I would call an electrician in both -t and Consuelas cases.

I am thinking about walking away from the house we have under contract. The inspection turned up a bunch of stuff, and we asked the seller to fix it all (all of it really basic deferred maintenance stuff that he should have kept up on, as he's owned the place for 40 years and is rich, and some of it safety issues, like fuse boxes not to code), and he offered us a measly $5000 price reduction. I am like, "Fuck him, let's walk." But mr. flea wants to counter, because he thinks this 2-family rental thing is a good deal long term. But I mostly just want to set things on fire and piss on the ashes. What to do? (I mean, we did not object to the vintage 1982 kitchen, the carpeted bathroom, the 40 year old boiler and the 19 year old hot water heaters, and the fact that there's no central air. But he won't fucking fix the rotted soffit? I want to kill him.)

I get that. And if every time something needs repairing it's going to make you mad at him all over again, that's probably not good. OTOH, if you can mad now and get it all out, it's not like you ever had to see him again once you own the house.

I'm not calling an electrician. Maybe I'll take a closer look at the wiring, though.

-t, have you tried the tube that's working in the place of one of the tubes that's not coming on? That will tell you if it's the ballast (or starter). Also, have you considered using fewer bulbs to reduce the brightness?

I'd replace all of them, because the older one will give less light than the new ones.

Went to the hardware store twice (of course I did), and started hanging stuff on the walls. Is a poster of this too creepy to hang in the guest bedroom?

Of course that was not even on my to-do list.

Well, how much is it to fix the soffit, for instance? I think Mr. Flea's probably got the right of it by countering, but get some estimates on the immediate repairs first.

I have not tried moving the tube that still lights, yet, Ginger. I'm a little afraid that if I move it it will stop working and the new tubes won't work, but I'll try it in a minute.

I've been getting by with just the one tube for months, maybe over a year, and it's fine brightness-wise but when it does eventually go out I'll have to deal with a totally dark kitchen. It's got small windows facing north and east, both under overhangs, so the natural light is not great. Maybe it's time to start thinking about revamping my lighting in there.

ETA: Not too creepy, Jesse. Unless it glows in the dark.

Huh. So, both the tubes in the other ballast lit up, but when I remove one they both go out. Didn't know that happened. Tried putting one old one and one new one in each ballast and that seems to get all four lighting up. So I'm going with that.

I don't understand it, but if it works, okay.

Fluorescent tubes are freaky. Maybe it takes two tubes to complete the circuit?

flea, I don't know why there aren't more homicides related to home buying. I have bought three houses and loathed the owners of each with the heat of 10,000 suns.

Maybe. I'm guessing that the smaller tubes don't draw enough juice to pass some safety threshold unless they are paired with a larger one.

Maybe I will get rid of the whole fixture before they all burn out again. Aside from not getting how it works, I just don't like it. I'd rather have more ceiling space to hang pots from. Under cabinet lighting. Something not this.