Can you use a two lamp ballast on a one lamp fixture?

A 1 lamp rapid start (series) ballast can be hard to find, but it can be replaced with a 2 lamp instant start (parallel) ballast. Here is how a 2 lamp ballast is wired to a 1 lamp fixture.

What to do with the yellow wires on a ballast?

The two yellow wires complete the circuit through the fluorescent tube back into the ballast. The red and blue wires energize the pins the fluorescent tube is attached to, the yellow wires connect to the pins on the opposite ends of the fluorescent light tubes completing the circuit.

What color wires are on a 2 lamp ballast?

2 and 3 lamp instant start ballasts use blue wires for individual connections, and red wires for common connections. Black wire is for line voltage and white wire for neutral. An instant start ballast uses a single wire which connects from the ballast to each of the lamp terminals.

Which wire is hot on a ballast?

1 Answer. Yes, in North America on a fluorescent ballast, white is neutral and black is hot — switched hot, that is. In North American wiring, white and gray are neutral, green and yellow/green are safety ground, and everything else is hot. So red is hot.

Can one ballast power two bulbs?

The two bulbs will always have slightly different impedances, so more current will flow through one or the other. It’s difficult to balance this out. The condition where one bulb is fired and the other is not is obviously the worst case for this.

Can you run hid without ballast?

A ballast is essential in HID lighting technology because it provides the voltage to start the bulb and it also helps in maintaining an adequate flow of electrical current to the bulb. Simply speaking, a ballast is essential if you want to enjoy the real strengths of HID bulbs.

How do you hook up a new ballast?

For the new ballast, I hooked 1 red and 1 blue to the side of the tube that the old 2 reds went to and 1 yellow to the other side. Then black with black and white with white. Light works fine now, instant on and off.

Can a single tube ballast be used with a two tube?

The new ballast I purchased is designed for two tubes but states that it is also compatible with a single (more powerful) tube corresponding exactly to what I need. They apparently forgot to draw the wiring diagram for the single tube setup though. The only diagram I have is for two tubes and seems to be typical:

Can I install two ballast lights in one fixture?

Following alone the line of the previous post, it appears that I can install two ballast in one fixture (lots of room) where each 2-lamp ballast only has one line working. The input to each may be a challenge, but the independent output to each lamp is simple.

Can you put 2 yellows on a 2 lamp ballast?

Failing to do so is a codevio and likely to cause a fire. Sometimes, especially with rapid start ballasts, the answer is “you can’t”. I bought a 2 Lamp ballast and it has 2 yellows coming from the same side as the black and white wires and 2 red with 2 blue coming from the other end.