Comments on: How to Replace a Fluorescent Lightbulb

on 10/14/2007 safety tip-

if you want to change a tube when the power is on - no biggie. as you put one end of the tube in and while lining up the prongs dont touch the prongs on the other end, it will be a very nasty shock, around 4-5 hundred volts.

on 6/27/2007 I own a Master Bilt FIP50 cake display case with the flourescent light on the outside. The ballast has been replaced and so has the bulb and starter. The light still flickers, but sometimes when i take the starter out the bulb stays on for a while. Is it possible the Starter Socket is the actual problem?

on 6/27/2007 I own a Master Bilt FIP50 cake display case with the flourescent light on the outside. The ballast has been replaced and so has the bulb and starter. The light still flickers, but sometimes when i take the starter out the bulb stays on for a while. Is it possible the Starter Socket is the actual problem?

on 6/2/2007 Help...we have changed everything above....and done something with a ground wire...(my husband does not know that I am posting)....When the light is flicked on...the light just can't get it on....It flicks around just like it did before trying to fix it in the first place. What a waste...

on 4/7/2007 Thanks for the correction about the starter/ballast issue. Primarily I was talking about changing the bulb. The main point of my comment is that the directions given in the original post say to push up on the plastic diffuser and tilt it out to remove it, in order to change the bulb. This would not work for many modern fixtures--and would result in a cracked diffuser or a cut hand. I fortunately only cracked the diffuser! That's when I found out that a large percentage of such fixtures are accessed solely by tipping down or swinging out, the wooden or decorative surrounding material. The diffuser is not touched at all. Thanks again.

on 1/30/2007 I've discovered, after an hour of trying to take out the diffuser without cutting my hand, and finally hiring a handyman, that my fixture--and many in modern kitchens--has a wooden surrounding that tilts down. The diffuser is not touched at all. By titling up and down on the wooden or other decorative border, one can access not only the bulb and ballast, but could replace the diffuser as well. Fluorescent lights in garages and offices often require the diffuser to be removed, but even that isn't the case with newer fixtures. Thanks!

on 11/22/2005 Your info is for replacing the starter, not the ballast. Most newer lamps don't use starters (the round silver thing). Ballast is about 2"x2"x6".