TECH - (FAQ?) - Marquee Light Fixture Eating Bulbs

[RetroJames]

Flourescent Light fixture on a Moon Patrol eats bulbs!  When I power up the
bulb flashes a bunch of times and burns up.  Is there a usuall reason for
this?  Thanks, James

[Ken Layton]

Assuming you changed the starter also when you replaced the fluorescent tube I would say your ballast is shot. When that happens it usually takes out the new tube AND starter with it. Buy a new ballast, tube, and starter.

[RetroJames]

What are the important specs to know in matching the ballast when I buy a new one?  

[SirPeale]

Would it be cheaper to just get a new assembly?

[jcoleman]

A new 18" lamp fixture can be found for less than $10 at Target or Wal-Mart.

[krick]

I got a G.E. fluorescent light unit including the bulb at Wal-Mart for $7.

[MonitorGuru]

It could be the starter or ballast (transformer).   Starters are dirt cheap. Start with that.  49 cents at most stores.  FS-2 if it's an 18" fixture

As far as a ballast, Home Depot carries an IDENTICAL part number for most arcade games. It's a GE one for 14 to 20 watt fixtures.  I've seen others by Sylvania that are a bit larger/heavier that will work with that range to a bit larger. I havn't tried those yet.

Price: $3.59 on clearance at HD for the GE.  Or $2.89 at some places for the Sylvania.

Make sure you get one that works with a Size T8 (8/8th of an inch or 1" diameter), 18" and 15 watts.  Don't go too high or you will risk fire or instant tube blowout.


Oh and *some* of those cheap all-in-one fixtures do not feature immediate (auto) start. You must hold a switch into a separate position which temporarily applies more volts to warm the filaments/tube up prior to starting before the ballast takes over to keep them running at a lower voltage.

Therefore they wont work in game units if you want it to turn on the marquee immediately without first having to hold down a button (behind the marquee )

[RandyT]

Oh and *some* of those cheap all-in-one fixtures do not feature immediate (auto) start. You must hold a switch into a separate position which temporarily applies more volts to warm the filaments/tube up prior to starting before the ballast takes over to keep them running at a lower voltage.

Therefore they wont work in game units if you want it to turn on the marquee immediately without first having to hold down a button (behind the marquee )

It's a good thing to look out for, but the last few of these I purchased just had normal on/off rockers or slides.  

I think it was even listed on the packaging as one of the "features" of the fixture.

The best $7 you can spend, IMHO, as I have had one of these on 24/7 for over a year and it's still going  

RandyT