Flourescent Light Help, Please

It sounds like a classic case of a bad ground connection, somewhere. The metal parts of the fixture must have a good ground. Usually the problem is at the fixture, but it may also be many other places.

That's almost always a problem with the ground for the fixture. Flourescent lights require:

1. A reliable ground (not neutral wire) connection
2. The proper orientatation/location of the ballast and the bulbs and the ground. If the product is UL/CSA or CE listed, approved, etc. as the case may be, then that won't be an issue as long as the fixture is mounted as detailed in its install instructions. If it's sort of a diy install though, those things become more important to proper operation.
3. It's also possible it is a line voltage issue. Low line voltage can impact the firing of the tubes. Flicking the switch sometimes will create a spike of sufficient duration and strength to fire the bulb; once fired, it will stay on at lower voltages. In certain older structures it's not unusual to find a specific wire with low line voltage but not on the other wiring. It's a result of connections which go resistive due to aging, oxidation, etc..
4. Dumb question: Is there a starter in the fixture? If so, was it also changed out? New fixtures are unlikely to have a "starter". They're little aluminum tube shapes that twist-insert into a socket somewhere on the light fixture.
5. Are the ground/neutral/hot polarities correct?

HTH

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and new bulbs.

the service as an

about "electricity"

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Thank y'all very much for the help with the light problem.

If it ever goes off again, I'll check return and ground lines (specifically).

You, of course, know what /had/ to happen.

Since writing the orginal message, the problem has not occured once so, apparently, y'all scared the problem off!

Many thanks, Gray

Gray Shockley

-------------------------- Entropy Maintenance Technician Tao Chemical Company

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