Remove The Ballast Now, you must take out the ballast by unscrewing it. New ballast has a second blue wire. Replace the ballast when your fluorescent light flickers or makes an annoying hum. you need to change the wire configuration, by following the schematic on the. Unplug the fixture or turn off the power at the main panel. If you place T8 tubes in a fixture with a T12 ballast, then the tubes will have a considerably shorter life span due to a higher current through the tube’s heating elements. T12 magnetic ballast replacement options. You should see the remainder of the red, blue, yellow and maybe even a black linking wire running in and out of the connectors. Railroad Rail Lantern / Sign Stand Split With Axe. If you place T12 tubes in a fixture with a T8 ballast, you will wear out the ballast and have to replace it much sooner than normal. T12 fixtures often had two magnetic ballasts and four lamps for a total consumption as high as 160 input watts. Remove any covers, case, lenses, or lamps that block your access to the ballast and set them aside. I used a small flat head screwdriver, wigle and pryed each corner. read more. Converting a Fixture from a T12 Ballast to a T8 Ballast. It's not difficult. It is for a 2 bulb T12 or T8 fixture. Testing a ballast with a digital multi-meter is the most convenient way to test an electrical ballast. Start here by removing each tombstone from slots on the metal bar. You can see what the jumper wires look like along with what my finished rewired ballast looked like. From T12 to T5 you will need to change the ballast and the lamp holders. First start by of course turning off the power and disconnecting the black and white wires from your in coming power feed to the old fixture you could reinstall wire nuts on black and white power feed wires as to be able to turn power back on to the rest of the lights on that circuit or leave it off if your the forget full type and might not remember its on when you go to Install the new ballast. The fixture has two 8 foot T12 bulbs. Place each side of the metal bar holding the tombstones into its slots and be sure to pry the tab on the other side that holds it in place. When your fluorescent light flickers or makes a loud and annoying hum, a degrading ballast is the cause. Remove the nut securing the old ballast in the light's housing, using a nut driver. Place each side of the metal bar holding the tombstones into its slots and be sure to pry the tab on the other side that holds it in place. If a ballast is replaced with the exact same type of ballast, the wire colors usually match. Please Note: The new tombstones are taller than the old ones I'm replacing so I resolved this by installing them at opposite ends of the same bulb. T5 is yet thinner at 5/8". The ballast takes in electricity and then regulates current to the bulbs. Causes of Ballast Failure. I'm changing the bulbs too from T12's to T8's. Unless there is something special about your fixtures, you can often get new fixtures for the same price as the ballast or conversion kits. We only recommend a ballast-bypass using double-ended LED tubes. Photo 1: Remove the bulbs and fluorescent light fixture cover. The lights look great. 2-Lamp Electronic Instant Start. If your fixture uses circular fluorescent bulbs, a plug connects the bulbs to the ballast. Very Important be sure to replace all blubs with new T8 style blubs. I thought in best to replace them with new ones. As seen below, connecting the 4 lamp instant start ballast to the four lamps can be a bit confusing. We only recommend a ballast-bypass using double-ended LED tubes. You can get them at most home stores in the lighting section. Install the ballast cover in the reverse of how you removed it. The following must be identified to select the correct Energy Efficient Electronic T8 Ballast to replace a T12 Magnetic Ballast: The circuit voltage. In many T8 fixtures, the ballast is covered by a casing and the T8 tubes are on top of it, meaning you need to take out the tubes and unscrew the casing to get to the ballast. 2. The typical T12 four-lamp fixture uses 172 watts of power between the lamps and ballast.LED equivalents typically use only 50 watts, 71% less energy per fixture. 