flickering lights

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wirenut601

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champaign, illinois
good evnin all, kinda stumped yesterday went to look at a house for a couple they wanted to make sure all the electrical is ok. the mans father rewired it back in the 80 s no nob and tube but everything i could see was 12-2 romex w/g and in the basement a little bit of old 2 wire cloth covered sheath wire. nothing seemed to be to wrong just typical code violations no connectors on romex into panel a few ground wires not tied to buss ect... question was why do the lights flicker when the washer cycles. house has 100 amp service square d breaker panel. drawing a blank for some reason any ideas
 
A little dimming is normal with load peaks, but any brightening is a sign of possible neutral trouble.
 
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i would agree with dimming but this is a flicker as like the lights are being turn off then back on very fast i dont belive its the same circut but if it is could it be some sort of inrush when switching cycles? still thinking
 
Get some voltage readings and current readings. That will help narrow down the problem.
 
100313-0729 EST

My definition of flickering is a random fluctuation uncorrelated with known changes.

If the light momentarily dims or brightens when the motor or other high inrush current occurs, then this is normal. If it changes intensity while a high load is already on then probably a loose connection.

If some lights simultaneously brighten and dim a large amount, then there is a neutral problem. High resistance in the neutral.

Adjacent to each other connect two 15 W bulbs, one on each phase, at the main panel. Watch these bulbs when the washer cycles, and report back. You should only see a small change in intensity. A 120 V load will cause one to dim and one to brighten. A 240 V load will cause both to dim. Once you see what the lights tell you, then make some accurate voltage measurements with a digital meter that resolves 0.1 V at 120 V.

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