Red Box Rebel
New member
My neon tail/brake lamp has not been working for a long time. I found out today that I need a new ballast.
As suggested by some of our resident experts, I took the neon lamp assembly to a shop that specializes in neon lighting. At first they were wondering what to do to check the neon in the lamp since the neon tubing was encased inside the lamp assembly. But they soon discovered a very simple way to check to see if the neon was still inside the lamp.
There is a quick disconnect wire connection coming off of the ballast. After disconnecting the wire, they stuck a "Sparker Tool" into the wire connection leading to the lamp. The sparker tool is used to test neon lighting and sends a charge of electricity to the neon. It can be applied to the wiring, or placed directly next to a tube containing neon to test the neon.
If the neon is good, the lamp will light up. In my case the neon lit up like brand new even though the lamp is 16+ years old.
Now I know that the ballast is bad and I can replace the ballast without fear of the neon not working.
The process of checking the neon only took a few minutes and I did not have to disassemble the neon lamp assembly to get to the neon.
The shop (Ace Neon) was located in Linden, New Jersey and did not even charge me to perform the check. There are some good guys still left out there in New Jersey!!
As suggested by some of our resident experts, I took the neon lamp assembly to a shop that specializes in neon lighting. At first they were wondering what to do to check the neon in the lamp since the neon tubing was encased inside the lamp assembly. But they soon discovered a very simple way to check to see if the neon was still inside the lamp.
There is a quick disconnect wire connection coming off of the ballast. After disconnecting the wire, they stuck a "Sparker Tool" into the wire connection leading to the lamp. The sparker tool is used to test neon lighting and sends a charge of electricity to the neon. It can be applied to the wiring, or placed directly next to a tube containing neon to test the neon.
If the neon is good, the lamp will light up. In my case the neon lit up like brand new even though the lamp is 16+ years old.
Now I know that the ballast is bad and I can replace the ballast without fear of the neon not working.
The process of checking the neon only took a few minutes and I did not have to disassemble the neon lamp assembly to get to the neon.
The shop (Ace Neon) was located in Linden, New Jersey and did not even charge me to perform the check. There are some good guys still left out there in New Jersey!!
