What kind of ballast do I have?

What kind of ballast do I have?

You can determine whether you have a compatible fixture in seconds. Simply turn the light on, then take a photo of the fixture using your smartphone or digital camera. If there are no dark bands on the resulting image, you have an electronic ballast that will work with direct drop-in LED tubes.

Where does the red wire go on a ballast?

There are many types of ballasts, but the simplest one is usually found in two-tube light fixtures. The ballast has a hot and neutral wire at one end to receive power, and two blue wires a red one at the other end to supply power to the lights.

Can a rapid start ballast be wired in series?

With some 3 and 4-lamp programmed start ballasts (wired in series-parallel), if a single lamp in one branch fails, the lamp (s) in the parallel branch will continue to operate. Rapid start ballasts can only be wired in series according to the diagram on the ballast.

Where does the wiring go in a ballast tank?

Individual ballast wires each connect to a lampholder on one side of each tube. The common wire (s) connect to all of the lampholders on the other side of the tubes.

What are the different types of electronic ballasts?

Newer electronic ballasts are instant start (wired in parallel), rapid start (wired in series), programmed start (wired in series-parallel, dimmable and CFL ballasts. When a rapid start ballast (wired in series) operates multiple lamps and one lamp fails, the circuit is opened and the other lamps will not light.

Do you need a ground wire for a ballast?

Grounding a ballast is very important. Grounding is usually automatic if the light fixture is grounded properly. A ground wire from the power source should be connected to a light fixture. A metal ballast mounted to the metal light fixture will automatically ground the ballast.