Every few minutes the lights slightly dim, what does his mean?

[Ilikepiedoyou]

Evey few minutes the lights in my house will slightly dim and then return back to normal. It is almost unnoticeable. Additionally, if I have my stereo on without input, it will play a sparking noise over the speakers. What is this caused by, and can it damage my electrinic equipment, such as a computer, stereo...

 

[her209]

GHOSTS!!1

 

[rise]

death

 

[akshatp]

It means you havent fulfilled your promise to give us all free iPods!

 

[Sluggo]

The dimming lights.......THEY ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE...Get out while you can

 

[Epic Fail]

Originally posted by: rise
death

this

 

[invidia]

I suspect these unnatural occurrences to be ghosts and maybe demons. Go to city hall or the library and research the land your house was built upon. Check for ancient Indian burial grounds and any past events of torture or murders done in your home. Were the former owners brutally murdered?

 

[Rubycon]

Laser printer?

Yes those pesky fuser heaters will cycle on and off rapidly to maintain temperature and they draw a lot of power. This is noticeable if you have lights on the end of a long run. The switching noise produces a hash which can be picked up by common consumer unbalanced high gain circuitry making pops or even zapping noises through the loudspeakers.

 

[So]

Zombies building a time machine in your basement?

1.21 JIGGABraaaaaaaains.....

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

It means bctbct hooked up his generator wrong and is stealing your power.


Seriously though, it's probably a motor drawing start up current. Could be the blower on your HVAC system, a washer or dryer, or even a refrigferator or freezer. Even more likely if your house is old and has a small electrical service that is being taxed by modern life.

 

[warmodder]

Originally posted by: So
Zombies building a time machine in your basement?

1.21 JIGGABraaaaaaaains.....

I lol'd

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Laser printer?

Yes those pesky fuser heaters will cycle on and off rapidly to maintain temperature and they draw a lot of power. This is noticeable if you have lights on the end of a long run. The switching noise produces a hash which can be picked up by common consumer unbalanced high gain circuitry making pops or even zapping noises through the loudspeakers.

i dunno, houses tend to have many separate circuits, they shouldn't all be affected by laser printers. i've had some pretty old laser printers and they never affected lights. maybe some dodgy brands but the ones i've tried my killawatt on only cycle on when they are asked to print. regular power draw is sub 5 watts..

is it an old house?
dodgy wiring or receptacles?

lots of 70s houses had aluminum wiring. a botch job basically.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Damn Olds and his stupid wiring ideas..

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Laser printer?

Yes those pesky fuser heaters will cycle on and off rapidly to maintain temperature and they draw a lot of power. This is noticeable if you have lights on the end of a long run. The switching noise produces a hash which can be picked up by common consumer unbalanced high gain circuitry making pops or even zapping noises through the loudspeakers.

i dunno, houses tend to have many separate circuits, they shouldn't all be affected by laser printers. i've had some pretty old laser printers and they never affected lights. maybe some dodgy brands but the ones i've tried my killawatt on only cycle on when they are asked to print. regular power draw is sub 5 watts..

is it an old house?
dodgy wiring or receptacles?

lots of 70s houses had aluminum wiring. a botch job basically.

there is nothing wrong with aluminum wiring if done correctly. It is not a botch job. In fact, aluminum wiring is still used today.

 

[KLin]

It means your hamster is getting tired. Go feed him.

 

[Rubycon]

A kill-a-watt will *never* show peak instantaneous demand. We have stuff here that will (Dranetz) and it's expensive.

I've been in houses where turning on the TV causes the lights to dim. (The inrush from a degaussing coil is fairly high but come on!)

 

[cjvon]

It's the end of the world as we know it (repeat).

 

[bobsmith1492]

Do you live with a lot of houses close by (i.e. in town?) If so you may be sharing the same transformer with lots of people so every time a large motor cycles it could drop the power momentarily. Air conditioners, wells, washers, driers, hair driers maybe, any of the above could be culprits. Or, if there's industry nearby, their machinery could do the same thing if you're on the same feed (rather unlikely).

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Honestly I think the breaker on the outside of the house is going back. Something like what you're experiencing happened to me not too long ago and the landlord couldn't figure it out. Turns out one of the breakers were going bad.

 

[IronWing]

Refrigerator cycling?
Furnace fan starting up?
Crappy transformer?
Electric blanket getting ready to catch fire and burn you up like a chicken flauta in a deep fryer?

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: cjvon
It's the end of the world as we know it (repeat).

But I feel fine!

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Laser printer?

Yes those pesky fuser heaters will cycle on and off rapidly to maintain temperature and they draw a lot of power. This is noticeable if you have lights on the end of a long run. The switching noise produces a hash which can be picked up by common consumer unbalanced high gain circuitry making pops or even zapping noises through the loudspeakers.

i dunno, houses tend to have many separate circuits, they shouldn't all be affected by laser printers. i've had some pretty old laser printers and they never affected lights. maybe some dodgy brands but the ones i've tried my killawatt on only cycle on when they are asked to print. regular power draw is sub 5 watts..

is it an old house?
dodgy wiring or receptacles?

lots of 70s houses had aluminum wiring. a botch job basically.

there is nothing wrong with aluminum wiring if done correctly. It is not a botch job. In fact, aluminum wiring is still used today.

not in houses that are worth a damn.
done correctly? treated like a hazard maybe you have to get special aluminum to copper connectors so you can pigtail to use with most normal receptacles or switches. otherwise they can corrode/work themselves loose because of the expansion/contraction bs.

A kill-a-watt will *never* show peak instantaneous demand. We have stuff here that will (Dranetz) and it's expensive.

I've been in houses where turning on the TV causes the lights to dim. (The inrush from a degaussing coil is fairly high but come on!)

well no, it shows second by second demand, and i never saw it spike for no reason. course i didn't sit and watch it forever, but i don't think the normal consumer printer has to cyclelike that because consumer printers have warm up periods before they print. i bet only commercial office printer/copiers pull such stuff so they can print on the spot no?

 

[OdiN]

Do you have an older fridge? Could be that.

 

[Ilikepiedoyou]

Thanks for the serious replies. I live in a townhouse, with the whole complex (56 houses) on 4 transformers. The townhouses are a few years old and are of high quality, as are the appliances, so I am not sure about the aluminum. Could this, let's say spike in current, cause any damage to computers?

 

[imported_Baloo]

Your refridegerating compressor is starting, it draws more current when starting than when at speed. That is just one possibilty. This causes a momentary dip in voltage. Of course, it may not be your fridge, if you live in an apartment. In any case, some type of electric motor is turning on. The click is the switch that turns it on, the dimming is from the motor momentarily lowering voltage due to it's power consumption during startup.