User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
KS, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:50:54 PM EST
[Last Edit: crag_dt]
I am losing my mind.
All of a sudden, lights in my house have started to flicker. Have added nothing new. Happens mostly in the evenings. I've turned ac, washer, dryer, etc everything off. Still does it. It actually gets less bad when I turn on a high load item, like shop vac. It will be fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Flicker flicker flicker Fine Flicker Etc. I had my entire breaker box panel replaced and new service a year ago. Perfect, until like 2 weeks ago. Seriously think it's a power company issue. How do I go about figuring this out? Edit: It's more noticeable with led lights. I changed some out with traditional incandescent and it's not as noticeable but still there |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:52:39 PM EST
[#1]
I had this issue. Electrician checked to make sure arcing wasn't happening in the meter box. Clear there. Somehow traced the smallest water leak from the power cable into the house from the meter box that fed the main breaker. The leak was actually occurring inside of the cable.
it caused corrosion on the main breaker lugs and inside the breaker itself which was causing my issue. Go figure. He ran new cable. |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:55:03 PM EST
[Last Edit: Lou_Daks]
[#2]
Do any of your neighbors have hobbies that use power tools that draw big loads? I've had that happen when they turn the table saw, etc. on and off.
Could also be your refrigerator cycling on and off? I've seen that too. ETA: A friend told me that LED lights are MUCH more susceptible to flicker. Incandescent lights have a filament that remains hot and glowing during voltage pulses so it's much less noticeable with them. |
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AZ, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:56:39 PM EST
[Last Edit: BombCrater]
[#3]
I had the same thing happen 15 years ago. I traced it to one of the legs coming in at the breaker box - one was solid 120V the other was flying up and down intermittently. I turned off the main and verified it was on the power company meter side and thought it might be the meter. The power company told me it was my fault so I broke the seal and removed the meter and sure enough it was on the incoming feed wires.
It turned out that when the house was built the cables were run right on top of the metal water line feeding the house. The metals touching each other finally corroded and made a pinhole leak that generated a water jet that cut through the one hot cable leg. Some inspector didn't do their job! Edited for clarity. |
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WA, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:56:40 PM EST
[#4]
Mine do this. It's caused by the signal pulses in the AC frequency that our electrical company's remote meter reading system uses.
It makes our LED lights go berserk and it's burned out two of the grow lights I use for winter lettuce and basil. It also freaks out the battery backup for my computer. We're looking at a whole-house AC frequency conditioner to regulate the waveform and take the pulses out. |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:56:57 PM EST
[#5]
You are haunted OP, I need to hold your ammo until the exorcism.
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:57:47 PM EST
[#6]
Does Clark Griswold live next door?
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GA, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:58:33 PM EST
[#7]
Step one, make sure your neutrals and grounds are tight.
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:58:34 PM EST
[#8]
Have the grounding checked. Make sure it is not a floating neutral.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 9:59:12 PM EST
[#9]
You could start by calling the power company to have them monitor the voltage to the meter. This may be a free service in your area. If POCO side checks out, call an electrician to find your bad connection(s).
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:00:25 PM EST
[#10]
Had a loose neutral from the power company transformer that caused that in my house. Crazy voltages on both 110 lines. Lights flickered.
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:01:20 PM EST
[#11]
Bad neutral.
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CO, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:02:22 PM EST
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Hillbilly62: You are haunted OP, I need to hold your ammo until the exorcism. that was my thought! get an exorcist out stat |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:03:51 PM EST
[#13]
Our power will make led and CFL light bulbs freak out.
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:05:28 PM EST
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By EDDIECRUM: Had a loose neutral from the power company transformer that caused that in my house. Crazy voltages on both 110 lines. Lights flickered. Same here. |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:09:18 PM EST
[#15]
Years ago I noticed this. Went to the garage and found the terminal bringing AC into the breaker box needed a slight tightening.
