Aristocrat Mechanical Slot Lighting Question

[FilthyRich]

I have a ~1966 three reeler Aristocrat mechanical machine with butchered lighting. Fittings show there should be two fluoros. The ballast reads "twin 8 watt" and works fine when wired up to power one fluoro. It doesn't matter which one, both work, but it won't power both at the same time when they are wired in parallel. Which has led me to investigating whether they should be wired in series. I attach a diagram of how I think they should be wired up when in series but I am a little stumped concerning the size of the capacitor across the power supply (or if in fact this is how it should be wired)
Does anyone have any ideas?

[Op-Bell]

They should be wired in series, since if you wire them in parallel, the first one to strike pulls the voltage too low for the other to strike and both tubes will never come on together. However, a 110V supply is a bit too low to run a pair in series. My guess is this was originally a British or Australian 220V machine, which would have been wired in series, and the previous owner butchered it when the lights didn't work. Your best bet is a separate ballast for each light.

The capacitor doesn't matter for small loads like this. It's for the power company's benefit, not yours.