Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Trying to figure out what kind of ballast I have...

I think the ballast from one of our ceiling bathroom lights is shot...from what I understand, it might be cheaper to just update the whole fixture instead of just replacing the ballast...I'm a nOOb with this so I'm going to explain it like one :)...it is the circular type and has a plug that plugs into a receptacle in the ceiling...there is also a fan that is plugged in but I'm assuming that if that works I don't need to mess with it? What kind of ballast do I need to replace the original with?

Not sure what you have, but it sounds old, and possibly no longer legal for a bathroom. Never heard of a fluorescent fixture for a bathroom that plugged into a receptacle. Or are you talking about a fan/light fixture that has plugs in the same box, mounted flush with the ceiling???

Not sure what you have, but it sounds old, and possibly no longer legal for a bathroom. Never heard of a fluorescent fixture for a bathroom that plugged into a receptacle. Or are you talking about a fan/light fixture that has plugs in the same box, mounted flush with the ceiling???

Yeah...there are two "receptacles"...one for the fan and one for the light...the "receptacles" are part of the metal box in the ceiling...

OK, we are talking about a fan/light. Is it the light that does not work, is it a flourescent?? These fixtures are usually not fluorescent, but incandescent, since there is not enough room for a standard ballast. But it could be an electronic ballast.

OK, we are talking about a fan/light. Is it the light that does not work, is it a flourescent?? These fixtures are usually not fluorescent, but incandescent, since there is not enough room for a standard ballast. But it could be an electronic ballast.

It's definitely flourescent...is there a way of knowing if it is an electronic ballast?

Standard magnetic ballast are large and heavy, not easy to hide, especially in a small fan box. But not sure where it would be mounted, possibly on top of the box. Electronic ballats, on the other hand are fairly small, but it is likely mounted in a compartment away from the fan.

Some of those old circular fixtures used those small metal starters. Relativley inexpensive and easy to change. They just twist out and twist back in.