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lights dimming

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:25 am
by joedirt63
need to know if it is something to be concerned about, noticed mostly at night , that the lights in the house seem to surge in brightness, i,ve checked somethings that might have been on that circut but nothing seems to be effecting it, aside from my eletric space heaters which i've unplugged the only thing that seems to cycle is my frig. is it my eletrical in the home or is met ed playin with the power level? p.s. all responses will be considered as hear say, some more credible that others, :roll: :lol: i've been useing certain outlets for the a/c and use them for the heaters so the breakers are able to handle the load and the circut is by it self,as well as the frig has it's own.

Re: lights dimming

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:18 pm
by Greg
Joe, if you are in a park, have the service checked. In our park we have had problems with the disconnect boxes outside as well as the underground wires. I had to have our service replaced last year after the neutral started to arc to the ground on the park's side. I know it makes no sense that the neutral would arc to ground but it was happening.

I have also had to replace the connection lugs inside the boxes that had arched & burned. Remember to shut the line down before reaching in the box to check things out. Greg

Re: lights dimming

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:22 am
by joedirt63
hm burned lugs i did have one circut burn at the breaker. wich propmted me to separate more of the circuts feeds. this was 2 years ago but worth cking out , it only seems to be the over head ceiling lights and one table lamp and the porch light. figureing these are all in the same circut,this problem been going on for months but now it's really bothersome seems like some one put a christmas light flasher bulb in my lighting circut of the house.

Re: lights dimming

Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:08 pm
by bobfather99
Be VERY careful with electricity. My Dad is a retired electrician, he likes to tell people, "Know when you're over your head" when you deal with electronics/wiring. Don't be afraid to get some good advice before getting too deep.

Please be careful!!!
Bob

Re: lights dimming

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 1:51 pm
by JD
Great advice, Bob.

Re: lights dimming

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 4:14 pm
by joedirt63
thanks greg,bob,and jd , i know about getting over your head, i'm very carefull, which is why i ask for advice on here. you guys are great like i said befor , no bull and practical,useful info. i think i found the cause, my son had plugged a electric heater into an outlet we didn't usually use ,plus the thermostat on the unit was faulty, would keep turning on and off. the sudden load of the high amps acted like a solenoid kicking on and off. trashed the heater and problem seems to be gone.

Re: lights dimming

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:28 am
by bobfather99
Those space heaters can cause trouble, they draw high amps and can kick breakers(or worse!!).
Glad it was an easy problem to solve. I knew a guy that tore into his wiring in his double-wide(flickering lights), only to find the problem was on the park's side.