On 11/2/2016 10:17 AM, Bill Moinihan wrote:


Apparently there is no repair; it can only be replaced, but it can't be
found, so it has to be replaced with a different ballast, which may have to
be T8 because they may no longer even sell T12 ballasts.


Correct. T12 are obsolete.



Thanks for saying that one controls outer and one controls inner.
Is that the standard setup?

Yes. The other set up would be a single four lamp ballast.



Yes. I saw videos where people followed those wires.
I like the name "tombstone", as it fits the rounded-top rectangular shape.

I also found out that a T12 is 12/8ths of an inch in diameter, so, just
looking at the lamps, I should have known that the diameter indicated a T12
while the diameter of the LEDs indicated a T8 (8/8ths of an inch), although
neither seems to be that large in diameter in actuality.

Correct. A T8 is supposed to be 1 inch in diameter.


Yes. You are correct, in that I looked this up and these are the colors:
The ballast has 2 yellows that go to both prongs at one end of two lamps.
It has 2 reds that go to both prongs of the other end of the first one of
those two lamps, and then it has 2 blues that go to both prongs of the other
end of the second of those two lamps.

I think I just have to remove stuff to see where the ballasts go, but in
looking up how to replace them, I realized that I will never find a 1:1
replacement.

I think it may be "easier" and more cost effective to just replace the
entire assembly. Any suggestions for an inexpensive replacement?

Ballasts are now becoming universal. In that, I mean, they can
accommodate voltage of 120 to 277 and they no longer have two wires of
each color. Instead, they offer one red and two blues. Each of those
wires connects with the two wires from each lamp. Thus, the single red
will connect to the two yellows, one blue will connect to two blues and
the other blue will connect to the two reds.

Unfortunately, inexpensive replacements usually mean cheap ballasts
which will not last long. Also keep in mind if you continue to use
fluorescent fixtures, when a lamp is burned out, it is best to replace
asap to ensure long life of the ballast. When a lamp isn't working, the
ballast continuously attempts igniting the non-working lamp and that
decreases the life of the ballast.