Need Ideas

[GUNNING]

Twinkle twinkle little light let me screw my subs tonight

Twinkle twinkle little light let me screw my subs tonight

I love a good mystery. I always ask the home owner a few questions and they unconsciously help diagnose the problem. Like do any construction or hang any pictures. Replace any fixtures, was it a hot or cold day when the flicker happened. Were you doing any laundry etc.. Invariably they tell you what the solution is unconsciously.
You mentioned 1000 watt dimmers. Is that the only thing flickering? Is that the only circuit flickering? Could the neutral on this circuit be overloaded? a 15 amp circuit with a bunch of lights on a shared neutral and a couple of 1000 watt dimmers might be the culprit. If its an electronic dimmer they load up a neutral in a hurry. If it has more than one lighting circuit on this neutral you might think the whole house is pulsing and not just the lights.
Im using a lot of ifs and mights here. Without being there and using third hand information its all guess work.

Oh, yeah. You mentioned he was a GC. Does he owe you money on this job? Is he saying indirectly your work is under par and he now has flickering lights so he isn't going to pay you the last of your retain-age and he is going on a very long vacation on all the subs retain-ages he has screwed them out of? GC's are scum of the earth, dont beleive anything they say especially when they owe you money.

 

[chris500]

90% of the time the problem is with the utility drop to the house. Typically a loose connection on the neutral in any number of places. It could be in the meterbase, at the weatherhead, at the pole connection, anywhere down the line to the transformer. The other 50% of the time it's installation error, typically in the panel. :grin:

Typically with residential, people over think it and make it much more complicated than it truly is. There is a slightly loose connection somewhere. In order to fix the flicker you have to find it, and it may not be something that you can find if it is on the utility end.

Yes there are times when say an electronic dimmer is used on a magnetic ballast, or something similar. Typically though the problem is a loose connection.

 

[john_axelson]

Oh, yeah. You mentioned he was a GC. Does he owe you money on this job?

Gunning, no I haven't done any work on his house. He is a friend of my parents and I was simply just trying to resolve an issue in his own home. He isn't holding any money on anyone. Actually, I did do a project for him and he paid each pay app (total of 4 of them) within 15 days of receiving it.

thanks for the pointer on the dimmers.