CFL delay

[lukechen89]

Hi,
I am hoping someone with more experience can give me a little advise on this.
I have 2 cfl 10w recessed lights on one switch. these are 4 pin g27 bulbs..
when i turn the switch on, one light comes on immediately whereas the other takes about .5 of a second before coming on? in the time it seems like there is a red/ orange glow at the base of the lamp.
Since these fitting have an external ballast, it would be be quite a bit of work to change it.
i was just wondering if anyone knew if the ballast was the cause of this?
i have already tried switching the bulbs around to no avail
Thank You!

 

[davenn]

Do they also have external starters ?

if so then one or both may be getting worn

Dave

 

[Resqueline]

Is it an electronic ballast or an inductor ballast, perhaps with a series connection? What mains voltage do you have?
Did the delay follow the lamp or stick with the position? If it followed the lamp then look for blackening at the end; a sign of wear.
The orange glow is from the preheat filament. It can glow yellow before there's any immediate risk of failure.
Is it brand new or did it just start to behave like this after how long time?

 

[lukechen89]

I'm in the Uk, so on 230v.
The problem stuck with the position, not the lamp
If only it was the lamp, I'd just get a new one!
Honestly I haven't pulled pulled down the fitting to take a look but I was looking arpud at all electrical wholesale suppliers and no one seems to stock these external ballast or starters,
Anyone have any idea howmuch they could b?
What is the heating filament, and is the glow indicative of something?
Cheers

 

[lukechen89]

I'm pretty sure it's an electronic ballast as the property is about 3 years old only.

 

[Resqueline]

In each end there's a filament, pretty much like in a vacuum tube, and doing the same job. All proper ballasts heats the filaments before or during striking of the tube.
The ballast could just be made to work that way, or it could be developing some kind of imbalance, but I wouldn't worry yet with just an orange glow and half a second delay.