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I would like to replace 15 year old Fluorescent 4 foot strip light fixture (electric ballast, T8, two light, 32W), it looked like this. This is in a closet ceiling. I was a bit surprised that when I removed the fixture, there was no junction box in the ceiling. I understand that the ballast may eliminate the need for a junction box.

My question is: if I now install an LED 4 foot strip light fixture, that I believe has a "driver" and not a ballast, do I need to install a junction box before installing the LED strip light fixture?

NM from ceiling

FreeMan
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Tom Broome
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2 Answers2

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The fixture (interior part with the ballast and wiring) is a junction box.

If you were planning to replace the florescent bulbs with LED florescent bulb replacements, there was no need to remove the fixture - just take out the ballast if using line-powered LED bulbs and use the fixture to be the junction box and place to mount the bulbs - or buy an LED fixture complete.

If you have a LED fixture that is not a tube replacement, yes, you'll need a junction box.

Ecnerwal
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  • Hey @ecnerwal, Thanks so much for thoughtful reply. I wasn't sufficiently detailed in my original post. The current fixture is broken and needs removal as it is (tube socket issue), so a new one needs to go in regardless. I suppose my question is: If this new fixture is an LED fixture that is a strip light, let's say 4 foot to keep same dimensions as the current fixture, is the fixture, " (interior part with the ballast and wiring) a junction box" as you say for the current fixture, or is this LED strip a totally new game? – Tom Broome Nov 15 '23 at 17:08
  • Tube sockets are replaceable parts, of themselves. I have a bucket of 100 of the things around the house somewhere. They cost a lot less than a whole new fixture, normally. – Ecnerwal Nov 15 '23 at 17:22
  • "yes, you'll need a junction box." unless the new fixture has a proper cable clamp and room to make the connections internally. I've installed a couple of lights like that. – FreeMan Nov 15 '23 at 17:23
  • @FreeMan and guess what that is? It's **a junction box**, built into the new fixture, as wa the old fixture. That's one way to get one. – Ecnerwal Nov 15 '23 at 17:24
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    Yes, that's what I was after. Guess I didn't make my point clearly. My bad. – FreeMan Nov 15 '23 at 17:40
  • Hey @ecnerwal, Thanks for the elucidation about tube sockets. I don't have a bucket of 100 lying around, but I do have a LED fixture laying around. I suppose my question is: If you didn't have 100 tube sockets laying around, and were determined to spend money prodigally on a new fixture, and this new fixture is an LED fixture that is a strip light, does the LED fixture share the property that the current fixture possesses: "(interior part with the ballast and wiring) a junction box" or is this LED strip a totally new game? – Tom Broome Nov 15 '23 at 17:53
  • That woould depend on the details of the new fixture, which you have not shown, so we can't tell you if it is, or is not. I assume from your limited verbal description that the driver just has wires sticking out of it which implies that it needs a junction box. If not, well, perhaps not. – Ecnerwal Nov 15 '23 at 18:29
  • The junction box is needed basically as a place to house the wires and nuts, that's relatively accessible. Usually, with a fixture, the fixture housing typically serves this purpose. – Huesmann Nov 16 '23 at 18:35
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    @Huesmann Thanks so much for sharing a concise and straightforward answer. Your clarity and articulation are rare! – Tom Broome Nov 18 '23 at 20:00
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This would depend on the fixture and wiring in the ceiling, not the ballast or driver issues. In your old fixture, if you have NM cable and it has the proper connection to attach the cable to the fixture and the connections are in the fixture, it's OK. If conduit is run directly to the fixture and connected correctly, it's OK. If your new fixture is designed to be a "junction box" and your NM cable or conduit is properly attached, you're OK. Any connections from house wiring to the fixture need to be in a junction box.

JACK
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  • Hey Jack @JACK, Thanks so much for your reply. I have NM cable coming from my ceiling. Picture attached to OP now so there is no need for my to mess up a description, with my poor vocabulary about electricity. – Tom Broome Nov 15 '23 at 17:15
  • @TomBroome Any connectors you use to connect the NB cable to the fixture hav to be placed over the white sheathing of the cable, not just on the wires. – JACK Nov 15 '23 at 18:11