In article , Clive Mitchell wrote:
In message ,
writes
I am a maintenance man, and we got a brand new 8 foot fixture. This
new fixture did not work..... One bulb would light, the other would
not.

In a fixture with two inductive ballast's and the usual starter
arrangement, if the wires are mixed so that one tubes "A" cathode is
wired through the starter to the other tubes "B" cathode, then it
creates a kind of flip-flop condition where the first tube to light
stops the other lighting.

If the starters were removable, then the removal of one would show a
single electrode glowing on each tube during the starting attempts.

another poster gave this pdf:

http://www.advancetransformer.com/li...cket_Guide.pdf

if you scroll down to page 26, "troubleshooting", they describe the
exact problem me@my reported. the text makes clear that it is a
common problem with unpredictable operating results, that range from
almost normal (intermittent?) operation or one bulb operation, to not
working, to premature lamp and ballast failures.

some of the RCM'er have described these very symptoms, drives them
crazy wondering what the hey is happening. this pdf is worth the
download for anyone using flourescent shop lites. --Loren

ps. followup-to set to sci.engr.lighting