"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Nov 13, 12:55 pm, "JC" wrote:
Here lately we have had the opposite of a power surge. The power
takes
a dramatic downward dive. We sleep without air conditioning and use
a
small "Patton" fan mainly to create some noise to drown out the
trains
and highway traffic. For the last three or four days the fan would
drag down to almost a complete stop. One of us would wake up
immediately and jump up and turn it off.

Last night I decided to do some detective work. So, when it
happened,
I just left it along and went through the house turning on lights
and
things. Several lights, I'm assuming they are on the same circuit,
were very dim. (we use those curly cue florescent bulbs). Nothing I
did changed the fan speed. This morning I turned the fan on and it
ran
fine. I'm wondering if a breaker could overheat and drag the power
down. Also, we have a terrific infestion of fire ants and those damn
crazy rosemary ants (I think that's the name---it's a new discovery
here in south Texas and they are taking over everything so fast it's
unbelievable) But, I've dealt with the ant problem before and this
just doesn't act the same.

I'll be calling the local electrician but before I sprang for that
100
bucks up front, I thought I'd check and see if anyone else has had
this problem and might have an idea what's going on.

JC

Sounds familiar.

If you're confident with a screwdriver...

Kill the main breaker, open the box and tighten all your neutrals.

Might as well do your hots and the grounds while you're in there.

Thanks, but as we're only about 50 yards from a major, (30 to 40
trains a day) railway, we're well aware of the loose connection
program. I tighten up the hots the neutrals and even the cabinet
screws at least once a quarter. That's always the first thing I check.