I have what seems to be a pretty simple problem with my kitchen fluorescent ceiling fixture with one unique exception...

When I turn on the light, the light will only light up partially or not at all. Sometimes it does eventually turn on and, once it's on, it stays on just fine without flickering. Bulbs appear to be fine and there is no starter on the fixture, so I would imagine the ballasts might have to be replaced.

Now here's the twist...this ONLY happens during the summer months. The rest of the year the fixture works without a problem. We have window AC units, so I thought perhaps it was too taxing on the circuit but, even when they are off the light still gives me the same trouble in the Summer. This has been happening for a few years now and I just can't figure out why.

I thought I'd reach out to see if there might be more to the problem besides replacing the ballasts. I have limited electrical knowledge and don't want to overlook a potentially bigger problem.

Thank you!

--Joe

 

The A/C units should have no relation on the light working or not working. Have you tried new lamps? It can be hard to tell just by looking if they are bad or not. (sometimes you can tell when the ends get black.) If the lamps are for sure good then you next step will be a ballast.

You didn't mention what kind of fixture you have but if it is a 2-4 lamp 4' T12 fixture you may want to consider upgrading to a T8 fixture (or retrofitting the current one) and lamps. They will give you more light, use less energy and start instantly.

IF you do not want to do that I have seen new electronic T12 (thats right T12!) 2 lamp ballasts for about $15 at the big orange store. A T8 4 lamp will run you about $25.

 

High humidity seems to inhibit the proper starting of fluorescent lamps.

 

I have 2 long tube fluorescent bulbs over my kitchen sink. They have started to act up and not come on fully at times. I tapped them SOFTLY with my hand and they flickered on. After doing this a few times a week my hand became sore so I looked around and grabbed a nearby banana. After all, I was in the kitchen. I SOFTLY tapped them and viola they lit right up. Now I don't recommend this to anyone but it is definitely one of the FUNNIEST FIXES I have ever done. I plan on doing this until it no longer works. I do have 2 new replacement bulbs but the feeling of milking (banana-ing?) these old bulbs is pretty fun. Maybe with summer over and the humidity dropping I will not have to do my new ritual. This is my first post here as a new member and I hope it does not offend any real craftsmen.

 

The soft taping you are doing gives me the impression that your sockets (where the lamps attach to the fixture) might be corroded or loose. When you get a chance, you might want to check and see if you can bend the contacts so they contact the pins on the lamp (bulb) better and end the abuse of bananas.

 

I do not have much good to say about fluorescent lighting. I just notice that the fluorescent tube lights dont last very long and they have high levels of mercury in them. I actually switched all of my fluorescent lighting to LED lighting recently. It is the best thing I could have done. The bulbs last much longer and they save on your energy bill. The company I used was very helpful in the pros and cons of both LED and Fluorescent lighting. If you are interested take a look ************NoAds******************

 

Considering that most fluorescents have a rated life in the thousands of hours vs less than 1000 for an incandescent bulb I don't see how you would think they don't last very long. Constant switching will reduce the lifespan, but should still be many times that of a regular bulb.

Also I would hardly consider the amount of mecury, about the size of a pinhead to be a high level.

 

But of course spammers
don't really care about the facts. Creative for a spammer though. Wonder if (s)he is paid by the post? (S)he sure can't make much taking that much time for each post.