On Nov 14, 11:04*pm, hibb wrote:
On Nov 14, 8:09*pm, "John Grabowski" wrote:



It started the other night. Several lights that are on the same
breaker started blinking on and off. After a while the blinking got
more frequent and then they started staying off longer. Then they just
would not come back on.

Next day, they came back on but still blink occasionally.

All I've done so far is to switch the breaker off and back on.

The circuit is the overhead kitchen light, the light over the stairs
to the upstairs, the ceiling light in the downstairs bedroom and a
fluorescent ceiling light in an upstairs room. All lights have their
own on/off switches with the light over the stairs having a switch at
the bottom and at the top of the stairs.

I'm wondering if it could be the breaker or if I have a short
somewhere. Seems like it would have to be somewhere between the first
light switch on the circuit and the breaker.

Anybody got any tips before I start taking things apart?

*A bad circuit breaker and/or a loose connection somewhere on the circuit
are common causes of your problem. *Verify that the breaker is good or just
replace it and then open up each receptacle, switch and light fixture on the
circuit until you find the problem. *Check the receptacles first for a loose
connection because of the possibility that the wires were backstabbed in the
rear instead of being on the side screw terminals.

That's kinda what I was thinking. I didn't do the wiring on this
circuit but I'm betting on the "Backstabbed" thing but I wanted
feedback on the possibility of the breaker being bad and what those
symptoms might be.

Thanks, David

If you want to test the breaker, just swap it out for another one,
either with one from the box or with a new one.

In the meantime, I'd turn that circuit off when I went to bed or out
of the house. A loose wire could spark or heat up, neither of which is
a good thing.