I have a large outdoor fixture that is about 20 years old. The light went out and I tried a new bulb that did not work, so assumed it was the ballast. The light was in very good shape, so thought I would try to fix it. The ballast was an Advance brand. The label on the old ballast had disintegrated, so all I had was a stamped number on the side. I called Advance directly, uploaded some pics to them. The Advance rep said it was too old to identify, but recommended a ballast that should work, so I ordered it. The ballast I received was at least half the size of the old one! I called back and reported and he said just probable newer technology hence a smaller size. So I rebuilt the fixture, hooked a plug up and it worked fine. I installed the fixture, which has a photo cell on it a ways from the light on a exterior junction box. I tested it and it worked. A few days later I noticed it quit working? The bulb was brand new, but didn't know how to test it.
What would be my best next step?

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On Wed, 14 Apr 2021 23:31:43 +0000, terry
wrote:

I have a large outdoor fixture that is about 20 years old. The light went out and I tried a new bulb that did not work, so assumed it was the ballast. The light was in very good shape, so thought I would try to fix it. The ballast was an Advance brand. The label on the old ballast had disintegrated, so all I had was a stamped number on the side. I called Advance directly, uploaded some pics to them. The Advance rep said it was too old to identify, but recommended a ballast that should work, so I ordered it. The ballast I received was at least half the size of the old one! I called back and reported and he said just probable newer technology hence a smaller size. So I rebuilt the fixture, hooked a plug up and it worked fine. I installed the fixture, which has a photo cell on it a ways from the light on a exterior junction box. I tested it and it worked. A few days later I noticed it quit working? The bulb was brand new, but didn't know how to test it.
What would be my best next step?

Throw it away and buy an LED fixture?

On Wed, 14 Apr 2021 22:28:53 -0400, posted for all of us to
digest...


On Wed, 14 Apr 2021 23:31:43 +0000, terry
wrote:

I have a large outdoor fixture that is about 20 years old. The light went out and I tried a new bulb that did not work, so assumed it was the ballast. The light was in very good shape, so thought I would try to fix it. The ballast was an Advance brand. The label on the old ballast had disintegrated, so all I had was a stamped
number on the side. I called Advance directly, uploaded some pics to them. The Advance rep said it was too old to identify, but recommended a ballast that should work, so I ordered it. The ballast I received was at least half the size of the old one! I called back and reported and he said just probable newer technology hence a
smaller size. So I rebuilt the fixture, hooked a plug up and it worked fine. I installed the fixture, which has a photo cell on it a ways from the light on a exterior junction box. I tested it and it worked. A few days later I noticed it quit working? The bulb was brand new, but didn't know how to test it.
What would be my best next step?

Throw it away and buy an LED fixture?

Terry, unfortunately I have to agree and that is what I did. The led
replacement was cheaper than the parts. Uses less juice and is actually better
for illumination purposes.

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Tekkie