Ballast Blues

[B Wanke]

:eek: I'm feeling rather stupid, but my husband and I are attempting to change out the ballast in an overhead flourescent fixture in the kitchen.

Is there some special tool or process to remove the ballast? There's a nut with a pin in the center, but both turn and don't appear to either tighten or loosen.

Help!

[pcboss]

You are on the right path. The pin is actually a threaded stud and should align with a keyway or some other means to hold it in place so that it does not turn. The nut is just a nut.

Can you reach above the fixture to hold the stud while loosening the nut? Maybe you can hold the stud with needlenose pliers while loosening the nut?

[B Wanke]

We tried what you have suggested with no success. We are unable to get above the fixture, as it is flush against the ceiling. Guess we'll try again or if we have to take the fixture down, we'll just replace the whole thing!

Thanks for the reply.

[Cheyenps]

It's a threaded stud with a nut on it, and sometimes whatever keeps the stud from spining (sometimes a slot, sometimes a spot weld) breaks and the whole thing spins.

I hate it when that happens. :(

Three tricks to try before you resort to taking down the fixture:

1. If the stud is long enough to stick out through the nut, see if you can grab the tip of it with a pair of needle-nose pliers; just long enough to get the nut to start spinning.

2. Push the ballast sideways REAL HARD while unscrewing the nut with a socket or a nutrunner. Sometimes you can jam the stud against the fixture can hard enough that you can get the nut off.

3. Abandon the old ballast in place and install the new ballast alongside it (if you have room in the fixture - most do.) Use self tapping screws to install the new ballast.

Good luck!