"Replace the whole fixture with a daylight balanced one: that fluorescent light makes you look like heck anyway, especially pre-coffee."

Sigh. I don't think changing the fixture will help with that. There are limits to almost everything, Einstein said.

If you do change the starter, remember it is full of nasty highly toxic stuff you really don't want in your local water supply or food chain.

This goes for electronics in general, but those old fashioned fluorescent light "starters" are supposedly among the worst contenders.

Recycling isn't just a hippy thing - done properly, it is plain common sense.

Sorry to join the party late. This does sound like a bad starter but here are a few things to consider before replacing it.

If it is a relatively new fixture it may not have a separate starter and the best fix would be replacing the entire fixture. If it does have a removable starter (small metallic cylinder usually) you can replace it pretty easily - just get a replacement unit with the correct wattage rating. The starter is a pretty simple device and usually does not contain any toxic chemicals (unlike the ballast or the tube). Check with your local waste disposal folks but around here they just say to toss them.

Since you have replaced the tube and it is still acting up it is very likely that the ballast has been damaged also. I don't remember the details on why but trying to run a fluorescent fixture with a failed (failing) starter often kills the ballast too. Ballasts are nasty beasts and must be disposed of properly. Replacing one usually involves taking the fixture apart, cutting the old one out and wiring the new one in with wire nuts.

If you go that route please be careful.

-Eric

Lube the four pins lightly with any oil, grease or butter. If that fixes it, ask any electrician or electrical supply for a very small tube of conductive grease. I have over 160 bulbs in our store. That fixes 90% of the outages. If you can't find the grease, stick with butter.