New York|Home Clinic; WHAT TO DO WHEN A FLUORESCENT LAMP FLICKERS,BLINKS OR HUMS
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By Bernard Gladstone
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February 15, 1981
,
Section 11, Page
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FLUORESCENT lights will generally burn for many hours without needing maintenance, and they cost far less to operate than incandescent lamps of comparable brightness. But they do occasionally develop problems that require minor maintenance - in addition to the obvious need for replacement when they eventually burn out.
Fortunately, most repairs are not difficult to make, once you have diagnosed the problem, so here are the most frequently encountered symptoms and problems, along with some suggestions on how to solve them:
Lamp flickers or swirls around: If the tube is new, wait until it has been in use for some hours. If the swirling and flickering continue, try installing a new starter - the small, round canlike object that fits under one end of the tube. If fixture is of the rapidstart type, then it has no separate starter, and the trouble could be with the ballast.
The ballast, which is a kind of transformer, may also be responsible in fixtures that have starters - if changing the starter does not solve the problem. The only way to correct this is to take the old ballast out and replace it with a new one. (See cautions below.)
Lamp blinks: This is usually because of a poor connection where the tube fits into its sockets at each end. Take the tube out and clean the pins at each end with fine steel wool. Brush dust out of sockets, then reseat firmly. If the tube still blinks when the light is turned on, wiggle it a few times while the light is on to see if this cures the problem. If not, take the tube out and inspect sockets closely to see if spring contacts are bent or corroded.
Blinking can also be caused by a loose connection in some of the wires inside the fixture, or by a defective ballast. It can also be caused by low temperatures (below about 50 degrees) unless you have special low-temperature tubes and low-temperature starters.
Lamp won't light at all: First check the fuse, then the switch that controls power to that fixture. Next, try replacing the starter (if it has one) and then the tube. If all else fails, shut off the power, open the fixture and replace the ballast.
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