T5 lights acting up

[Jayjay1981]

Ok I exhausted all my options I bought a T5 kit off eBay to run my Actinics it's a 2 by 80w 60" bulbs. The brand is Letlighting. I double checked all my wiring end caps everything. The problem is it will work for a few days then when the timer is suppose to kick on it blinks and don't turn on. If I unplug it a time or 2 it fires up. In on my second ballast. Also after 2 hours of tuning the ballast is Hot very Hot. The bulbs I got off of eBay as well separate from the T5 Retro kit. I guess my question is it the ballast or the bulbs. Any thoughts thanks.

 

[JVD BVI]

If its a problem firing up its most likely the ballast, had that happen with an old TEK fixture I had. What brand bulbs ?

 

[aysnow]

Could be bad tombstones.

 

[Jayjay1981]

The bulbs are a no name brand off eBay the ballast is brand new I double checked all wiring. My question is would cheap bulbs cause this?

 

[Daddi0]

Have you double checked that the ballast will support the bulbs you are running? It should be printed on the ballast.
Cheers! Mark

 

[blowmecius]

Make sure your timer is specifically rated for fluorescent lights. Simply put, some timers will pass a small amount of current even when off and this messes with fluorescent bulbs/ ballasts.

If it is plugged into GFCI, try another normal receptacle. Some ballasts don't work on GFCI for various reasons.

 

[outssider]

a very hot ballast is not a good sign

 

[Daddi0]

Ok I exhausted all my options I bought a T5 kit off eBay to run my Actinics it's a 2 by 80w 60" bulbs. The brand is Letlighting. I double checked all my wiring end caps everything. The problem is it will work for a few days then when the timer is suppose to kick on it blinks and don't turn on. If I unplug it a time or 2 it fires up. In on my second ballast. Also after 2 hours of tuning the ballast is Hot very Hot. The bulbs I got off of eBay as well separate from the T5 Retro kit. I guess my question is it the ballast or the bulbs. Any thoughts thanks.

Any update?