Flourescent light balast...LOA

[tedstruk]

Lights of America produces all kinds of lights... UV, flourescent, party lights, and they are fairly cheep.
Now here is why. The transformers sit on each end of the bulb. between each transformer and the powerline is a set of these...
a 750k resistor and a 15.93nf capacitor.
this is what they call ballast I think.
The capacitor charges up enough power to start the gas, and the resistor allows enough power through after the initial gas lightup - to keep the gas lit.
Note there are two of these.. in a 2 light T-12 4' shop light.
The lamps don't light.
what the prob? bulbs are new. transformers gone? what other test can I do?
What is a capacitor with a resistor across it called? (guess=speciallized shunt?)

 

[tedstruk]

The other capacitor is reading 6049nf but still has a 750k resistor on it.

I am assuming the cap is bad! and it needs replaced if the light is to work again.

double check cap read 15.03nf thats like 5546nf off... thats alot off. these look like some kind of special capacitors... should I replace them with a generic one of the same nf?

 

[tedstruk]

Now why the center tapped inductor coil driving the circuit?
Two of these-
The coils look OK
12.5ohms 426.9mH
12.4 ohms 442.3mH
must have been a bad cap.
I thought I better check them.
Where can I find a metallic paper radial 6100nf cap?

 

[Terry01]

Holy smokes Ted! You just did a whole thread all by yourself!

 

[tedstruk]

busy people are often annoying... I am supposed to be living in a stress free enviornment....er enviroment... (actually its e-n-v-i-r-o-n-m-e-n-t but that seems stressful to me what do you think?)

 

[tedstruk]

The depression in the cap is just a reflection of my phone when I took the pic. here is a diffferent angle...