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nick
 
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Default anyone know how to diagnose a faulty Choke / Ballast in fluorescent light circuit

Hi all

I'm hoping somebody knows more about this than I do.

We have a standard fluorescent light that has stopped working.
I have replaced the tube and starter with known working ones and
still light doesnt work.

With the light switch on, I measured 240 volts going into the Choke,
but zero volts coming out of the choke.

From this I assumed the Choke was faulty (is this a correct
assumption)
Also I took out the Choke and no current passes through it using an
Ohmmeter/
Multimeter connected across the 2 terminals.
Again I figured the Choke must be faulty / open circuit from this (is
this
correct?)

I then replaced the 40W Choke with a similar thing from an old fitting
called a Ballast hoping this would fix the light.
It didnt - although for some unknown reason the light did come on for
about 5 minutes then died after putting the outer light casing back on
for the night????
Now when I switch on, there is a very dim light just at both ends of
the tube.

By the way the ballast I put in is 65W (is this important when the old
unit
was a 40W choke. The light tubes are 40W.)

I am still left wondering if the Choke is faulty, and if it is then
why isnt
the replacement ballast not working. (Yes I did connect it up the same
way)

Thanks for any help and advice
(Im surprised this isnt more of a common problem - I couldnt find
anyone
experiencing this same problem)

Regards
Nick