Fluorescent lighting help?

[MountainPowder]

Anyone have experience with fluorescent lighting trouble shooting? Here is the problem:

In my kitchen I have 2 fluorescent lighting fixtures, each with 4 tubes in them, controlled by the same switch. For about a month one of the fixtures would either work perfectly or not at all (sometimes it would just go out, then come on 20 minutes later, then go off again. With no regularity. All the while the other fixture worked fine.) None of the bulbs seemed to be going out in either fixture, no dimming, flickering, or dark ends.

Well a couple days ago I flip the switch and neither fixture would work at all. I do not know what is wrong. It seems odd that one would work intermittently and now neither will work at all. Does anyone have an idea what it could be? Just odd coincidence of both ballasts going out or...????

For the record, I bought 4 new tubes and replaced all the tubes in the second fixture that went out. And I swapped the light switch for a known working one. No luck with either try. I also looked in the attic for any kind of evidence of animals or whatever tampering, nothing there.

 

[montanasledder]

Use a meter and make sure you did not lose your nuetral(white wire) should be 120v between the white wire and the Hot(black or red) I would guess lose wire nut in one of the lights

 

[capen4]

First question is how old are the lights?
If they are fairly old you probably just have a simple ballist problem nothing a trip to lowes or home depot can't fix

PM me and I will get into more detail

 

[Ex-Member]

yeap, my guess is ballast. If they're old, i'd just replace 'em. They don't last forever.

 

[R J]

Sounds like ballast to me. I'd bet your's is a electronic ballast, probably just a glitch. Magnetic ballast are really old and usually you can tell those by the hum they create and lack of light they allow to be put out after time.

Have you replaced the lamps just for precaution. That's the easiest and quickest way to eliminate the "easy" stuff.

 

[MountainPowder]

Yup, it was the ballasts, replaced both of them $20 each, but glad to be out of the dark.
Thanks