Old Flourescant Light Fitting.

[firegazer]

I have an old three tube flourescant light fitting which is now down to its last tube. The other two tubes aren't working but when I put the working tube in place of the others the just glow at the ends very slightly.

Now the fitting is part of the ceiling, which means I would prefer to fit it rather than have to rip it out and replace the whole thing.

Inside the is a capacitor and a long oblong ignition thingy. Is this called a choke in todays money and can I simply replace it with its modern equivalent.

Any help as always much appreciated.

 

[breezer]

might be the starter. only one choke? thats unusual any chance of a pic?

 

[firegazer]

Sorry!

Theres three oblong shape thingies - chokes!

Will try to get a piccy tomorrow!

Thanks

 

[Qedelec]

Three chokes would mean three starters so just replace the faulty starters.

 

[firegazer]

The units are

"Crompton snapstart units for use with one 40W 4FT FL. lamp. Cat No C419 230/240V 50CS"

Attached to the end of each unit is a Crompton RIS Capacitor C518, this is connected across terminals 4 and 1. Also there is another capacitor C527 connected to a fuse block with a 3A fuse.

I have a piccy that I will try and post later.

TA.

 

[Spark123]

How many connections are there on the chokes?
If there are more than two it sounds like they could be either an electronic choke or capacitance start. If you are you using slimline tubes, capacitance start fittings don't seem to work properly.

 

[firegazer]

There are four connectors on the chokes, and the working tube is not a slimeline one.

I tried a slimeline replacement and it didnt work even where the working tube was, which sounds like your comment spark123.

I have since tried swaping the working choke and capacitor around, but it only seems to work in the one position.

Funny thing about the tube is that its starts immediately, with no stutter in the working slot.

The non woking slots have tested 230V end to end so now im more than a bit confused.

Seriously thinking about ripping the whole thing out and replacing it

Thanks for all your help guys - if you have any more suggestions then they would be welcome.

Will be home soon so can post the picture(s).

 

[Spark123]

Diagram on a choke (ballast) for a capacitance start should look something like this:

 

[DIYnot]

Here are some pictures from firegazer:

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Here are some pictures from firegazer:

You're too soft on him - why can't he use an image hosting site?

 

[Spark123]

Personally, looking at the pictures the luminaire looks close to the end of its useful life. I would be tempted at this stage to look for a replacement.

 

[firegazer]

Thanks admin for posting the piccies

Thanks for checking again spark123, and if I could get a straight swap that wouldn't involve changes to the ceiling then I would do.

The ones I've seen that might do the trick are slighly too large and hence difficult to secure in the ceiling. Not cheap either

Would it be bad practice to remove the old stuff and simply fix a twin mounted surface fitting inside?

 

[Steve]

Would it be bad practice to remove the old stuff and simply fix a twin mounted surface fitting inside?

Not bad practise, take all the old gubbins out and fit in whatever you can, as long as there is no more heat than there was before, you should be fine. You should be able to fit a couple of 2 foot tubes in there at least, OR put in a few batten holders and fit 11W or 18W energy savers. As far as i know this is fine, but im not a spark, dont take my word for it. This is what I would do anyway!

 

[breezer]

that light is old.

you could always try and see if a new light will fit inside

 

[Spark123]

You could take the fitting down and see if it will clean up, and fit 2 or 3 of these gear trays from tlc direct. They look to me as though they take the slimline tubes although it is worth checking with TLC first. I can't see the pf correction capacitor (connects across L&N supply) which you may need to buy separately. Clips etc are also available from TLC.