So, there’s the circular bulb itself, and also this little removable plastic cylinder with two metal feet on it. How do I tell which of them needs replacing, and what specification to look for to know what to replace it with?
So, there’s the circular bulb itself, and also this little removable plastic cylinder with two metal feet on it. How do I tell which of them needs replacing, and what specification to look for to know what to replace it with?
IIRC they pull power through the inductor and the electrodes in the tube, so the inductor has plenty of current running through it and the electrodes are hot, then suddenly break that circuit. The inductor makes the voltage across the tube spike super high and an arc forms inside the tube.
The little cylinder is the switch and capacitor at the bottom of the image. It starts off closed, so power goes through the tube’s electrodes but not across the tube, then opens forcing power to go through the tube.
It’s the rectangular bit that actually does the charging up.