Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Need advice for fluoresent fixture.

I bought a 4ft dual fluoresent fixture (T12) and I want to connect it to a single switched ceiling light bulb fixture in my garage. The confusing part for me (obviously no electrician) is that out of the ceiling comes 2 white wires and 1 red and the ballast has 1-red 1-white and 1-black, what goes where? :confused:

Which two wires are connected to the current light? Are you sure there are three wires on the flourescent? That is not normal.

Ok, the red wire from the ballast apparently came off the bulb connector and needs to go back. so there is a black and white that say line.

The fixture had a red and 2-whites fastened to the inside of the bulb hub , why two whites?

Shockman,

Good question as you really need to look into the light box itself and make a bit more detailed observation versus just what may connect to the existing fixture.

Do you have a voltmeter?

If you pulled the previous fixture down you make a note of what was connected to the black or hot line of the previous fixture and what was connected to the white or neutral line of the previous fixture.

I would suggest you use a volt meter and check the red to each white line....chances are you are dealing with two things here...

1.) Has to be more than that in terms of wires in the box...because their is not a romax ( and I will assume it is that ) make up of 2 whites and 1 red....so has to be more inside the box.

2.) Could simply be the other white you are seeing is to carry the neutral to another device somewhere and rather than wirenut it..they may have simply taken it to the connection on the neutral of the old fixture.

Using the voltmeter...check the Red to each White.....if you get 120V ( nominal ) from red to each white.....then you can figure the red is your supply hot...or in this cased the switched hot for the light....

Also check that Red to ground....to make sure it is the hot...and chances are it is switched..so make sure the switch to that light is on...

also....you can look into the physical BOX in the ceiling and make note of all the wires entering the box...and post that info.......has to be more than what you have listed.

Connect the new fixture white to the existing two whites.
Connect the new fixture black to the existing red.

The two whites are feed from power source and feed to a continuation of the circuit that is unswitched via the black wire. It saves using a wirenut and a pigtail.

:wall:

This is what i did last, tested the wires, the 1 white from fixture was cold, I used it as a ground to fixture. the other white was hot, attached it to white line wire on light and red was hot also from wall, attached to black line from light. Still no life. :confused:

Come on electricians, get me hooked up!

It is very unusual to find a box with two white wires and one red wire, and nothing else. Please check in the back recesses of this box and see if there are any other wires.

A complete inventory of the electical box finds; 2 black wires capped together making a hot line (seperated the entire box goes cold), a red/hot, a white hot, a white cold, and a copper. I have a white and black fixture lines and a screw for ground on fixture.

What's the plan?

Much appreciated.
Shockman :eek:

The white hot is not really a hot. It is a reading coming though some other device. Connect it with the other white wires.

Joe's original advice should have worked. Double-check your work.

:thumbup:

Thanks to all for your input, especially JoeD, I guess the key was connecting all 3 whites together to continue the curcuit because not only the fluorescent light works, but now my doorbell, dining room light and patio light all work again. :D