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Re: Light electronics question



Hi.

I am no qualified electrician or rocket scientist (only seventeen, 
bummer) but here are some thoughts and ideas.

> 1. Turn on the switch, lamps glow faint orange at the ends but do not come
> on. They come on after a few minutes (times vary and unpredictable) by
> themselves.

I have experienced this problem before when the starter was placed 
wrongly  in the circuit. It must be between both the end caps and not 
after the ballast. (Took me a solid four hours of figeting befor I 
found this one out  ;-)   ) 
 
> 2. Turn on the switch, nothing happens. Twist the bulb slightly and it comes
> on and lights fine.

This problem is normally associated with bad contacts between the 
bulb and the cap. To correct this take the bulb out, WAIT.... Turn the
power off first, and clean the contacts on the bulb and caps with 
methylated spirits. You can even file them with a needle file of they 
are really gunked up. Replace bulb and try again.
 
> 3. Turn on the switch, nothing happens. Touch or tap the metal hood and the
> lamp comes on and lights fine. This only happens with a T-8 Triton bulb.
> Regular T-12 bulb works fine.

I can only think that there is something wrong with a bulb. I am 
mostl;y experienced in cool white bulbs. ( the budget of a seventeen 
year old is not that great I tell you, and I am proud to tell you I 
have not even considered a geat rich fast scheme yet) Anyway, after a 
month or two the little pieces of metal on the ends of these bulbs 
comes a bit loose and with the slightest turn the connection breaks.

> Thanks for your attention.

No prob.
As I say, I am no god at bulbs but if you have any other questions, 
drop me a line and I will try to think of some other possible probs.

Cheers
Peter van GILLS