The house was ~20 years old. It's been fine for the last 20+ plus years after I tightened the terminal. |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:10:38 PM EST
[Last Edit: Rat_Patrol]
[#16]
I'd check for a bad neutral, then get volts and frequency on both legs.
Or check voltage and frequency first. Eta : do you have any thermal anything? |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:11:43 PM EST
[#17]
Go tighten all the screws in your panel and it will probably be fixed.
New panel, thermal expansion, loose screws / loose connections. |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:12:53 PM EST
[#18]
Probably a loose or corroded neutral, call the power company and tell them you lost half the power to your house and they will come out quicker, if you tell them the lights are flickering it will be very low priority.
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KS, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:13:34 PM EST
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rogue-Sasquatch: Mine do this. It's caused by the signal pulses in the AC frequency that our electrical company's remote meter reading system uses. It makes our LED lights go berserk and it's burned out two of the grow lights I use for winter lettuce and basil. It also freaks out the battery backup for my computer. We're looking at a whole-house AC frequency conditioner to regulate the waveform and take the pulses out. What you think this is going to cost you? |
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WA, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:22:28 PM EST
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By crag_dt: What you think this is going to cost you? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By crag_dt: Originally Posted By Rogue-Sasquatch: Mine do this. It's caused by the signal pulses in the AC frequency that our electrical company's remote meter reading system uses. It makes our LED lights go berserk and it's burned out two of the grow lights I use for winter lettuce and basil. It also freaks out the battery backup for my computer. We're looking at a whole-house AC frequency conditioner to regulate the waveform and take the pulses out. What you think this is going to cost you? Me? Nothing. Our power company? Well, I hope they get a corporate discount. They're aware the meter read system is stressing and burning out some of our stuff, they're really intent on fixing it. They're good people though, they'll make it right. OP, try this - start writing down when it happens, down to the minute. Then call the power company and ask if those are the read times of their remote meter pings. I bet they go 1. WTF and 2. ...yes. LED lights show it well because of how fast they can cycle compared to incandescents. It's rough on the drivers for 12v fixtures (vs 120v screw in bulbs). It may also make the power supply in a flatscreen TV tick and chitter. It's quiet but distinct. That's an unhappy electronics sound, that will get them moving. |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:29:20 PM EST
[#21]
We had something similar happening. The lights, microwave, washing machine and other stuff was wonky. I don’t remember now what clued my hubby in on what was happening, but I think it had something to do with the neutral line (?). The power company came out ASAP and fixed it for us. It was crazy all the stuff it affected.
Sorry I can’t be more specific, I know exactly zero about that stuff. Hubby is OOT. |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:29:45 PM EST
[#22]
It was the neutral at my friends house.
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IN, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:31:41 PM EST
[#23]
Originally Posted By crag_dt: I am losing my mind. All of a sudden, lights in my house have started to flicker. Have added nothing new. Happens mostly in the evenings. I've turned ac, washer, dryer, etc everything off. Still does it. It actually gets less bad when I turn on a high load item, like shop vac. It will be fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Flicker flicker flicker Fine Flicker Etc. I had my entire breaker box panel replaced and new service a year ago. Perfect, until like 2 weeks ago. Seriously think it's a power company issue. How do I go about figuring this out? Edit: It's more noticeable with led lights. I changed some out with traditional incandescent and it's not as noticeable but still there We have the same thing start happening every time a transformer is getting ready to blow. It blows, new one guys up and the problems disappears until the next one. |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:33:36 PM EST
[#24]
Breaker panel is dirty.
Get right in there with your pressure washer. |
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NY, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:34:41 PM EST
[#25]
First thing I thought was bad neutral.
