The CFL that I have had running in my bedroom has shown odd behavior starting up recently. As you can see in this video, it takes about 20 seconds for it to produce any sort of useful light (no flickering and what not). This is the CFL I'm talking about: http://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-27238

Video: http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c154/SSS2005/?action=view&current=OddCFL.flv

This wound up being the last time this CFL would light up fully; it now lights up extremely dim and is showing striations. Good thing I took the video in time.

It's pretty much dead dude. You probally should replace it. Sorry it went on you; but that was a cool video. There was a problem with the ballast or maybe it lost vacuum....

Yeah, I've already replaced it. It was pretty much useless when it started going dim and striating.

I'm leaning towards a ballast issue; the internal fuse popped when I tested it a few hours later in another fixture.

It could easily be loss of emitter, the usual consequence in these CFLs is ballast burning out (transistor's hard switching => they overheat and break to short).

What's interesting is that I have a CFL that did something very similar to this once...it was a CFL that ran in my hallway for about three years straight, 24/7, but then I took it out and replaced it with a different bulb.  I put the CFL in my closet light and the first ten times I turned it on, it did the same thing that is seen in this video.  However, after that, it lit up normally, and still does!

Beware of the glowing electrodes on GE lamps, i had a 26 watt one do this is exact thing, and next thing i know, burning plastic, and then take a look in my gallery for the rest!

What's interesting is that I have a CFL that did something very similar to this once...it was a CFL that ran in my hallway for about three years straight, 24/7, but then I took it out and replaced it with a different bulb.  I put the CFL in my closet light and the first ten times I turned it on, it did the same thing that is seen in this video.  However, after that, it lit up normally, and still does!

Then it might be some bad soldering on the PCB - sometimes it conduct, sometimes not... I would expect the electrolytic filtering capacitor and/or some rectifier's diode, but check all soldering points...