Step 4 - Test the Ballast If the reading is not between five and nine volts, replace the ballast. These contain small metal contactors, and you should see either one or two wires going to each one. Ballast-compatible, "plug and play," or "direct drop-in" LED tubes make upgrading to cost-saving, long-life LED technology easy: simply take the fluorescent tubes out of your fixture and put the LED tubes in. Magnetic ballasts. Remember, precautions are first as you are working with electrical devices, which generally hazardous. Test the ballast's voltage with a multimeter. A Quick Way to Determine If Your Fluorescent Fixtures Will Work with Direct Drop-in LED Tubes. The tombstones are the plastic fittings at either end of where the bulbs sit. How can I tell whether I have a magnetic ballast or an electronic ballast? While commercial test equipment is available for determining whether a magnetic ballast is in place, there is an inexpensive do-it-yourself test that can be done with your cell phone!

Here I have discussed five steps on how to test an electrical ballast with a Digital Multi-meter. Nowadays, magnetic ballasts are a rather outdated technology that manufacturers are phasing out, and so they’re usually only found on older types of lights. Test the high voltage side of the ballast to be sure the electricity flowing between the wires and the tombstones is continuous. These rely on the principles of electromagnetism, in that when an electrical current travels through a wire, it naturally generates a magnetic force around itself. You can follow the below-mentioned steps to test a ballast with a multi-meter. Adjust the multimeter to measure frequency and replace the ballast if the reading is not between 20 and 50 kilohertz. Hey all, I have a guy wanting to sell me two xtrasun 1000w ballasts, these are the magnetic ones for 65.00 for both, he states his friend went out of business and hes helping to sell, Now before I jump on the sold wagon, I want to test them. When you hear a buzzing sound coming from your fixture or the bulbs flicker or do not come on, check the ballast to see if it needs to be replaced. Attach the multimeter's leads to the sockets at the ends of the ballast.