tried the bulbs in another fixture. They worked fine. I removed the ballast. It is a Keystone ballast

Catalog Number - KTEB-432RIS-1-TP, Product Class - Electronic Fluorescent, Lamp Type - F32t8, Lamps - 4, Volts - 120, Hz - 60, Line Current - 1.50amps. I found a GE ballast that is Product Class - Electronic Fluorescent, Lamp Type - F32t8, Lamps - 4, Volts - 120 - 277, Hz - 60, Line Current - .43 amps. I wired it up connecting the 2 red wires on the ballast to the 2 red wired on the fixture, the 2 blue wires on the ballast to the 2 blue wires on the fixture, the 2 yellow wires on the ballast to the 2 yellow wires on the fixture, the white and black wire on the ballast to the white and black wires on the fixture. I turned the breaker back on and flipped the switch on. Two of the 4 lamps will light up brightly. One has a dim glow. The 4th has no light at all. The GE ballast was the only 4 lamp ballast I could find that came close to matching the specs of the keystone ballast with 2 differences. The voltage on the keystone was 120v - the voltage on the GE is 120 - 277 v. The amps on the keystone was 1.50, the amps on the GE is .43. I'm wondering if either of these 2 differences would cause all lamps to not light up. Does anyone have any ideas? I certainly would appreciate any advice.

[SQLit]

I have never seen a dual voltage ballast for fluorescent lamps. Keystone was the reseller of the ballast. Your local electrical supply store should have a ballast that will fit the application and be 120v. Just match the wiring on the cover of the ballast and all should be fine.

[TKM]

Both ballasts appear to be designed for four F32T8 lamps and so the new ballast should be able operate the four lamps correctly. The GE ballast automatically sets itself to operate properly for input voltages between 120 and 277 volts, so that's O.K. too. The reason for the different current ratings is probably because your old ballast is an electromagnetic type while the new GE ballast is electronic. That seems O.K. as well.

What could be the problem is the ballast-to-lamp wiring. Wiring color codes are not always consistent among ballast manufacturers and I'm guessing that you have miswired the new ballast. There should be a wiring diagram on the ballast label. Follow that instead of the wire color codes from the old ballast. If there isn't a wiring diagram on the label, go to the GE Lighting web site with the ballast model number to find it.

The black and white wires on the ballast go to the power supply lines and those should be matched white/white and black/black. I assume the ballast is mounted with metal bolts or screws and so it should be automatically grounded to the lighting fixture which should be grounded to the bare wire in the power supply line. It wouldn't hurt to run a bare copper wire to one of the ballast mounting bolts and connect that to the bare ground wire in the supply lead. Sometimes there is a bit of bare wire fastened to the ballast case that is designed for that purpose.

TKM

[TKM]

Dual or multiple-voltage electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps are becoming common. Maybe the OP has one of the GE Lighting units shown at:

Several 120-277 products are listed.

TKM