another light question

[deanmc]

Hi folks,
I'm fairly new here although I have been lurking for quite a while. I have a question that I haven't been able to find using the search option or looking around. I have a 48" square pin compact fluorescent light fixture. I recently replaced the bulbs with sunpaq 50/50 bulbs. They lasted about 8-10 weeks before the problem started. What it is is that they don't always come on. They will flicker like when they were new, but will just start to strobe on me. I have to turn them on and off several times to get them to work. My question is this. Could this be a problem with the fixture? Should I just replace the bulbs again?

 

[pat8you]

I would check the pins and the sockets they go into on the fixture. Make sure the fixture is unplugged before you start poking around though. It is very possible that salt creep or just corrosion from the high humidity may be getting in the way of a good connection between the bulbs and fixture.

From my limited understanding of a fluorescent bulb they are fairly simple as far as thier make up is concerned. I would think that they would either work find or not at all if it was a problem with the bulb. Flickering usually points to the power source (your fixture)

 

[deanmc]

The pins are the first thing I checked. As the lights work fine, on occasion, I am leaning towards a fixture problem. I have no electrical background to check the fixture itself.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I asked one of my preferred suppliers (Dirk Griffin in Red Wing, MN) about the 50/50 lamps and he said he doesn't carry them, too many people have had problems with them. I wonder if this is what he was referring to?