Fluorescent bulb flickering on and off

fluorescent bulbs flickering

Hello i just replaced my Compact Fluorescent bulb as it was blinking.....sometimes it would not come on properly until several minutes after switch on.

When i took the old bulb out it was blackened in the region of the ends.

The fixture had it written saying i needed to replace the starter as well so i did.

The bulb was a General Electric Biax 2D , T5, 38W

It was four pin bulb (and obviously fixture as well) which surprised me...i thought the fluorescents that used starters were only 2 pin ?

Anyway, i replaced the bulb and the starter with new ones and it works ok now....but it does flicker on and off for a few seconds after i switch it on......i know this isn't right and will reduce the life of the bulb......does anybody know what might be wrong ?

fluorescent bulb flickering

Where have you been for 10 years?
Modern compact fluorescent bulbs are one piece and cost almost nothing. They light almost immediately without flickering when they are turned on and last about 10 years. They don't have a "starter".

fluorescent bulb flicker

If you have a Choke and starter in the circuit, the flickering is quite normal. Instead why dont you have an electronic ballast which will instantly glow the CFL without flickering.

compact fluorescent flicker off

If your using an old fashioned ballast and and a starter, check if the ballast and the lamp are compatible and also the starter.

I think CFL doesnt need a starter that is why it is called compact because the ballast and starter is in the bulb

flickering fluorescent bulb

The fluorescent tube lights in my kitchen and basement don't use a starter. The tubes are called Rapid Start and have filaments that light and heat each end. The ballast is a transformer and produces a current-limited high voltage that starts the tube lights.
They turn on almost immediately without flickering.

CFL also don't have a starter. They have an electronic ballast. They turn on in one second without flickering. They are dim when cold and are bright after warming for half a minute.

replaced fluorescent bulbs and they still flicker

Oh thankyou for helping me out.

I thought it seemed strange........so you are saying that my fixture is not high frequency ballast, but is just mains frequency with the current limiting being done by a big inductor somewhere in the fixture?

Also, the starter, the little cylindrical thing.........i cracked the old one open and all i see is a glass cylinder with wires going into it, and what looks like a capacitor........i cant see through the glass because it looks like there is a kind of silvering over the inside of it, which obscures my view.

....do you know what is inside this glass cylinder?...if it is just a switch...then how does it know when to come on and go off again?

also, i now know from your excellent replies that i am behind the times.......do you think my unit has a low power factor?.....and is it less efficient than a high frequency ballast type one?

light bulb flickering when off

I don't knw what kind of fluorescent tubes and ballasts you have.

Mine is just a big current-limiting transformer operating at the mains frequency and wasting power. The filaments in my tubes are lighted all the time which also wastes electricity. They are being banned and will be replaced with new ones with an electronic ballast that does not waste power.

My lights do not use a starter. Your starter might have a thermal breaker that heats then disconnects part of the ballast which creates a high voltage to start your tubes and the other part might be a neon light bulb that suddenly conducts when the voltage is high.

new fluorescent bulb still flickering

Please let us know which are you are loacted EEMAM. Coz even today in some countries, old fashioned chokes (Coiled) are available for compatible CFL's which will have a built in starter which will cause to flicker and then start. If the same bulb is used with present electronic ballasts the bulb works instantly becoz there will be a 3n3 200v polyester capacitor across the starter. eemam has simialr bulb setup.

neon light bulb flickering when turned off

hi,

thankyou for your reply, i am located in UK.

dim flickering fluorescent tube

Is the probelm fixed? or still persists?