Flourscent Doesn't Light

I have 3 under-counter lights in my kitchen. These are the small 13 watt lights. I like them quite a bit and they are only 5 years old.

All 3 are connected to 1 switch.

About 4 months ago they all started having trouble coming on. They would start, but mostly dimmed and with a buzzing sound. When I would flick the switch off and on, sometimes they would turn on and sometimes they wouldn't.

That got worse and worse. Finally I bought 3 new light bulbs. They mostly all 3 come on now, but from time to time ONE of them doesn't come on. Then I flip off and on the switch - that one light comes on.

What is left to fix or replace now that I have put in new light bulbs?

If these are solid state high freq inverter ballasts AND the wall switch is not messing up then it sounds like you have a ground problem or defective ballasts. Sorry to be so non specific but I do better when I can be on-site.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Are these self contained lights plugged into sockets that operate off the switch? Or are they recessed lights that are wired in directly to that circuit?

Either way, the ballast on the one that is hard to start is failing would be my guess....

It's like this:

Like My Undercounter Lights

But what I don't understand is that I have 3 separate units like this one and all 3 of them had the same problem. Not just one of them.

The multiple failing units (with symptoms that vary) suggests a poor connection somewhere. A switch that doesn't give good connection everytime can devil you. It is not likely that with multiple failing units that the problem is inside the actual units themselves.

There is still an unanswered question. Do these things plug into a switched outlet or did you hardwire them? Either way, I'd be shecking to be sure there aren't any loose connections as besides the inconvenience of the lights not working right a loose conhnectioin can ba a distinct fire hazard. Are the metal cases of the fistures well grounded?

You might have to scrape paint from under a screw head to get good contact. Manufacturers will rely on a star washer to cut through paint to make a connection but what if it wasn't tightened enough? Ungrounded fluorescent fixtures sometimes exhibit variable lamp starting characteristics. I had one circuline fixture in a shop previously that didn't always start when turned on. If I reached up and touched the tube or stroked the tube in extreme balky episodes, it would fire right up. Didn't have a good ground.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks Pat. They are hardwired.

I'll check all of the connections.

Martin