2 Philips Advance Ballast Quick Guide 3 Introduction 4 T8 ballasts 6 T5 ballasts 7 CFL ballasts 8 Magnetic T12 conversion to electronic 9 T12 ballasts 10 Dimming ballasts 11 Circline and signage ballasts 12 HID ballast kits specifications, wiring diagrams, and more. A typical application operates lights for 4,000 hours per year. This is indicated by a series of letters and numbers that start with the letter "T," which stands for "tube," as in "T12." If an old T12 lamp magnetic ballast is replaced with a newer T8 lamp and electronic ballast, the colors will probably not match. Moreover, how much power does a t12 ballast use? The old ballast has 3 … A wiring diagram is a simplified standard photographic depiction of an electrical circuit. Now that you have made sure that you have a T12 ballast, which can be replaced with a T8, you can purchase them from a home improvement store in order to replace the old ballast.How to Replace a T12 Ballast with a T8 | wiringall.comFluorescent Ballasts - Electrical, Cuisinart Espresso Maker Em-200 Wiring Diagram, Wiring diagram for changing from t12 to t8 ballast. To purchase a new 300mm led tube replacement see our fluorescent tubes section. Here's what you can do: 1. Before you go to the trouble of replacing the ballast, you should determine if a bad ballast is indeed the likely cause of the problem. Wiring this can be done a number of ways. When replacing a ballast where the wires colors don’t match, it is important to understand the ballast wiring concept. Remove the wire nuts from the black and white wires connecting the ballast to the electrical circuit. Lastly, once you new ballast wired up you can reinstall it into you fixture. Locate your ballast. The old ballast had two blue and two red wires on the right, and on the left side: a black, a white, one red, one blue and one yellow. Install a direct wire or ballast-bypass linear LED lamp. As I said in the beginning, you’ll save yourself $75 to $90 doing this fix yourself. How To Video: Change Fluorescent T8 or T12 Tubes to LED Tube Lights Posted by Sales Team on Oct 31, 2016 In this video created by our customer Jeff T, he will explain how to rewire your fixture to accept LED ballast bypass tube lights. The old T12 tube (1.5" diameter) is obsolete. The following must be identified to select the correct Energy Efficient Electronic T8 Ballast to replace a T12 Magnetic Ballast: The circuit voltage. I am changing an old GE magnetic ballast in a T12, 8FT. With any ballast-bypass or direct wire solution, we suggest using a qualified electrician. As I had mentioned , I found that two of the original tombstone had cracks in them and some missing pieces. This can be thought of in dollar amounts. the pins are spaced identically so when changing from T12 to T8, you would not need to change the tombstones. Pay close attention to the wiring diagram on the ballast as the new electronic T8 ballast are wired quite differently from the old magnetic T Retrofit Wiring Diagrams. 2-Lamp Rapid Start to. T8's are smaller, more efficient and produce more light - often three T8s can replace four T12s. Cut back additional wiring on opposite side of ballast as the LED Tube lamp only requires power at one end. After removing any misc wire be sure to remove each brass contact tab and lightly bend the wire contact tab end up and reinstall them back into the tombstone you will know this is done right when the contact tabs stay in the tombstone on their own and wil not be lose. Ballast Wire Colors. A typical ballast will generally last about 20 years, but cold environments and bad bulbs can decrease this lifespan significantly. Not real important in this project since we will be rebuilding the fixture. - Disconnect power to lighting fixture prior to servicing the fixture. When you do end up having to replace a T12 fluorescent tube it is probably due to it having a burnt out lamp or ballast. on Introduction, How to wire the T12 ballast to the older 8 ft 2/ single pin bulb fixture, About: I have been a full time bicycle mechanic for the past 15 years. But you've probably figured that out by now. Remove the ballast from the keep in mind to route the wire from under the metal bar. T12 electronic ballasts are 20 percent more energy efficient than the magnetic technology that it replaces. CONNECTION INSTRUCTIONS LED Tube Light Installation, Ballast Bypass Cut the load and neutral wires from the ballast leaving a su˜cient amount of wire to connect back to the 110 VAC power source. The diameter for the T12 is 38mm and 25mm for the T8. Replacing two T12 fluorescent light fixture magnetic ballasts with one t8 electronic ballast. It reveals the components of the circuit as streamlined shapes, and also the power and also signal connections between the devices. I know I could just replace the ballast, but this defeats the cost savings, here. I found that two of the old tombstone connectors were cracked so I will show how I replaced them also. Notice how both the red and blue wires go to one lamp. Or, you can read the printing on the tube to identify the correct replacement type. Start by turning the feed power off again. Share it with us! I have read lots of people say you need to replace the ballast. The Ballast is an electronic, Rapid Start. Follow the wiring diagram that came with your new ballast. Remove any covers, case, lenses, or lamps that block your access to the ballast and set them aside. The black connects to a red power wire in the ceiling, the white to the whtie neutral, and the single red, blue and yellow wires all connected to matching wires on the fixture to the left. 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