On Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:21:12 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hello,

Put up the typical four foot (2 bulb) fluorescent light over my workbench.
Bought at HD.

Sometimes it takes, literally 3 or 4 tries turning the AC switch on and off
before it lights and stays lit. Other times, rarely, it'll catch on the
first turn-on.

What switch? One built into the fixture, or a switch you wired to
the outlet. If the former- I'd suspect the switch first. To
test it- once the fixture is on, unplug it and plug it back in. If
that seems to work, even if the fixture is cold, then the switch is
bad.

"Lights and stays lit"? Do you man it actually lights- then goes
out? That's a switch. Or does it just flicker? That's more
likely the ballast.


Is this, likely, a bulb(s) problem or something wrong (like made too
cheaply) a Ballast problem.

Is this a typical problem ?

The cheap fixtures have super cheap ballasts. I'd replace the
ballast.

I see they don't use or have those little "Starter" small tubes anymore.
I guess this really dates me.

If a defective Ballast, best to dump the whow thing and buy another, at
Lowe's this time, or are the Ballast themselves (cheaply) replaceable ?

Lowe's & HD buy where they can get the best deal-- neither has some
magic way of buying good stuff cheaper than the other. This week HD
has the deal- next week it is Lowe's.

Good ballasts can be had for $10-20. [$5 if you want to buy a lot
of 6-10 on ebay]

Jim