a house has flicker lights when the toaster and microwave are on. they go brighter when i switch the hot wire they are on to one phase and go dimmer on another. now the weird part is the toaster and microwave do not share the same neutral as the lights that go dim and bright? anybody know why this may be?
lights flicker?
- Thread starter depatie
- Start date
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charlie tuna
Senior Member
- Location
- Florida
Re: lights flicker?
you have an open or loose neutral---possibly the main neutral if this circuit is totally separate from the problem...........
you have an open or loose neutral---possibly the main neutral if this circuit is totally separate from the problem...........
goldstar
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Re: lights flicker?
Charlie is right on the money. Open up the breaker panel and check all the neutrals, especially the main neutral. Also check to see if there is any corrosion. If you don't find any loose neutrals open up the meter pan, pull the meter and check there. After you are sure that you've checked all these locations if you still have the dimming-brightening problem call the POCO and tell them you have a power quality issue and have them check the service drop.
This can become a more serious problem than you might think. You can burn out appliances, fixtures and a miriad of other things. I would do this sooner rather than later.
Charlie is right on the money. Open up the breaker panel and check all the neutrals, especially the main neutral. Also check to see if there is any corrosion. If you don't find any loose neutrals open up the meter pan, pull the meter and check there. After you are sure that you've checked all these locations if you still have the dimming-brightening problem call the POCO and tell them you have a power quality issue and have them check the service drop.
This can become a more serious problem than you might think. You can burn out appliances, fixtures and a miriad of other things. I would do this sooner rather than later.
rick5280
Senior Member
Re: lights flicker?
If you can, use a voltmeter to measure your 2 phases, to ground. 1st, measure with the meter out, measuring the top two lugs. You should have around 125v to ground.
Now, with the meter in place, measure the voltages. If you have a incoming neutral problem (connector, xfmr, etc...) then one phase will be somewhat higher than the other (ie: 129v and 98v).
If you find you do have this, contact your supplier, and do not unhook the ground wire anywhere in your system. Doing so will damage something, for sure!! (PS. I took out 2 tvs with the removal of 1 ground wire clamp, just 15 min. before a Super Bowl game. Man, was that a bummer, but that story can wait for a different time!!)
Rick Miell
If you can, use a voltmeter to measure your 2 phases, to ground. 1st, measure with the meter out, measuring the top two lugs. You should have around 125v to ground.
Now, with the meter in place, measure the voltages. If you have a incoming neutral problem (connector, xfmr, etc...) then one phase will be somewhat higher than the other (ie: 129v and 98v).
If you find you do have this, contact your supplier, and do not unhook the ground wire anywhere in your system. Doing so will damage something, for sure!! (PS. I took out 2 tvs with the removal of 1 ground wire clamp, just 15 min. before a Super Bowl game. Man, was that a bummer, but that story can wait for a different time!!)
Rick Miell
- Status