Today my living room lights, tv, and all outlets stopped working. Upon further investigation I found out that the outside AC units were not powered on. (I have two). I did everything to try to get the lights back on....until i turned on all four stove burners (yes i said oven before). When I turned the burners on, lights in my living room turned back on, and so did the tv and outlets. So i was like WTF, but at the same time YAY! (I get to see Lakers Vs. Celtics HD!!) But to my surprise the AC units outside did not turn on. I flip my garbage disposal on....booom lights out again. I turn on burners....boom lights.. I turn off AC/Heater blower because it was not cooling...boom lights out again. The only way the lights stay on is if blower is on....WEIRD. every other appliance/room is fine..
electrcians needed...
- Thread starter dsity
- Start date
Sounds expensive. 
How old is the home? Recent rains that could have flooded an electrical box somewhere or anything? Maybe condensation from the AC is building up somewhere that an improper electrical "fix" is being affected.
How old is the home? Recent rains that could have flooded an electrical box somewhere or anything? Maybe condensation from the AC is building up somewhere that an improper electrical "fix" is being affected.
Originally posted by: Injury
Sounds expensive.
How old is the home? Recent rains that could have flooded an electrical box somewhere or anything? Maybe condensation from the AC is building up somewhere that an improper electrical "fix" is being affected.
I'd go with these first hand.
I was actually coming into this thread to post this.
If it's multiple circuits you're having problems with, neutrals/neutral bus are/is a common culprit.
But why all of a sudden? It's not like the wires came loose overnight. Unless there's a gremlin in there shaking the 220.
I was also going to say this. ESPECIALLY when he says he turned on the stove and got lights
Or in a junction box, Mice / rats / squirrels will chew on insulation and could aggravate or even create such a "loose neutral" at a connection.
Things fail over time. Connections could've worked their way loose oveer time, he could've had rust and corrosion that built up over time with the contacts or bus bar finally failing. Pests is another common one. Poor connections in the first place. There's a lot of reasons why it could've eventually failed.
I found my problem, maybe it will help you. One of my outlets at the beginning of the circuit had burn up. When a draw was put on the circuit, power would arc and the light/fan whatever would work for a second and then die. Replaced the outlet, all is good for now. Your problem sounds a little more complex.
Hard copper connections usually do not fail. I still say Moisture or a Breaker.
Rust with copper and getting loose over time? Gremlins, or Earthquakes!
SSSSHHHHH, never mention grem-- you know. They are known to live in electricity.
What do computers run on?
Do I need to say any more?
Re: why connections die.
Mechanical failure from movement, stress @ connector failure, animal activity, Immersion in water, Extreme relative humidity, temperature changes, wire oxidation, die-electric corrosion scale, are just a few actions that cause connection failure, from my experience.
Vibration, forgot to mention vibration.
What do you mean by hard copper connections? If you're talking about junctions, they can absolutely work their way out of a wire nut over time if they weren't secured correctly in the first place.
I didn't say rust with copper connections. You ever see what rust can do to a main panel and the problems that can result from it? What about massive oxidation on bus bars or on terminals? This could all result in neutrals going out, resulting in problems similar to what he's having.
Aliencraft mentioned above a lot of common causes of connections failing.
Wire Nuts are a fancy colored blob of plastic over a coiled wire or spring, of varying diameter. That spring is quite capable of storing energy and causing connection failure if the connections is improperly made.
Is this something I could do/check myself...or better just leave it to an electrician? Something about electricity that scares the shit out of me.... I hate screwing in lightbulbs..
there has been heavy rain...but not recently. this winter we had an ice storm that cracked tree branches onto our power line....which happened to bend (i do not know what it is called) the pole looking thing which connected the power line to the house.
Also... wouldn't you say that if it were mice...I would see some in the house? I haven't seen a mouse in a while...
xgsound
Golden Member
- Jan 22, 2002
- 1,374
- 8
- 81
If you hate screwing in light bulbs I'd say get an electrician, particularly if the problem is as described below.
If that stove is an electric one, I'd say a likely culprit is that one of your 110V feed wires has burned, corroded, or the main breaker popped and the 220V stove is completing the circuit (at a lower amperage and in an opposite from normal direction) from the other 110V feed line. If this is the case turn off the 220V devices (A/C, Stove, water heater) immediately. The 220V devices (Stove, water heater, particularly A/C) can be damaged by letting them run this way.
If you turn off all 220V devices and only about 1/2 of your 110V electricity works, but when you turn on the stove burners the other half seems to work 1/2 way, then this is your problem. This is more common with aluminum feed wires than copper wires.
Jim
If that stove is an electric one, I'd say a likely culprit is that one of your 110V feed wires has burned, corroded, or the main breaker popped and the 220V stove is completing the circuit (at a lower amperage and in an opposite from normal direction) from the other 110V feed line. If this is the case turn off the 220V devices (A/C, Stove, water heater) immediately. The 220V devices (Stove, water heater, particularly A/C) can be damaged by letting them run this way.
If you turn off all 220V devices and only about 1/2 of your 110V electricity works, but when you turn on the stove burners the other half seems to work 1/2 way, then this is your problem. This is more common with aluminum feed wires than copper wires.
Jim
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 24K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 21K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter