how starters work really in article aa insane apana org au peter m insane apana org au peter tryndoch writes so when you turn on the power this causes the bulb to work like a neon heating up and shorting out thus providing a loop to power the heaters in the main tube when the tube fires insufficient current runs through the starter to keep the heat up and the bi metalic strip straightens out o c imprecise this description ignores the role of the ballast misrepresents the heating effects in the starter the bimetalic strip cools down immediately after the contacts short circuit because the neon discharge stops and much less heat is generated from the i r loss in the metal as compared to the neon discharge the starter contacts open before the tube fires actually the tube fires as a result of the back emf generated in the ballast because of this immediate opening of the starter s contacts a capacitor is connected in parallel with the contacts to prevent excessive arcing during the firing the neon reionizes but does not draw sufficient current to prevent firing of the tube itself mustafa kocaturk mustafa seas smu edu ee dept room a caruth bldg home office smu box dallas tx
