How to release the wires from all the tomb stone connectors on a 4 bulb T5 fixture in order to change the ballast?

Your description sounds like the connectors for the tubes. Also RECHECK wiring. Different on newer ballasts. See below...

Turn off fixture, unplug, or deactivate fuse...

Pull out bulbs and the tin fixture cover/reflector.
Extract the bulb connector. Go to hardware and buy 4 more, and just replace them. The connections fail where the wire connects and the rigours of bulb replacements damage this piece. TONS easier to get new pieces.

ALSO!!!! many new (fancy schmancy) ballasts WIRE UP completely differently from the old ballast. Follow the wiring diagram on the NEW ballast. This detail trips up many.

Doc

If only two bulbs are lighting on ALL the fixtures, this usually indicates wiring.
Check wiring diagram as follows.
If unsure, contact local electrician to ensure proper wiring within your states electrical code.
http://www.stanion.com/pdf/advance4.pdf

The ballast inside the fixture is rated to operate 2 25w bulbs. You can't put higher wattage bulbs in this fixture, unless you change the ballast. Sorry.

Actually there is a way. Either by using a small jewelers screwdriver placed into the little brass part holding the wire or even simpler just grasp the wire near where it goes into the tombstone and gently twist it clockwise then counterclockwise with a little pulling pressure. I have done many of them that way. Good luck.

I like to start by swapping the position of the bulbs. If the one that didn't light, now does, it probably indicates a bad ballast (that long thin black "boxy thing" with wires coming out of it - it may be under a removable metal cover). Next replace the unlit bulb with a new one. If that doesn't light, try swapping the new light to the other position. If you still can't get two bulbs to light, replace both lamps with new ones. A good indication of a bad bulb is one or both blackened ends. The bulbs having two pins on each end have a small filament inside. This blackening is the metal of the filament "boiling off" and depositing on the glass. Eventually the filament gets thin and breaks so it doesn't provide the heat necessary to "prime"" the mercury inside the bulb that conducts electricity and excites the phosphor coating inside the bulb that emits light.If none of this works, most probably the ballast has "gone bad" and it, or the whole fixture, must be replaced, normally by an electrician. This can be done by the home "handyperson." You can cut the wires, remove the old ballast and replace it with a new one, splicing them to those of the same color from the new ballast using small "wire nuts." The one black and one white are the 120 volt power input wires. There are normally a pair of reds, a pair of blues, and a pair of yellows. Any wires of the same color are interchangeable. The blues and reds will go respectively to the bulb's sockets on one end of the fixture; the two yellows go to the opposite fixture end and are connected, in parallel electrically, to the other lamp sockets. If this makes sense, you may attempt to change your own ballast. If not, hire an electrician. Match the specifications for voltage, wattage, and number of bulbs, from your old ballast to the replacement - there are several different important electrical values to match even if the ballast looks physically the same size. Last, always turn off the electricity, and verify that it is safely off using a test light or meter before working on the fixture. Even though the black wire is normally energized and the white has zero volts measured with respect to ground, sometimes their function is reversed by an amateur where the wall switch may disconnect the black wire and make the fixture go off (as it should) yet the white wire remains dangerously energized, which is why you always test both of the wires with the test light or meter with respect to ground before touching any of them. Again, if this is not PERFECTLY clear, hire an electrician. Don't take chances, Electricity KILLS!

1 Turn off the circuit breaker that's delivering the power to the light fixture.

2 Test the feed wires with a touch-type voltage tester before you touch them. Press the button on the tester and touch the tip of it to each wire to make sure the circuit is dead. If the tester beeps or lights up then the circuit is still live. Try additional breakers until you find the correct one.

3 Strip about 3/4 inch of insulation from the ends of each wire coming from the ballast if they aren't already prepped for wiring. Use the smallest setting on the wire stripper to prevent snapping the wires when you strip them.

4 Take the single red wire from the ballast and insert its tip into one of the two pressure-slots on top of one of the sockets on the same side of the fixture that the red wire is facing.

5 Take a 6-inch length of similar red wire and strip 3/4 inch of insulation at each end, then insert one end into the second slot on the socket that already has the red ballast wire attached and insert the other end into the other socket on that side.

6 Insert the tip of one of the blue wires into the slot on one of the sockets on the other side of the fixture.

7 Insert the tip of the second blue wire into the slot on the other socket on that side of the fixture.

8 Connect the white wire from the feed circuit to the white wire on the ballast and connect the black wire from the feed circuit to the black wire on the ballast. Make sure the wire connectors are on tight and wrap electrical tape around the connections.

9 Put the fixture back together and install the fluorescent tubes as per the manufacturer's instructions. Turn the circuit breaker back on.

There are three types of fluorescent 48" bulbs t 12, t8, and t5. they are not interchangable. if you have a fixture that has a t12 type ballast, it will not light up the t8 bulbs. you have to change the ballast to a t8 style. just to clarify, the number stands for 10ths of an inch in diameter on the bulb. a t12 is 1.2 inches, a t8 is .8 inch and a t5 is .5 inch.

You may find that a new fixture is the easier and cheaper way to go as some ballast can be expensive and hard to find the matching style. A similar style fixture at Home Depot or Lowes cost, in a 2 pack about $18.00. Add a CF bulb to it for another $4.00 and you have a decorative similar fixture. Some ballast cost anywhere from $9.00-$50.00. If you wish to replace the ballast: (turn off the power) remove the globe, remove the existing florescent bulb, take the fixture off the ceiling (usually two screws) remove the wire nuts, make a small diagram of the existing wires and the color codes, take the ballast to the Home Depot or Lowes first, match the ballast. Now reverse the process to replace the fixture. Hope this helps. Good Luck!
Douglas

What you do is cut the wires from the old ballast that feed to the fixture end connectors then 'wire nut' the new ballast wires to the old wires.

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/craig_3fa289bf857b1a3c

i have a light fixture with two single pin T96 bulbs, black and white wire go to one end of the fixture, two red wires come out of other end - one wire on each socket, but a have a ballast with two blue wires and a red wire coming out the same end of ballast, how do i wire this up? thanks Charlie