Lights Dimming

[StanD]

When an appliance comes on, all the lights dim.
I will not be doing the work. I plan to hire an electrician but would like an idea of what may be wrong or causing this. I don't plan on having the place rewired but if it could be a ground or connection issue I'd have them fix that.
The 40 year old mh is in a park and in good shape with what I assume is 100 AMP service and copper wiring.
A 50 to the AC. 50 to the "House" and 2 unmarked 20 amp circuits.
Is this just going to be inherent in a mh this old with today's technology (computers, home theater, microwaves, etc) or is there something an electrician can do?
TIA

[Greg]

The first thing the electrician will want to do is check how many amps are being pulled on any given circuit, it is possible that there is an overload or near overload on the circuit. It is also possible that there is a problem on the entrance cable.

Greg

[flcruising]

Do you mean any appliance like your refrigerator, washer, etc, or a big draw appliance like an electric dryer or a/c unit?

[StanD]

Refrigerator, washer, dryer, dish washer...

[rookie35]

You should call power company to check meter base connections, they do corrode and fail. This should be free and if it is not the problem, you get free advice from an electrician.

[Ostracon]

We just went through something similar, but much more dramatic.

Lost power on the curb side shortly after moving in to the home when I plugged a vacuum into an outlet I hadn't used before. Lights on that side would flicker sometimes or not come on at all. It took me quite a while to figure it out because on this same circuit we had a really old window AC that was popping the breaker if the switch was set on a particular setting, confusing the issue.

After doing some extensive troubleshooting, I discovered that all the power on that side was on one phase of the 220. I isolated the problem by pulling the breakers off of the phase that didn't work (leaving wires attached) and plugged them into the other phase - then the curb side worked. Called the power company TWICE. Each time they came out they pulled the meter out and placed a load on it that they said was like running 3-4 MHs and all looked good.

My electrical setup is a little different than average, in that it 'plugs in' to a box with a large 4 prong plug (similar to an RV plug but a little different). Between that box and the meter is another box with two big blade type 150amp buss fuses (about the size of toilet paper rolls) which is then wired to the meter.

The second time they were out, I got the manager involved and the power company guys were more thorough (even though they are not responsible for anything 'downstream' of their meter). They opened up the box that my home plugs into and started wiggling wires while having a hand-held meter reading the voltage. When they wiggled the wires on the back of the plug receptacle, the voltage swung wildly, from 120V down to as little as 40V. They recommended rebuilding that box.

My manager replaced that box (and even built me a new 'cord') and there was no change. My manager then opened up the big box with the fuses, and found that on one phase coming in from the meter on the upstream side, the set screw and lug was wobbled out and loose. Evidently, when the power guys were wiggling the wires on the back of the plug they were also wiggling the power pole (the ground was saturated from rains and the wooden pole was loose in the ground) and the pole wobbling was causing the bad connection in the fuse box to wiggle around as well.

My manager shimmed the connection by using a large solid copper wire folded in half and then stuck into the lug with the cable going to the meter so he was able to tighten down the set screw. Worked like a charm.

[DaleM]

Ostracon I see problems with your set up, 1) Most park "plugs" are set up to handle 50-60 amps, not designed for 100 amp service. 2) You have a fuse box with 2 150amp fuses in it feeding a plug and service cable only designed to handle 50-60 amps......DANGEROUS!!

To the OP: you may just have a loose neutral somewhere. Many older homes utilized stab type outlets and switches. These have a tendency to lose their good connections over time as the spring tangs weaken. Better off replacing them with regular outlets and switches that have screws to make the connection for the wires. Also have a look at the park hook up. Like Ostracon's park, the equipment is old and may need some attention.

[Ostracon]

Dale,

The cable doesn't plug directly into the 150amp box. There is a second (replacement) box after the 150amp box, which is what the new cable plugs into. I didn't see what the fuses were in that box but I would have to assume there's a step-down. It serves a small 10x47 1964 home and the park was built in 1968. It's one of the oldest homes in the park and I think one of the first installed after the park was built. Circuit panel in the home only has 5 breakers on the 2 phases: two 20s (kitchen - one on each phase), two 15s (other outlets/lights - one on each phase) and another 20 (runs the blower on the furnace and the igniter on the WH). The cable was built out of 70amp wire, one on each phase plus neutral and ground.

The guys from the power company didn't mention any problem with the set up, just that it was different.

[bobfather99]

Lights dimming/flickering is usually a problem of a bad connection somewhere or overloaded circuits. As was posted before, its not at all uncommon to have a problem "upstream" of the home.

[StanD]

Thanks, I'll have the power company come out before the electrician.