[RSM] Subject: In the dark

[Art Boyars]

Marion,

With my years of education and experience, I can offer only some guesses.
Some of this is technical, for Cary.

Generally, problems like this come from from corroded metal connections,
from connections between dissimilar metals, or from semiconductor
junctions.  (Relevant story: Back in my High School days my ham radio buddy
lived even closer than I do to the 50KW broadcast station on 1500 KHz.  He
claimed that they could hear the station on the "burners" of their electric
stove.)

First thing to try: Just remove the fluorescent tubes and reinstall them.
Maybe the connections between the tubes' pins and the sockets in the
fixture have gotten corroded or dirty.  (Relevant story: In the two-tube
fixture over my desk, on of the tubes often does not come on until I give
the fixture a little bang.  If I wiggle the tube, so as to wipe its
connector pins in the sockets, it works ok for a while.)  By the way,
sometimes you can get replacements for the "tombstone" connectors in the
the fixtures, but then youare at the level of #3 or #4, below.

Second thing to try (likely this has already been tried):  Just replace the
tubes.

Third thing to try:  Open up the fixture and make sure all the wire nut
connections between the ballast(s) and the socket wires are clean and tight.

Fourth thing to try:  Replace the ballast (available at places like Home
Depot). (I think modern "electronic" ballasts have semiconductor
electronics.)  Depending on the cost, I might try this third, as it
subsumes #3.

If none that works, I hope somebody else in RSM will know more than I do.

Good luck.

Art K3KU

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