Strip light

Jan 14, 2005 13 Replies

We have a strip light that is very slow to come on. It remains dark for about 2 minutes, then very slowly it flickers into life. After about 2 or 3 minutes is is fully lit and stable.



Is this the bulb failing or the starter motor?



Any advice welcome.



John In limine sapientiae


None of the above. It sounds like the whole fitting is too cold to bring the light on quickly. Or the ballast is starting to go belly up. Or, it could be just be the tube, or the starter. But try changing both the tube and starter to see what happens. It's always best to change both at the same time anyway.

What wattage and length is the tube? What is the starter rating? (by the way, it's not a starter motor;-) What is the ambient temperature?

Thanks for help. A new starter motor seems to have done the trick. John In limine sapientiae

The fluorescent lamps in my garage are taking _ages_ to light at the moment. Not much fun when struggling to get the bike wheeled out after removing cover and disconnecting the Optimate. In fact it's all nearly done by the time the lights have come on. maybe I should leave them on after putting the bike away at night and only switch them off in the morning. Or fit some intricate ballast heater? Second thoughts - leaving them on is easier!

Richard

Add an ordinary lightbulb on an extra switch or as part of the existing setup, that way you've got an instant light when you need it.

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 15:39:04 +0000, John Edgar strung together this:

It's starter, there's no motor.

Replace starters and tubes in pairs as one will wear the other out if faulty.

Thanks. I changed the starter motor and all is now OK.

John In limine sapientiae

It's not a motor, just a starter.

Even "Starter Lamp" if you want, but not "Motor". It doesn't have any moving parts in it, except maybe a few electrons, so it isn't a motor.

Actually, it's got two bimetallic strips in it, which move together and make a contact ;-)

ROFL !!! Don't get me started on Starter Lamps or I'll just go on about how they can't detect balanced potential. ROFL !!!

Yes, sorry. It doesn't have any wheels or things . . . . John In limine sapientiae

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