Compact fluorescent ballast

[JJWalecka]

The original compact 4 pin ballast has two reds and a yellow. The yellow were to one pin and jumped to the second on the same side...the reds were wirenutted together and hit the adjacent pin and jumped to the other on the same side.

New ballast has red, yellow, blue outputs...

Called manufacturer they stated the red and blue only is used for single compact fluorescent.

I wired two pins on one side to red and the other two pins to blue....lamp is functional yet the ballast doesn't work

Do I need to configure the pins differently anyone have a diagram that shows the pin wiring?

 

[hbiss]

If the lamp is functional how does the ballast not work?

There should be a diagram on the ballast.

-Hal

 

[JJWalecka]

If the lamp is functional how does the ballast not work?

There should be a diagram on the ballast.

-Hal

Maybe it was a bad ballast but wanted to check if perhaps the oútput from the new ballast is wired to the correct pins. In theory blue goes to one side red goes to the other for a lamp ballast... So I figured I must have the jumpers going to the wrong pins... I know the lamp works because I tried it in another fixture and it came on

 

[JJWalecka]

Maybe it was a bad ballast but wanted to check if perhaps the oútput from the new ballast is wired to the correct pins. In theory blue goes to one side red goes to the other for a lamp ballast... So I figured I must have the jumpers going to the wrong pins... I know the lamp works because I tried it in another fixture and it came on

The diagram was very vague it just showed blue on one side right on the other. Wondered if the pins had to be swapped

 

[hbiss]

Ok, gotcha. Wondering if you have the wiring to the lamp socket cross connected?

-Hal

 

[James L]

The diagram was very vague it just showed blue on one side right on the other. Wondered if the pins had to be swapped

You have it wired wrong. You don't put red on one side and blue on the other.

Your ballast is for two lamps.

One lamp has yellow on one side and red on the other

The other lamp has yellow on one side and blue on the other

 

[Sparky2791]

Replace with LED, Fluorescent lamps are so 1999.

 

[Flicker Index]

The original compact 4 pin ballast has two reds and a yellow. The yellow were to one pin and jumped to the second on the same side...the reds were wirenutted together and hit the adjacent pin and jumped to the other on the same side.

New ballast has red, yellow, blue outputs...

Called manufacturer they stated the red and blue only is used for single compact fluorescent.

I wired two pins on one side to red and the other two pins to blue....lamp is functional yet the ballast doesn't work

Do I need to configure the pins differently anyone have a diagram that shows the pin wiring?

Some two lamp ballasts can drive two lamps and same ballast can sometimes drive single lamp. The allowable lamp for single lamp operation isn't always the same for two lamp operation.

Refer to specification chart. The wiring and supported lamps are dictated by the ballast manufacturer.

 

[Flicker Index]

Also, not every ballast works the same way.

You could have a parallel ballast in which case the lamp operates between yellow red; and yellow blue, but basically no voltage between red and blue. In this case, it would be like two independent light sockets.

In other cases, the voltage might be between red and blue. You would connect the single lamp between red and blue, or you connect two lamps in series between red and blue with the yellow where the two lamps connect together in the middle. Physically, it looks the same, but in this configuration, if one lamp is removed/fails, they both go out.

While 4-pin CFLs are generally not instant started, it's not uncommon for consumer grade fixtures to do so.