Greetings, I have (15) 9-W CFL security lights of the 2-pin replaceable bulb type, installed in 2002. Over the years, as replacement becomes necessary, about half the failures are fixed by a simple bulb replacement, the other half being electronic ballast failure, requiring replacement of the entire fixture. I've been accumulating these bad ballasts and now have (7), making it economically worthwhile to repair. Some research indicates the main electrolytic capacitor to be most often the culprit, followed by one or both transistors. There is a fuse on the hot input to the ballast, which is good on all units, none of them show bad solder joints, burns, bulging capacitor, ie., nothing obvious. With my electronics knowledge limited to Ohm's Law, and occasional soldering of small projects, I ask: Do I need a VOM with capacitance feature to check for bad capacitor? Can this be done without de-soldering? What about testing components under power? (Yes, I know, this is risky, with several hundred volts on the secondary side of the transformer). I'm just thinking, all (7) units probably have the same failed component, if I can only discover it.

I had can lights (approx 12) installed and have not drywalled yet. One of our kids was playing in that room and bumped/hit one the cans and it immediately went out, and another one in the room went out as well. They won't turn back on but do not look to be broken or damaged at all. Is this a safety feature? Any ideas on what could be going on?