The two yellow wires are the common connection. That's where you only have holes to insert wire on one side of the socket. Generally, more than 400 V is required to strike the gas discharge process in fluorescent tube light. But older fluorescent fixtures use magnetic ballasts, and these can go bad. This is ideal for instant start lamps, but won't work for a program rapid start ballast. For reference, the ballast will likely have a wiring diagram printed right on the ballast itself. Lol. The new ballast (which is a 2 bulb T8, compatible with F25 bulbs) has 2 red, 2 blue and 2 yellows that I didn't have before. The fixture now will not work with just 1 bulb, 2 must be intalled into the fixture. Cheaper ballasts are likely to need more rewiring than a fitting that has a branded ballast in it. 5. Second ballast (powerplant) untested, but has had some new capacitors fitted. The schematic isn't making sense to me and I have tried many different combinations of these wires, which succeeds to power only a single bulb at a time. The new ballast (which is a 2 bulb T8, compatible with F25 bulbs) has 2 red, 2 blue and 2 yellows that I didn't have before. Moving from a magnetic ballast to an electronic one will help you do that. Which I tied together the corresponding colors with no issues. I just stripped and twisted all the corresponding colored wires together: 2 reds to 2 reds, 2 blues to 2 On the 4 lamp instant start ballast diagram below, each individual wire is connected to a pair of individual wires on the lampholders. my lights are the single pin florescent type. If you have shunted sockets, you'll have to replace them as well. Two individual wires of the same color (blue or red) connect to each of the individual pairs on lamps 1 and 4. I believe most residential wiring codes require the use of solid core insulated wire. Standard fluorescent lighting fixtures are more energy-efficient than incandescent light fixtures, and the bulbs generally last considerably longer, but occasionally a special transformer inside the fixture, called a ballast, may need replacing., may need replacing. Welcome Reddit's International Electrical Worker Community. Remove the old ballast and install the new one. If you are replacing a T8 ballast, the wiring of the old ballast should be the same as that on the new ballast. After all of this I understand ballast wiring much better now. Make the cut close enough to the old ballast that the wires from the new ballast will easily reach the old wires. More below. The fixture itself is a F25T8 with two bulbs. Took old ballast to supply store and got the newer, smaller replacement ballast. Moreover, a ballast has a limited life and must be replaced after failure. Yes, the third ballast (HLS) doesn't work since the digital timer inside it died, the light would not work when tested. Stack Exchange Network. Since removed the timer from the circuit, hoping to rebuild the light without the built in timer. There were some fluorescent fixtures in my father's gas station that were over 40 years old and still working!! Suggestions on grounding the lamp to a juncture box that has no ground wire? I hooked it up like the other poster said, red with yellows, one blue with reds and one blue with the 2 blues. Thanks for any help you may be able to give. Swapping magnetic ballasts for electronic. Efficiency is really what it’s all about. I am trying to replace an instant start ballast with a programmed start ballast, since it's a frequently switched fixture, and I'm tired of burning bulbs every two months. Run one jumper from each side of each yellow to the other socket on that end. Aluminum Electrical Wiring Types [Click to enlarge any image] As you see in the photo above, typically aluminum electrical branch circuit wiring was plastic-covered. The rapid start ballast uses voltage across the two contacts on the end of each lamp to heat the filament which makes the lamp easier to start and increases lamp life, especially in applications that are frequently switched on and off. Step 1 Purchase a T8 ballast at a home improvement retailer. this allowed having only 1 bulb in the fixture to reduce the brightness. They are different. The fixture wires include 2 blue wires coming out one side and a single red on the opposing side. Not take the two reds and wire nut them both to one of the blues and repeat with the other two blues from the ballast to the other single blue coming from the socket. "Follow the colore-coded wiring diagram" was the recommendation, yet after connecting all like colors on the new ballast to the fixture, all I got was a delayed, dim light at the base of each fluorescent bulb. The ballast has a hot and neutral wire at one end to receive power, and two blue wires a red one at the other end to supply power to the lights. My old ballast was wired as pic 1 with 3 wires to the 3 connectors the new ballast has 6 connectors I wired old 1 to new 21 old 2 to 23 old 5 to 25 but no joy - do i have to loop 21-22 23-24 25-26 i know the tubes work and the plug The ballast makes sure that the amount of current being provided to the lamp is not more than the specification of the light. Without a ballast, a lamp or a bulb will rapidly increase its current draw and it can become uncontrollable as well. Wired in new ballast, put in bulbs and fixture worked for about 2 hours, then noticed it was not lit. Strip wires about 3/8 to ½ inch in length. You can use this in your existing fixture. Cheaper ballasts are likely to need more rewiring than a fitting that has a branded ballast in it. 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