How To Convert Your Old T8 and T12 Fluorescent Fixtures to Brighter LED Bulbs 

There are 2 types of LED bulbs like this. One will require power at both ends, and the other only needs power at one end. It's critically important that you always read the instructions that come with the bulbs before going forward with something that you saw on RU-vid.

Thanks Cliff, I have lots of these to convert to also!

Thanks Cliff. Simple and easy.

I have a fluorescent light with the neutral going to one end and not through the ballast like the one in you have. I couldn't find a video that had that setup until I came across yours. My ballast went bad recently and the manufacturer couldn't advise me on a replacement. Seems like a good time to convert to LED tubes.

Great video! Easy to follow and it made my conversion and installation simple. Thank you again!

Got by looking for fluorescent to led but as soon as I saw Festool in the into I knew I was in the right place.

Great info and you even showed a strange wiring situation which will likely help the odd person or two in the future. Only recommendation I have is to throw in some information about shunted vs. non-shunted and single pole vs. double pole LED bulbs. I'm currently rewiring mine, but I am using single pole LED bulbs so my wiring is different and only one side of my tombstones are wired. It's still the same concept though, all the neutrals together all the hots together and then pigtail to the home wiring.

Thank you, your video was very helpful. I recently did my garage lights and was really just wanting reassurance that i did it correctly, and would end up with an issue later on. But i did mine the same exact way so i feel a lot better lol

Thanks cliff, good video

thank you very much for this video, Mr miyagi thanks to your video, I got my led lights connected.

Some ballast bypass led replacements bulbs are single ended powered not double ended. Need to make sure you have the correct one for this wiring.

You made it so easy. Thankyou so much

Thank you very easy and simple

Great help mate .

There are TWO TYPES of led tubes. The led tubes like Cliff has here are DOUBLE ENDED and have a neutral wire going to one end, hot wire to other end. Both end caps on tube are white. The other type led tubes are SINGLE ENDED and powered only on ONE END. This type tube/bulb usually has a green cap on one end, a white cap on the other end. On this type a lead (hot) black wire goes to one side of each tombstone, a neutral white wire goes to other side of each tombstone. ALL WIRES go to green end of the tubes. There is no wiring on other white end of the tubes. Its only use is to hold the tube in place. (Some single ended led tubes have white caps on both ends so you have to know which type you have before wiring.)

One the most helpful ones

What is the difference between a Universal LED and a Bypass LED? Is the Bypass more problematic? If your fixture is wired in, like in an old kitchen, don’t you need to know about detaching it from the wall or ceiling? And are lengths of bulbs rounded up, as 17 1/4 inch is 18 inch? Thanks for the video, better than most. Oh, and blue and red wires are there for decoration?

Can you use LED tubes that say they'll work with an existing ballast in a fixture where you remove the ballast altogether? It wasn't clear from the packaging whether these new LEDs require a ballast. Thanks

Hi, sir, I really like the video you shot. Could you help us take a video of the installation of our brand's 4-foot led bulb? Looking forward to your reply.

great thanks

Hey Cliff, out of curiosity, which T8 LED's did you end up installing? Also, did you notice a difference in the light output of the LED's versus the older florescent bulbs? I'm looking to convert my workshop over in the near future.

What do i do with the green ground wire?

If you buy a plug and play bulb that works with the ballast, but later the ballast dies can one rewire around the ballast and still keep the plug and play bulbs?

Seems like it might just be easier to replace the entire fixture. Thanks for the video.

Great video! I have T8 fluorescents in my shop. When I turn on my AM radio, there is static if the lights are on. I have been told it is from the ballasts. Am I right in thinking that if I make the switch to T8 LED's and eliminate the ballasts like you just did, the radio static will go away?

I have cold start ballast T12s. Do LEDs need cold start tombstones, or are they “one-size-fits all” ?

You fast forward the part someone might actually need to watch. You never explained the second hot wire. Does it connect to the blue and red wires come from the tombstones you pulled free ?

someone said if u have an INSTANT START BALLASt that this wont work....or u have to modify something? I have a three wire BALLAST i removed how do i know if its an instant start,?? I have ONE long 96 INCH FLORURESCENT BULB..the ballast has two wires on one end, and one blue wire on the other end..i dont have tombstones i dont think..my old buld has one end not two?? I already removed the old BALLLAST

Thanks for sharing , Cliff! I have seen two different wiring methodologies for these conversions and really don't know which would be better economically, but I digress. What's your opinion on that anyway? My real question is that for your conversion, can the tubes be installed in either direction? I know for DC, flow only goes one direction, but with circuitry, does the AC get rectified to that required one direction? And, of course, there are those LED tubes that have the live conductors on one end and dummies on the other. Those definitely need to be installed in only one direction. Thanks for your video!

I have a four-lamp fixture. I took out ALL the wires except for one for each tombstone. I attached all of one end to the hot and all the other end to the neutral. But none of the lights are coming on. Any ideas?

Well done but I just want to make sure I understand about the ground wire, you pretty much don’t have to touch it right? Just leave it attached to the fixture from the home wiring?

You mentioned that you can keep the tombstones (connectors). However, most LEDs require non-shunted connectors. If they're shunted, you might burn out the LEDs or short the circuit.

I just place new leds T8/T12 tubes in today. They replaced the older fluorescent tubes. I flicked the switch and they worked fine. Should I be worried?

Is it just me not seeing correctly or you actually mixed different color wires together?

Why not clean it up. You can make jumpers for tombstones and run one wire to each set of tombstones. Also, get rid of the two wire nuts in neutral wire. Just put a long enough wire from tombstones to neutral. Remove anything that could cause a problem? I believe that when wiring uses the KISS method. Keep it simple, stupid, and clean, which is always better. Just my two cents worth.

Was not loud enough (for me)

Tweee 12😅

T8s are smaller than T12. the number refers to 8th of an inch. Both of those bulbs you were comparing in your video were T12

Lamps or tubes not bulbs!

You are only telling people how to wire type B bulbs .how are Type A wired.

Sorry but this video throws me off ,way off. you dont show how its hooked up on the on end and your wording seems unsure of itself.

Lots of info but shd not have taken 20 minutes. Got confusing. Give us 3-5 minutes worth of info.

Your audio is confusing.