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:35:56 PM EST
[#26]
Meanwhile, at OP's house...
 |
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KS, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:46:21 PM EST
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By morglan: Breaker panel is dirty. Get right in there with your pressure washer. Don't tempt me |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:53:41 PM EST
[#28]
It's the rapture
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Posted: 11/20/2023 10:54:36 PM EST
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By MarkMustang: Meanwhile, at OP's house... https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/58a135b3fa5b1db276d945204e94fc06f9634b88/hub/2017/10/23/9395e615-8b2d-44d6-8803-700ae4c16de8/strangerthingswall2.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&height=675&width=1200 Took someone long enough… |
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Posted: 11/20/2023 11:11:55 PM EST
[#30]
A very hungry squirrel chewing on the power lines has caused this problem for me in the past. Only fix was to run a new line from the house to the pole.
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:10:29 AM EST
[#31]
Step one is call the POCO again. It's not going to cost you anything. They can load test their side. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's done right and the problem can be further back than pole connections.
Step two, buy a cheap meter and open your panel. Turn the shop vac on and start testing. If all voltage drops between both high side main lugs and neutral, it's not a neutral problem and most likely an incoming voltage problem. If one side rises and one drops, it is a neutral problem. If only one side drops significantly, it's a single leg problem. If all checks out, you can start checking individual circuits but probably not necessary since you said all circuits which would be a problem from main lugs back to the source including the meter socket. It is possible your voltage is low coming into your house. A broken POCO regulator and/or being at the end of the line can cause low voltage. I've probably done thousands of flickering light calls for the POCO. It was extremely rare for me to request a monitor on the meter because I wouldn't leave until I found the problem, even if it required guessing sometimes. I would make sure I ran tests from the main lugs back, even though POCO is only required to test from the top of the meter socket backwards. |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:15:12 AM EST
[Last Edit: P400]
[#32]
Your house is definitely haunted. Take down any welcome signs you have up, and spread some sage around the house.
Unless it's aliens. In that case, disregard the above. Except maybe still pull down the welcome signs.  |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:18:23 AM EST
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Anti_Underscore: We have the same thing start happening every time a transformer is getting ready to blow. It blows, new one guys up and the problems disappears until the next one. LOL - how often does this transformer issue happen? |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:45:00 AM EST
[#34]
We had a problem with a ground fault out at the street that caused my neighbor and my lights to flicker. I thought it was just shitty led bulbs but while letting the dog out one night I saw his kitchen light do it so I called him and asked. The next day he had the power company out and they pulled new sets of wires under the street from the transformer.
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NC, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:46:38 AM EST
[Last Edit: runfrumu]
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By EDDIECRUM: Had a loose neutral from the power company transformer that caused that in my house. Crazy voltages on both 110 lines. Lights flickered. Thats usually the most common thing. Either that or it got broken or chewed by squirrels. |
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IN, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:47:20 AM EST
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By RTX: LOL - how often does this transformer issue happen? 3 Blew over the summer. We had one go on Thursday. |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:47:44 AM EST
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Lou_Daks: Do any of your neighbors have hobbies that use power tools that draw big loads? I've had that happen when they turn the table saw, etc. on and off. Could also be your refrigerator cycling on and off? I've seen that too. ETA: A friend told me that LED lights are MUCH more susceptible to flicker. Incandescent lights have a filament that remains hot and glowing during voltage pulses so it's much less noticeable with them. If everything flickers at the same time, it's the power system. If just a few bulbs then buy better LED lights. Price pressure from really cheap LEDs like FEIT have made manufacturers take shortcuts hoping that no one notices the annoying flicker. |
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NOR
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:48:35 AM EST
[#38]
I can’t believe it! Nobody called it yet!
