Need advice on how to repair my 4 foot 8 bulb T5

[Jonny Fly]

Hey fellow growers, I have an 4 foot 8 bulb T5 grow light and one of the fixtures crapped out on me. Has anyone cracked one of these open? I'm guessing it has two 4 bulb ballasts but I'm really not sure. I suppose it's not that big of a deal but it bugs me. It's not even two years old, but I don't want to crack it open and cause more damage. You can turn the outer 4 on, the middle 4 on, or all of them on. Please advise...

 

[Phytoplankton]

You don't have much to lose by cracking it open, unless it's still under warranty. Before you do though, I would take some emery paper and clean up the contacts where the bulbs lock in, and secondarily does that unit have a starter(s) (one or two round cylinder looking things that twist in to the unit) if they go bad the lights won't come on, that's an easy fix. Usual culprits are corroded wires or bad switches. I have the same type fixture, 8 bulb T-5 HO, but mine is an aquarium hood for growing coral in a salt water aquarium.

 

[Obi Wan]

Been there. I replaced one of the the ballasts in my 8 bulb. I'd do it again.

 

[Slicknick909]

Shouldn't be too hard at all to crack open and replace the ballast, your local hardware store probably even has the ballast if that's the culprit.