Flickering Electricals

[Blieb]

No cliffs!

I have an electrician coming out tomorrow morning, but wanted to brainstorm this a little since I can't stop thinking about it ... can't stop thinking ... FIRE HAZARD!

We have a 2 story house. We almost never go upstairs. I've been up there recently prepping for our first child.

Noticed that the lights upstairs flicker. Seems to be isolated to one circuit. The weird part is that when I turn on 1 light, it is dim. When I turn on a second light, they BOTH get bright!

I called my [FUCKING useless] home warranty company (AHS) and they sent out a guy who said that he thinks it's a bad ground somewhere. That I should re-wire all of the outlets and switches looking for a bad ground connection. Builders used push-in method and he said I should wrap all wires around the screw option (and that none of this was covered under my warranty) ... then he left (again, AHS proves to be useless).

I rewired a bunch of them.
I changed out some neon tube lights in the bathroom.
I disconnected the one fixture I installed upstairs.
I switched the fuse on the main fuse box with another one of equal amps.

None of this had any effect ...

Any ideas? Ever had something similar happen?

Thanks!

 

[Newbian]

Cliffs? 😉

 

[SagaLore]

You're haunted.

 

[Rubycon]

Call your power company (the people you pay for electricity) and they will come out and check your feed line from their transformer. A loose neutral can cause this.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Call your power company (the people you pay for electricity) and they will come out and check your feed line from their transformer. A loose neutral can cause this.

Only upstairs though?

 

[Rubycon]

Get that cleared to make sure the responsibility lies on you first.

Sometimes flickering lights can be something as simple as a laser printer. The fuser heaters are switched on and off rapidly to maintain temperature. They have a high inrush current and can cause lights to flicker annoyingly - particularly incandescent lights.

 

[Blieb]

Thanks Ruby ...

It's funny, there's actually nothing on that circuit except light switches and outlets with nothing plugged in. I was worried it was the ballast for the light in the bathroom, but I really have no clue since it seems affected without that being involved.

Hopefully this guy tomorrow leaves my arms and legs in tact.

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Get that cleared to make sure the responsibility lies on you first.

Sometimes flickering lights can be something as simple as a laser printer. The fuser heaters are switched on and off rapidly to maintain temperature. They have a high inrush current and can cause lights to flicker annoyingly - particularly incandescent lights.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Blieb
No cliffs!

I have an electrician coming out tomorrow morning, but wanted to brainstorm this a little since I can't stop thinking about it ... can't stop thinking ... FIRE HAZARD!

We have a 2 story house. We almost never go upstairs. I've been up there recently prepping for our first child.

Noticed that the lights upstairs flicker. Seems to be isolated to one circuit. The weird part is that when I turn on 1 light, it is dim. When I turn on a second light, they BOTH get bright!

I called my [FUCKING useless] home warranty company (AHS) and they sent out a guy who said that he thinks it's a bad ground somewhere. That I should re-wire all of the outlets and switches looking for a bad ground connection. Builders used push-in method and he said I should wrap all wires around the screw option (and that none of this was covered under my warranty) ... then he left (again, AHS proves to be useless).

I rewired a bunch of them.
I changed out some neon tube lights in the bathroom.
I disconnected the one fixture I installed upstairs.
I switched the fuse on the main fuse box with another one of equal amps.

None of this had any effect ...

Any ideas? Ever had something similar happen?

Thanks!

1. Neon? Not Fluorescent?
2. That's not a bad ground, that's a bad neutral. Nothing should flow on the ground wire unless you have a short somewhere, and if the ground is protecting you, there's some metal somewhere that can shock the crap out of you.

 

[Blieb]

Flourescent, neon ... I don't know ... long tube lights 🙂

Yeah, maybe the guy said neutral ...

(Electricity scares me to death, forgive my nubness!)