Dibs on guns. |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 6:58:31 AM EST
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rogue-Sasquatch: Mine do this. It's caused by the signal pulses in the AC frequency that our electrical company's remote meter reading system uses. It makes our LED lights go berserk and it's burned out two of the grow lights I use for winter lettuce and basil. It also freaks out the battery backup for my computer. We're looking at a whole-house AC frequency conditioner to regulate the waveform and take the pulses out. I'm going to need a link or source on that one. Most power companies analyze the power usage but don't actively add data signals. The power system is extremely dirty as far as residential 120v goes. It is all over the place voltage wise. My UPS's go off a couple of times a week due to brownouts that never happened before. Poor quality LED's can't handle this (technically, the tiny controller chip inside, not the actual LED chip.) The house AC conditioner will definitely solve this (again, quality matters - pure sine wave is far better than approximated sine wave), but are expensive. |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:02:16 AM EST
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rogue-Sasquatch: Mine do this. It's caused by the signal pulses in the AC frequency that our electrical company's remote meter reading system uses. It makes our LED lights go berserk and it's burned out two of the grow lights I use for winter lettuce and basil. It also freaks out the battery backup for my computer. We're looking at a whole-house AC frequency conditioner to regulate the waveform and take the pulses out. (that's not your problem) |
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KY, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:03:38 AM EST
[#41]
My parents had a power line transformer go bad after 40 years or so?
It would surge voltage and dipped down with the voltage. The lights would flicker randomly I put a meter on the wall receptacle and saw 80-160 volts high/low It took out a bunch of led bulbs ( good cree when they were expensive) and a GE washing machine motor controller pcb The power co replaced it when we gave them hard numbers of what was measured They said the center tap was bad |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:03:44 AM EST
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rogue-Sasquatch: Me? Nothing. Our power company? Well, I hope they get a corporate discount. They're aware the meter read system is stressing and burning out some of our stuff, they're really intent on fixing it. They're good people though, they'll make it right. OP, try this - start writing down when it happens, down to the minute. Then call the power company and ask if those are the read times of their remote meter pings. I bet they go 1. WTF and 2. ...yes. LED lights show it well because of how fast they can cycle compared to incandescents. It's rough on the drivers for 12v fixtures (vs 120v screw in bulbs). It may also make the power supply in a flatscreen TV tick and chitter. It's quiet but distinct. That's an unhappy electronics sound, that will get them moving. (that's impossible) |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:03:57 AM EST
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By RTX: LOL - how often does this transformer issue happen? We hear them blow. Every couple of years or so. |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:07:15 AM EST
[#44]
Op where in KS are you? I am in OP area now. I noticed the same thing!
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GA, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:19:08 AM EST
[#45]
Intermittently. Adverbs aren’t that difficult.
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:25:23 AM EST
[#46]
Like others have said have the POCO check their shit first.
Check your neutrals and grounds in your panel, tighten everything. I had a similar issue at my lake house that was caused by too much load on the shared transformer. I would notice the lights flicker and finally one day heard my neighbor running his table saw at the same time. Called POCO a few times telling them that the issue was happening when my neighbor was running heavy loads and they put in a new transformer and moved a couple lines around. No issue anymore. |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:28:33 AM EST
[Last Edit: 14Karat]
[#47]
I had a Federal Pacific breaker box. They are ticking time bombs and must be replaced. One of the 2 incoming legs was deteriorating causing flickering in half the circuits.
Edited to add FP recall notice. These things are bad. Federal Pacific recall |
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:30:38 AM EST
[#48]
Your neighbor bought a replica of Florida's electric chair and is trying it out on the neighborhood cats.
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:36:51 AM EST
[#49]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By EDDIECRUM: Had a loose neutral from the power company transformer that caused that in my house. Crazy voltages on both 110 lines. Lights flickered. Floating neutral is bad juju 😬 |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 11/21/2023 7:37:33 AM EST
[#50]
I noticed some of my lights would get brighter. Not dimmer.
Went online to "ask an expert" and the electrician had me run some tests. I had already run some as well. Plugging a power drill into a specific circuit would cause the lights to brighten. Measuring voltages on legs and they were well above 110/120. I had power company come out to check. Tech found that the neutral lug had corroded and snapped off and was floating in my outside main/meter combo panel. Thankfully he was willing to fix it since it wasnt his issue. Great guy. |
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