Neon lighting fixtures

[fastcarmaniac]

My one frined is a bar owner and has asked me to see if I can fix one of his neon signs. Im familiar with all regular lighting but never came across neon before. I was wondering what are the possibilities for the neon not lightin up. Not really sure how to go about testing these fixtures. The only main thing I have noticed is that the ground on the plug is missing. Not sure if this would have any affect on it due to all the resistors and components inside of it. Any info would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.:-?

 

[mxslick]

First off, be VERY careful around neon. They operate at very high voltage (relatively low current) but you can get a severe and possibly fatal shock from them.

Neon are pretty simple, if it won't light, the list of possible causes is short:

Tube damaged and lost fill gases;
Transformer bad;
HV lead(s) damaged or grounded out to nearby metal.

The missing ground pin is a safety issue, and with the newer electronic transformers being used it is possible that the missing ground killed the transformer.

Best bet is to get a local sign company to handle this, they will have the parts and can re-make any damaged glass easily.

 

[mcclary's electrical]

OK, he told you what to do, now I'm gonna tell you what not to do.


Don't use a 600 volt tick tester on the high voltage side of the xfmr, I lost one doing that. It beeped it's little heart out:grin:

 

[charlietuna]

Neon has burn a lot of buildings down !

 

[brantmacga]

i use a neon tube tester; it basically lets you know if there is still gas in the tube by charging the area you touch it to.

shorts in any of the neon wiring should be very apparent. i've replaced neon ballasts where people extended the leads w/ wirenuts, and if they're touching the grounded frame it'll blow the end of the wirenut out to ground.

output on most is in the 15kv range.

you can pick up a tube tester for around $150; they test any gas-filled lamp, including fluorescent.


i don't test the output side of neon ballasts. if the tubes show they're good, and i can't find a problem w/ the wiring, it gets a new ballast.

 

[jeremysterling]

Neon is new to me also. Customer's sign did not work so asked if I could look at it. Very obvious burnt end on tube. Turned off disconnect switch. Open sign to verify disconnect switch is actually attached to power supply (I have seen before a switch that was not used, two leads dangling from switch). Removed burnt tube and from it's proximity to others determined it was a pink tube, so I write "pink" with sharpie on the tube. We send that tube to glass blower so he can bend another one and fill it with the right color gas.

When glass blower sends it back, it comes with new "boots" and tie wires. The fix worked good. When another of the customer's neons went out, they called us back.

 

[brantmacga]

We send that tube to glass blower so he can bend another one and fill it with the right color gas.

that's a little more trouble than we go through to replace neons.

i just take a pic w/ the face off and get a measurement on a reference point. send this to the neon shop and wait for new tubes.