Where to buy a new fluorescent light ballast?

WingKing

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I've read through lots of posts here about lighting the marquee. I've seen tons of links to replacement ballasts, but those are all a few years old and the links are dead.

I have a TMNT game with the fluorescent light fixture, but it's not working. Initially the light did not power on. I didn't know much about these types of lights at the time so I just bought a replacement bulb. When that didn't work either I came here to find more information. It had an FS-25 starter in it, after reading more about it I replaced that with a new FS-2 starter. I turned it on and the bulb blew.

From my understanding, this would indicate the ballast is bad. I have read you can test the ballast to make sure the ohm reading is correct (not sure what it's supposed to be), but I haven't had a chance to do that yet.

If I need to replace the ballast, where can I find one that will work for what I need?

The ones I'm seeing now are kind of pricey compared to what people were saying they used to cost a few years ago.
 
i ran into the same issue yesterday...went to the local ace hardware and bought a brand new fixture for $15, cut the plug off, crimped two new pins on the wires and re-used the original connector. works like a charm.
 
Ace hardware is way overpriced. They were charging $15 for flourescent bulbs that I later found out I could buy at Home Depot for $4. Same model, brand, and everything. I haven't walked back into an Ace since.

Anyhow, you can buy a ballast at Home Depot or Lowes.
 
Ace hardware is way overpriced. They were charging $15 for flourescent bulbs that I later found out I could buy at Home Depot for $4. Same model, brand, and everything. I haven't walked back into an Ace since.

Anyhow, you can buy a ballast at Home Depot or Lowes.

Every time I go into Home Depot it turns into an argument. I don't go there anymore because I think the orange colors enrage me like bullfighter's cape.
 
Ace hardware is way overpriced. They were charging $15 for flourescent bulbs that I later found out I could buy at Home Depot for $4. Same model, brand, and everything. I haven't walked back into an Ace since.

Anyhow, you can buy a ballast at Home Depot or Lowes.

lowes has the whole fixture for $13 plus tax, probably about the same price. i think it's cheaper than a ballast but not positive.

http://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-18-in-Plug-in-Under-Cabinet-Fluorescent-Light-Bar/4075998
 
Ace hardware is way overpriced. They were charging $15 for flourescent bulbs that I later found out I could buy at Home Depot for $4. Same model, brand, and everything. I haven't walked back into an Ace since.

Anyhow, you can buy a ballast at Home Depot or Lowes.


How interchangeable are the ballasts? I'm seeing some that say they're meant to be used for 4 bulbs or 2 bulbs.

Sucks they're like $15 just for the ballast, then I've got to buy a new bulb as well!
 
Oh wait a minute... maybe this one will work? Says it's in stock at my local Home Depot.


http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Magnetic-Metal-Pre-Heat-Fluorescent-Ballast-GEM120PH120DIY/203959172

That should work. Another tip: Buy 18" cool white fluorescent bulbs in bulk at topbulb or bulbtronics. Starters too. I know it's easy to walk in to Home Depot and buy a bulb for 6 bucks, but that would get you 6 bulbs if you order from the internet and wait. If you have a lot of games like most of us, it just makes sense. The 18" are the most common, so I bought a dozen and a dozen starters a while back.
 
Oh wait a minute... maybe this one will work? Says it's in stock at my local Home Depot.


http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Magnetic-Metal-Pre-Heat-Fluorescent-Ballast-GEM120PH120DIY/203959172

I have used that one a couple times. It was an exact replacement (other than its color) for one game (can't recall which game edit: I remembered, it was Joust) and an easy mod to fit it to another. I actually bought an extra one so I'd have it lying around next time I needed one.
 
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That should work. Another tip: Buy 18" cool white fluorescent bulbs in bulk at topbulb or bulbtronics. Starters too. I know it's easy to walk in to Home Depot and buy a bulb for 6 bucks, but that would get you 6 bulbs if you order from the internet and wait. If you have a lot of games like most of us, it just makes sense. The 18" are the most common, so I bought a dozen and a dozen starters a while back.

That's pretty smart. I only have 4 games at this point, but I'm working on that ;)
 
I have used that one a couple times. It was an exact replacement (other than its color) for one game (can't recall which game) and an easy mod to fit it to another. I actually bought an extra one so I'd have it lying around next time I needed one.

Awesome, I'm going to get this one and give it a shot. It definitely looks more like the one I took out compared to all the others I've seen, so maybe it's a direct replacement. Thanks for the info!
 
I have used that one a couple times. It was an exact replacement (other than its color) for one game (can't recall which game edit: I remembered, it was Joust) and an easy mod to fit it to another. I actually bought an extra one so I'd have it lying around next time I needed one.

Actually, one quick question on this... You used a 15W T8 bulb with this one, right? I'm seeing it says a F17T8 can be used, but not sure if a 15W would be ok?
 
Actually, one quick question on this... You used a 15W T8 bulb with this one, right? I'm seeing it says a F17T8 can be used, but not sure if a 15W would be ok?

F17 is a 17 watt 24 inch bulb. Not what you want. F15 is 15 watts 18 inches. The T8 is the tube thickness.

I believe it just means the ballast can run a 17 watt bulb if needed.
 
I agree with treborlicec, I think all that means is that it can handle a 17w tube but that's not what it's limited to. In fact, if you zoom in on the picture you can see that F15T8 is one of the tubes that's listed on the sticker right on the ballast itself. You'll be fine with this one.
 
if you have a game with a bad bulb, you should test the ballast. someone posted in a thread on this site that you can meter it, it should read around 25 ohms. You have to get at the leads of the ballast, so sometimes its a hassle to get to it. So risking it is easier.

if the bulb is out, the starter is probably bad. I keep barely working bulbs around in case the ballast is bad(burnt looking ends, ones that flicker on and off over time). Usually, I just drop in a good starter and see what it does. If its a bad ballast, its going to burn out the bulb fast, so make sure your looking at it when you power on. If you see nothing (starter is not flashing), drop in your barely working bulb.

I cant help with where to buy a ballast, I have crushed more than enough games where I have a small pile of light fixtures. I find Ballast is bad is pretty uncommon. maybe 1 in 40. If the ballast is bad and its a game I was going to keep, I would consider putting in an led fixture. heat from the bulb will make the marquee yellow, flake and/or fade.
 
Lowes no longer carries the ballast. Home Depot does.

Every game I restore, I replace the ballast, bulb, and starter and I never have to touch them again. Usually, one of the 3 is bad, and I'd rather shotgun the whole thing than a) wait for it to fail or b)replace the bulb, but have a bad ballast take it out.
 
I just bought a new fixture for my Space War because one of the "tombstone" clips that hold the bulb was broken. The game needed a 24" fixture instead of the usual 18" and Home Depot no longer carries those (not the style I needed). I went to Lowes and they still had a stack of them. Fixture was $13 and the bulb was $7.
 
Yes, the ballast in the link is the correct one. I buy a dozen at a time at Home Depot. They are EXACTLY the same as what comes out of most of my machines.
 
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