Strange thing

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nickelec

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Good afternoon everybody hope that everyone and their families are staying safe during this crazy time I got a question maybe you guys have came across this

In my house brand new construction all new electric only lighting all new appliances dedicated circuits to mostly everywhere I wired it my self

no mixed neutrals nothing like that new service new panel everything

for some reason when my washing machine goes on a certain spin cycle every single light in the house flickers in the same frequency as the noise I can hear coming out of the washing machine

I can't figure this out it has to be the washing machine it only happens when the washing machine is on I can actually see the lights flicker to the tune of the agitator I'm not sure what's going on any suggestions

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Not yet I haven't gotten to it yet but where would I even take the readings from? The main?

And just some additional quote info all the led trims are the same I'm also thinking about chalking it up to cheap LEDs

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Anything that affects more than one circuit, or where one circuit affects another, the cause must be at or before the point where they separate, meaning the panel, service, utility, etc.
 
Does the washing machine have inverter direct drive? Those have VFDs and may put harmonics on the line, and possibly have relatively high peak currents when the rotation reverses (but I'm not sure about that). You are correct that cheaper LEDs may be more susceptible to noise and harmonics on the line.

You might try plugging in an incandescent light. If it also flickers with the washing machine running then it's because the RMS voltage is actually dipping/wavering around and not just because of harmonic content.

Perhaps you should check the integrity and tightness of the neutral bus terminal for the grounded service conductor.
You could also apply a substantial L1-N load like a portable heater and then verify that the L2-N voltage on the bus does not change significantly. If it does vary noticably then there could be a poor neutral connection upstream of the neutral bus.
 
That makes sense I just don't know where to start , loose neutral connections maybe

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synchro said:
Does the washing machine have inverter direct drive? Those have VFDs and may put harmonics on the line, and possibly have relatively high peak currents when the rotation reverses (but I'm not sure about that). You are correct that cheaper LEDs may be more susceptible to noise and harmonics on the line.

You might try plugging in an incandescent light. If it also flickers with the washing machine running then it's because the RMS voltage is actually dipping/wavering around and not just because of harmonic content.

Perhaps you should check the integrity and tightness of the neutral bus terminal for the grounded service conductor.
You could also apply a substantial L1-N load like a portable heater and then verify that the L2-N voltage on the bus does not change significantly. If it does vary noticably then there could be a poor neutral connection upstream of the neutral bus.
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I think your onto something there I'm pretty sure the agitator is going back and forth when I see this

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Over the years, I have had issues with the poco linemen not tightening the neutral at the transformer. Don't know if they got in a hurry or what, but had two like that last year. One, they replaced a transformer that blew, the other, their side of the meterbase was not tightened. Another, a couple of years ago, the customer lived with it for almost a year before he decided to break down and hire an electrician, the neutral connection at the pole mount transformer was burnt. 30 minutes later, poco had it fixed.
 
I had a call about a year ago with these same symptoms. I could open the refrigerator door (different circuit but same leg as the washer) and watch the light dance with the beat of the washer. Everything checked good on the load side of meter as far as connections, but had voltage fluctuations. But the fluctuations also showed on the line side. Called POCO and I stayed there while they checked their end. They found a bad splice on the neutral at the transformer.
 
Also check hertz at washing machine receptacle when problem is happening. Many of your newer DMM’s will read volts and hertz at same time.

I have seen older VFD’s with 300-400 hertz on the low voltage side of their control transformer.
 
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