Non fj electrical puzzle

[andyoutandabout]

Here's one for you electric heads. My upstairs house lights will flicker when used individually but are flicker free when you turn the lot on. Doesnt that run opposite to what you would expect from an overloaded circuit? is my house possessed by dark forces? Or doesn't electricity run up hill?

[The General]

Here's one for you electric heads. My upstairs house lights will flicker when used individually but are flicker free when you turn the lot on. Doesnt that run opposite to what you would expect from an overloaded circuit? is my house possessed by dark forces? Or doesn't electricity run up hill?

What type of light globes we talkin about?  eg compact flourescents, incandescent? ............ Doug

[flips]

Hi Andy.

Being an electrician my advice would be call an electrician!.I am hesitant to give remote advice as to the hazardous nature of the problem and my experience is limited to Australian NSW wiring regulations,but it sounds like a possible poor connection in the neutral loop of the circuit,making the possibly erroneous assumption's that there is only one light circuit,that there has been no dodgy interconnection of circuits and that your local wiring is similar to mine.If the problem is as I suspect then the problem could be in one of the light fixtures,in a junction box in the ceiling/wall,or even at the fuse box.Less likely but still possible is the switch.Again this is speculation based on assumptions that could be wrong.Also flickering would suggest arcing which would suggest a fire hazard.I would strongly advise getting a local expert to check it out for you!
Hope this helps.

Cheers

Jeff P

[Zwartie]

Andy,

As a fellow electrician I concur with Jeff's advice. Get someone qualified to take a look at it. That being said, always start with the easiest, most likely (and least expensive) things first and work from there. It could be as simple as the light bulbs themselves. It would also be good to determine if the lights that are flickering are all on the same circuit breaker or not. When troubleshooting, always do one step at a time and replace components with "known-working" ones or else you will start chasing your tail (been there, done that!). If you do end up working on it yourself, please make sure to turn the power off before working on anything and then verify that the power is indeed off using the three-point test method with a meter - first test the voltage on something you know is on (like a receptacle in another room), then test the item/fixture you intend to work on and finally re-test on the first item, just in case you blew a fuse in the meter.

Good luck!

Ben

[Mark Olson]

sounds like you have a screw loose 

you need to replace your hvac system .

If only you knew somebody that does that kind of work.

[racerman_27410]

sounds like you have a screw loose 

you need to replace your hvac system .

If only you knew somebody that does that kind of work.

now is definitely the time to replace those old HVAC systems.... the rising price of R22 refrigerant is pretty much going to force the issue.

KOokaloo!

[flips]

Here's one for you electric heads. My upstairs house lights will flicker when used individually but are flicker free when you turn the lot on. Doesnt that run opposite to what you would expect from an overloaded circuit? is my house possessed by dark forces? Or doesn't electricity run up hill?

It is of course possible that your house is possessed by dark forces ,and electricity will run in any direction if chased by the mother in law.....

[glfredrick]

I almost always think ground problems when I hear of problems like yours.  In about 90+% of the cases where I've seen flickering problems I've found loose screws in the breaker or fuse box hopefully you have breakers, but both work the same).

So, start there and see what happens.  Easy fix, no need for specialists if you FOLLOW TWO RULES.

Rule #1 -- DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE WHILE DOING THE FIX -- KEEP THE OTHER HAND IN YOUR POCKET

Rule #2 -- DO NOT LAY YOUR FINGER ON THE BLADE OF THE SCREWDRIVER

It is also helpful to make sure the floor near the breaker box is not wet and that you are wearing rubber shoes.

That being said, what you do is remove the two or four screws that hold the cover plate over the breaker switches and lift it out of the way.  Just a cover plate, nothing will bite you.


Then, USING THE APPROPRIATE SCREWDRIVER THAT FITS THE SCREWS WELL with ONE HAND (following the rules) tighten every breaker screw solidly )din't kill it with over-torque, just make it solid) and also tighten all the COMMON (white wires) and GROUND (copper wires) screws. 

You DO NOT need to turn off the power to do this.  I've done over 100 boxes and never a problem at all.  Have to touch more than one thing at a time to have issues!  Same as when a bird sits on a power wire.  If he touched both wires at once, POOF!   No More Birdy.  One wire at a time, or the common or ground wires, no probem.  You touch common and ground wires every time you touch a water faucet anyway.  That is what they hook to!

You will likely find a number of loose screws in the box and should have no further problems once tightened.

Replace the cover, aligning the breakers to fit in the slots once you are finished.  You can touch the black part of the breakers.  Don't touch any metal parts (like screw or lug where the wire goes!).

IF you DO have other problems, you MAY have aluminum wire (silver colored) in your home.  Some (foolishly) were built that way and the connections get corroded over time.  They are a real pain to repair, as the aluminum becomes work-hardened over time from just the electicity flowing through the wires.  They can break with just a touch.  in that case, you may need a pro -- or be ready for aggravation at the very least.

I have also found the main feed wires to the home (on the utility pole) to be loose.  Cost me a television and computer once!  That is electric company work and they do that for free -- it is part of their maintenance to take care of that part of the circuit.

Hope this helps!

[Mark Olson]

You may not know that Andy is British and is unable to work on electrical circuits and such , whot whot.

[andyoutandabout]

Thanks to all who posted an idea or two about my odd house electrics.
Yes, even Mark. Hope to get riding soon. The weight of the world is making itself felt here at this time, so the toys remain in the garage.

[andyoutandabout]

Actually I do think I have those Aluminium wires as a big feed from the main fuse box to the aux in the bedroom, which is from where the upstairs circuits run. I gave them a clean and tighten, but didn't make a difference. Other wires to be addressed over the weekend.

[Mark Olson]

some thing is loose still Andy.

breaker
wire nuts
switches
sockets
grounds

hope things get better for ya.

[rktmanfj]

Don't worry, Andy... it could be worse!

[Mark Olson]

wow , someone went crazy with the spray foam.

[glfredrick]

I'm thinking that they hired some firm to insulate the home and filled the walls from outside, with the result filling the breaker box as well.  Can't see any homeowner ever going to the lengths necessary to fill a box that full on their own, even the ignorant ones.  That had to come in from the rear of the box!