I'm building a light board fixture as per the attached schematic. The ballast I am using is a Sylvania mb2x20/120ph/tp. I have it hooked up exactly as the schematic shows, however when I plug it in, I only get dim glows from either end of each bulb. At first I thought maybe I needed a starter, however this ballast is a Trigger Start, which should eliminate the need for a starter. Any suggestions on what may be wrong?

I don't have it grounded however, as it is mounted on a plexiglass sheet. Could this be the problem? Maybe the ballast is bad?

 

Fluorescent tubes are usually mounted very close to the grounded metal fixture.
They need the nearby ground along their length to start with a rapid-start ballast.

 

Well, ended up returning the ballest and getting a dual tube fixture, taking it apart and remounting it per my needs. Works great.

Will post pictures of project once it is complete.

I do think the issue with the previous one was grounding, since it wasn't mounted to a metal grounded fixture.