PegLegAlexK said:

Nothing happens. Bulb does not light (tried 2 different new bulbs).
I have the ballast plugged into a kill-a-watt meter. NO watts
being used. OK, I'm stuck. Any ideas. How do I debug this?
I have a cheap multimeter but not a lot of exp using it.

Can anybody tell me how to discharge a capacitor?

Use the ohms scale on your meter to check continuity.
You should have continuity between the common and the 120vac inputs
AND the CAP output.

You discharge a cap by placing the terminals across your tongue. g
Seriously, you discharge a cap by placing a resistance across the
terminals, in this case, a 1k ohm resistor or an old light bulb would
work.

Is this ballast designed for the cap and bulbs you are using?


Greg G.