My bathroom light consists of a 12" ring with an 8" ring inside. At times it won't come on and at other times it works just fine. When it fails, a heat lamp on the same switch does work. I have replaced both rings but that doesn't help. I don't see a ballast or starter but I haven't looked inside the fixture. What could the problem be?
---MIKE---
>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
>> (44=B0 15' N - Elevation 1580')
---MIKE---
---MIKE---
In the canopy of the fixture is a "circleline" ballast for 1-32 watt T-12 and 1-20 watt T-12 lamp. It's probably not worth replacing, I'd get a new fixture
Sometimes a florescent fixture acts like this because of a crappy ground.
May not be your problem, but it's cheap to check.
New Hampshire
I agree with the two comments. 1. Possible bad ground issue. 2. Ballast bad, above the parts you can see. I also agree that replacing it may be the best idea, but remember that you will need a fixture large enough to cover the area under the old one. That area likely is now a different color than the rest of the ceiling.
If it's old, it could be a bad starter. If the switch is ON and the ring won't light, lightly brush the ring using your hand--does this work? Closely inspect contacts and connections for any corrosion, evidence of sparking, or loose connections. Not sure how long you want to troubleshoot, or just replace the fixture and be done with it.
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