6-bulb tek light fixture

[OttawaReefer]

Anybody know about troubleshooting the tek light fixtures.  I just swapped out some bulbs and a bank of two of the inside four bulbs will no longer illuminate.  I've swapped bulbs, so I know it's not that.  The only thing left is the fixture.  Anyone know about how much voltage I should be seeing where the bulbs connect or something I should be checking?

I'd just like to cover some bases before I begin to think about opening up the entire fixture to check it.

[OttawaReefer]

OK, so it's now even more confusing.  I'm wondering if it may be a ballast issue.

I checked with a multimeter for connectivity between the two connectors for the bulbs and they are connected.  No fault there.  I used the multimeter to check for AC voltage and found 110VAC.  So they should be properly connected and getting voltage.  I'm not sure why the two will not illuminate.

The bulbs that are causing an issue are the pair closest to the rear of the unit.  Below is a "drawing" as if you were looking down on the top of the lights

       Power Switches
         X   X
   |--------------------------------- outside paired bulbs (actinics)
   | |------------------------------- rear bulb pair that isn't working
   | |-------------------------------
   |
   | |------------------------------- front bulb pair
   | |-------------------------------
   |
   |---------------------------------

Is there any place where I could get the unit repaired quickly?

[Vincenzo.]

depending on the condition it's in.

buy a new one. keep the receipt.

return the broken one with the new receipt.

get another new one to replace the old one.

sell one of the new, to either break even, or make a few dollars.

^not that i would do this, but..
.
.

or see if the wires are not connected properly. @ the ballast.

[yellowtang]

If you bought your fixture from one of our vendors here at the club
Iam sure you might have some warranty......left....
however if bought used ,it could be the ballast......
if all the bulbs were working before you decided to replace them
then there must be a ballast .
cheers

[new2salt]

My past experiences with fluorescent lighting has been more on the household side. Check the T5 sockets for damage - contacts bent or broken inside the socket, and/or the wire connections to the sockets.
You stated "I just swapped out some bulbs and a bank of two of the inside four bulbs will no longer illuminate."
I understand this to mean - they were working before you changed the bulbs.
If the only thing you did was change the bulbs, then the only possible damage should be related to the sockets and wire connections at the sockets. Check these well, if you are not sure - what to look for - compare with any sockets that are working.
D'oh - remember to unplug before poking fingers or tools into electrical sockets.

[az]

depending on how old the fixture is you still could get it fixed under warranty.
plz check all bulbs make sure they are good, I have noticed the tek fixtures running on series(not according to manual) so if one bulb is bad it dosent power the other bulb.
if all that checks ok you may just have a bad connector/endcap, if not its the ballast and its not hard to fix, but def check for exisiting warranty first.

[OttawaReefer]

OK, troubleshooting and parts replacing on the lighting fixture is a lot of work.

Thanks yellowtang: I contacted Ray as the fixture was less than a year old.  I didn't realize that there was a warranty on it. 

The first change was the light sockets.  You need to open up the chassis and push the small fixtures from the  side where the bulbs attach towards the inside (where the wires are).  There are two small, delicate, plastic tabs on each one.  You need to open up each end cap just to remove the wires.  This produced no change but was worth a shot trying.

The second step was to replace the ballast.  Here's where it got a little tricky.  Ray provided a Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast.  The wiring and space requirements are very different from the one already inside the tek fixture.  You NEED to attach one side of the ballast to one of the screw posts on the fixture as this will provide the grounding attachment.  The other posts will be in the way of the ballast as it is larger than the one that comes with the fixture.  Use a hacksaw or dremel to remove one of the posts.  You will then need some double-sided tape on the other end of the ballast to keep it attached to the fixture.  I opted for a long black cable tie to attach it through the vents as well.  Better safe than sorry.

All eight end caps will need to be removed from the fixture.  As well, you will need to twist caps for the black and white power cables.  The original fixture attaches with some pressure caps and I couldn't get them apart.  Attach the black cable from the fixture to the black cable from the power switch with one of the twist caps.  Do the same for the two white cables.

Follow this diagram: http://www.fulham.com/WDpdf/wire7.pdf  to wire the eight end caps.  You will need a lot of small jumper wires.  There is a separate red cable for each of the four bulbs and the yellow wire is a common wire for all the pin connections on the opposite side.

All the lights are now running.  So, for anyone else using a Tek light fixture: if you see the bulbs go out in pairs and you know it's not the bulbs then look at the ballast first.

[yellowtang]

glad to hear things worked out for you.
Ray is A1 vendor and always comes through.
cheers

[OttawaReefer]

It was very easy dealing with Ray for the replacement parts.  The only issue is that I live waaay east in Orleans so it's a long drive to the south part of the city.

Replacing the ballast makes me wish I had the machines to cut galvanized sheet metal in my garage to make my own light fixtures.  There are definitely some things that I would change about how the Tek fixtures are fabricated and it wouldn't be too costly to make your own fixture.  Changing how the ballasts are installed and how to open the chassis would be a start.  It would also be nice to have some closed access panels for accessories (fans, LED moonlights, etc.).  The wiring was the worst part of the entire fixture.