m_corbelli wrote:
I have a house that's now 18 years old. I am the original owner. On
one circuit, I am getting intermittent loss of full power. This is
manifested by lights that go dim like when a motor somewhere kicks
on. I have a UPS in that room that beeps when this happens, but no
tv's, clocks, etc. actually experience a full loss of power requiring
a reset. This happens anywhere for 0 to 20 times a day and can last
from 5 seconds to 30 seconds and only on that circuit. I have checked
all the outlets and switches and replaced a few. I have jiggled
appliances and plugged and unplugged everything to see if I can
reproduce the effects consistently. I have checked the panel and
nothing seems out of sorts. I placed my hand on the breaker and it's
not warm. It's driving me crazy. Aside from calling an electrician in
(the obvious solution) can anyone help me track this down?

Go to the breaker box and swap the wire to the circuit breaker with another
breaker of the same capacity.

Does the problem move? If so, the breaker is the culprit. If not, at least
you know the problem is in the wiring somewhere.