View Single Post
  #7   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
DerbyDad03 DerbyDad03 is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14,845
Default Lights dim, brighten & appliances slow

On Dec 1, 1:08 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , "Joseph Meehan" wrote:







wrote in message
...
Here in the last week and a half we have been having strange things
going on with our electricity. The lights dim and flicker. When we
try to turn on the microwave the lights will dim (& sometimes brighten
instead)


That means you have a poor or disconnected (open) neutral. (That should
be the white wire)


THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS AND CAUSE A FIRE OR DAMAGE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES.


The fact that you did not know what it is leads me to suggest calling the
electrician now.


Yeah -- but I think I'd call a different electrician. The OP's description of
the symptoms is a clear indication of an open neutral, and any competent
electrician should have spotted that immediately.

In my opinion, though, before calling an electrician, the OP should call the
power company back first, and insist that they come out and check for loose
connections on the neutral, all the way from the transformer to the meter
base. Call an electrician only if the power company verifies that *their* side
is all good.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Having the power company check all the way from the transformer to
the meter base.

I don't know if the OP's company will do it, but a few years back I
had some flickering and the power company checked all the way to the
main breaker in the panel for me. Maybe they just weren't that busy -
nice quiet, spring night...they showed up within a half hour of my
call. Turned out not to be anything related to the neutral, but at
least they eliminated everything from the main breaker out which made
my troubleshooting a whole easier. Turned out to be a bad breaker.