On Dec 26, 2:05*pm, (Don Klipstein) wrote:
In ,

Higgs Boson wrote:
In my garage, I have a fluorescent light -- the long kind with two
"bulbs" -- nd two CFLs-- the spiral type.

Q #1: When I put on the garage lights, the fluorescent buzzes
horribly. *Today, it didn't buzz. *I looked around and saw that one of
the CFLs was out. I replaced it and the fluorescent buzzed again.
What's the connection? Why did this happen?

* If each of the CFLs are pin-base ones with separate external ballasts,
then the explanation is almost certainly a ballast that can be quieted by
tightening its mounting. *Slight chance the ballast needs to be replaced
to shut it up - fair chance hard or inconvenient to do without replacing
the fixture.

Q #2: *Is there a way to tell that a CFL is burned out? *With an
incandescent, you can tell by shaking it. *But i had to screw that CFL
into another lamp to make sure it really was burned out.

* Fluorescents including CFLs usually have one end, sometimes both ends of
their tubing, significantly blackened when they kick the bucket. *Much
less frequently, a small region of the glass tubing around the filament at
one end cracks. *Sometimes a plastic base or ballast housing has visible
minor melting or minor scorching around one or both ends of the tubing.
If you see this at one end and not both, then the usual cause is that the
bulb has sung or is singing its swan song.

* Sometimes a CFL with an integral electronic ballast will croak with
ballast failure being either the cause of death, or ballast failure being
caused by an early stage of the bulb going into a terminal condition. *
Then, the only sign that the CFL is dead is that it refuses to work.
--
*- Don Klipstein )

Thanks for that tutorial on dead or moribund CFLs. Very helpful!

HB