Fluorescent lighting problem

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Ralphie

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We installed new electronic ballasts (f96t12 two tube fixtures) in the basement of a bakery. There are two rooms "A" and "B". With the lights in both rooms turned on ; Turn off the lights in room "B" they go out the flash back on for a fraction of a second,:huh: However if the lights in room "A" are off, the lights in room "B" perform normally. Why is this happening
 
If they are electronic ballasts then you generally need to use T-8 bulbs or T-5 depending on the ballast- not T-12 bulbs
 
Ralphie said:
We installed new electronic ballasts (f96t12 two tube fixtures) in the basement of a bakery. There are two rooms "A" and "B". With the lights in both rooms turned on ; Turn off the lights in room "B" they go out the flash back on for a fraction of a second,:huh: However if the lights in room "A" are off, the lights in room "B" perform normally. Why is this happening
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First question- Has the use of the space always been the same?

Second question- When you installed the new electronic ballast did you rewire the light fixture like the diagram on the new ballast shows?
 
Information on ballkast states it is suitable for f96T12 lamps. Ballasts are wired per diagram on the ballast. We have other similar installations but never had a problem like this. The wiring in this building is old, much of it NM cable without ground
 
If I've read the OP correctly:

When you turn the lights on, they come on.

When you turn the lights off, they flicker and go off.

So, you don't really have a problem, you're wondering why they flicker before they go off. Could be the ballast has to discharge a cap after power is removed. Could be a bonding issue as was already mentioned.
 
Ralphie said:
Information on ballkast states it is suitable for f96T12 lamps. Ballasts are wired per diagram on the ballast. We have other similar installations but never had a problem like this. The wiring in this building is old, much of it NM cable without ground
Click to expand...

As has been mentioned, the electronic ballast require a ground to function properly. This setup with no ground might be worse if it's on a MWBC. Maybe the neutral in room A is acting as a ground when it is off, allowing room B to work right. This is just a guess other than the part about it needing to be grounded.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
If they are electronic ballasts then you generally need to use T-8 bulbs or T-5 depending on the ballast- not T-12 bulbs
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That's not quite correct Dennis. I believe they no longer make magnetic ballasts so replacement ballasts are all electronic (even for T-12 bulbs). However, I was not aware that they are still manufacturing new fixtures with ballasts that would accommodate T-12 bulbs.

If you suspect that a missing ground might be your problem try an experiment and drag a piece of THHN over to a water line and temporarily ground the fixture to that pipe and see if the problem disappears.
 
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