Question on florescent lights in toy hauler. When you are on the generator there is a loud and annoying hum in the lights, even on shore power they hum. If to cold, they will not come on.

Stumped.

 

Tim,

Fluorescent lights do not like cold weather (ie low 40's or below) unless they have a ballast that is rated for cold weather. Most don't because they cost more than the standard warm weather ballast which works well inside a climate controlled building. On the sticker located on the ballast they usually stamp the minimum temperature start rating. To cold and they won't light until they warm up. They can also buzz when they are cold even when lit. Also buzzing can be caused by bad bulbs, weak ballasts, power fluctuations.

Do all your light fixtures buzz or just some?

Hope this helps

 

Just some.......this is great info.

Helped a bunch, I will invest in some "cold" ballasts.

 

Tim,

The ones that are doing it, have they done it from day one or did they start it as time went by?

 

make sure your ballasts are tight to the fixture and the fixture is hung properly, if not the ballast will make a humming noise against the housing

 

It has been doing it form day one and the trailer is new (in my gallery) it really bugs me At time it does it at 50 degrees, the hum is anything under 90 degrees. The generator is an 5.5kw. new also.

 

Tim,

A few more thoughts on your problem. I looked at the pictures of your trailer in your gallery (Nice Trailer BTW), I am guessing the light fixtures are standard 4 foot, two lamp (F40 2-pin bulbs) 120V with linear ballasts, just like you would have in your garage at home. Before i went out and spent a bunch of money on new ballasts I would try and narrow the cause down. Here is how i would approach it since not all of the fixtures are having problems.

1) Check the problem fixtures for loose/cracked lamp sockets. Replace or tighten if needed.

2) Take the bulbs out of a good fixture and place them in the bad fixture to see if this corrects the problem.

3) Check to see if the ballast mounting bolts and the bolts holding the fixture to the trailer are tight. (wickymustang mentioned this in his post)

4) Make sure all wire connections and grounding connections are clean and tight.
On a side note, If all these fixtures are on one circuit, is this only occuring to the fixtures farthest down stream from the switch. Maybe there is to much amperage drop do to increased resistance in a long wire run. The lights draw there most power at start up then taper off. (Typical 2-lamp fixture about 1 Amp each). I would probably want at least 14 Awg wire and maybe even 12 Awg depending on circuit length etc.. Are there any other electrical appliances on the lighting circuit that could be causing a voltage drop to the problem fixtures?

If none of these fix the problem then i would do the following.

5) Remove the ballast from a good fixture and place it in the bad fixture to see if this corrects the problem.

Any one or a combination of these things could be causing your problem. Cold weather could create a no start situation, but since this only happens with some of the fixtures and not all of them, then temperature probably isn't the root cause. I would hate to see you spend big bucks for new cold weather ballasts when they probably aren't needed.

Also i notice you said that this problem has occurred since day one and the trailer is new. Are these fixtures under warranty from the trailer manufacture?

Let me know how this turns out, if you lived a little closer, i would stop and take a look at them for you.

Good Luck

 

This is great info, I cannot thank you all enough, it is really bugging me. I will be gone for a week and then back. At which time I am going to dig into this with all your suggestions.
I know it can be fixed............I hope.

 

Yes you are correct it can be fixed, don't give up

 

My wife hates indoor fluorescent light flicker and hum. Apparently solid state high frequency ballasts are available that are more expensive than magnetic ones, but are much quieter. I don't know what they're start temp is though.

 

Solid state high frequency ballasts are great for colder weather, but they are really expensive, usually not worth the money in a trailer.

 

How expensive and do they have longer reliability.

 

Tim,

Soild state electronic ballasts run about $75-$100 each as compared to $25-$40 each for standard ballasts. You can get both standard and electronic ballasts rated for cold weather starts (ie. 0F or -20F) as opposed to the standard temperature rating of 45-50F.

 

HOLY SMOKE when you say a bit pricy you mean it…………ug…that is a bunch, will they last three or four times as long. Does a trailer put undo stress on the, i.e. vibration or anything at all.

 

I don't know if they will last any longer, as i have not used them do to cost, and i have not seen any reports as to longevity by anyone who has used them. Maybe someone that has used them will come along and educate all of us. Many times i replace the whole fixture for about the same price as a new ballast, just depends how much i can buy them for at the time.

I believe that a trailer has to put more stress on these fixtures do to vibration, temperature extremes, dust etc... The standard 48", two lamp (FT40 bulb), 120V fixture was designed to be placed in a building, using standard power from the electric company, not bounced down a highway and run off a generator.
Now I'am not implying that all generators are hard on electrical components, it depends on the line conditioners, power stabilizers, grounding system etc.. in the generator or electrical distribution system. Most of the power we have in our homes has run through line conditioners, power stabilizers, good grounding systems etc. and is clean stabile power. Generator power can vary for many reasons, sometimes shortening the life electical components that are plugged into it.

IMO Tim i believe that once you get a chance to trouble shoot your bad fixtures and isolate the problem, then repair or replace the defective part(s) your fixtures will work correctly without the noise and flicker. And yes as parts wear out in the future you will have to replace them. I don't think you will get the longevity in run time with the fixtures in your trailer that you would get if those same fixtures were installed in your house. Just my $.02