Fluorescent Light not working properly

[shatteredzman]

I have a fluorescent light that seems to be giving me problems. It worked fine before I took it out of its case, all I did was cut the hot and ground power cables because I could not get them through the case. I rewired the light minus the on/off switch so the light would turn on with the whole arcade machine. I plugged the light into the power and it did not come on, I wiggled the light and it worked. So I unplugged it again and plugged it back in and it wouldnt come on until I wiggled the light. I triple checked all my wiring and the light connectors are clean and giving a good connection. This light setup is just a ballast and a light, it doesnt include a starter.


Any ideas of what might be the problem? If I cant fix it I guess I'll have to buy a new one.

*EDIT*
Okay things got weird today. I wasnt even touching the light and it turned on, all I have to do is put my hand near it and it turns on like... magic! Well it turns out the outlet I was using is not grounded, go figure, so now that the lamp is properly grounded it works most of the time. Sometimes it still requires me to touch...or get close to it for it to turn on when its first plugged in. I'd like to fix that but if I cant then I guess I got a cool party trick.