On Feb 20, 9:18*pm, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:05:50 -0600, The Daring Dufas

wrote:
On 2/20/2012 5:11 PM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
I flicked the light switch in the bathroom and only one of the 4
fluorescent light bulbs came on. After about a minute or so, the other
three came on. I turned it off and let it sit for 10-15 minutes and
tried it again. All 4 came right on.

Should I replace all 4 bulbs or is it likely the ballast (is that the
right word) that is going bad?

What was the temperature in your bathroom? If it was cold in there, the
lights may take a while to come on. Someone may have already mentioned
wiggling the bulbs because in a bathroom exposure to a lot of moisture
could have cause a bit of corrosion on the bulb contacts.

The house is in south Florida, so it's warm and humid. Plus it's a
bathroom without good ventilation. We were out for several hours. When
we got back, the lights went right on.

Tomorrow, I'll remove the bulbs and check the contacts for corrosion. I
suspect the bulbs are fairly old. It's my mom's house, and she is not
sure when they were last replaced.

Thanks

Jennifer,

Remove all four tubes. With a slightly damp rag, wipe down all the
tubes to get any accumulated dirt off the glass and the ends. Dry
thoroughly and put the tubes back. Not if any have fairly blackened
glass at the ends of the tubes. Replace the tubes. See what
happens. If one light lights right away, note that tube and mark it
somehow. Switch the good tube with any of the other three tubes. See
what happens when you turn the fisture on. Does the good tunbe light,
or does the replacement tube light. If the replacement tube lights,
the ballast is liekly to be bad.. IF the good tube still lights, the
other tubes is probably bad.