DIYbanter - View Single Post - What would cause light bulbs to blow out (like a flame) and to bedim for a few minutes on certain circuits?

David Nebenzahl

On 3/22/2011 10:16 AM spake thus:

On Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:53:44 +0000 (UTC), Harold Lathom
wrote:

On Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:54:16 -0400, RBM wrote:

** I agree with Jw, it is a classic loose neutral condition. If
you are not electrically savvy get an electrician out.

I don't doubt the conclusion but I have one question.

Why would the lights, which at first are 1/4 brightness, 'warm up'
to be normal brightness?

Or do I just get used to the dimness?

Because the resistance is higher when hot, so the "voltage devider"
constructed across the bad neutral evens out as the bulb warms up.

What the hell are you talking about? That sounds like nonsense, or at
least hand-waving. How would a "voltage divider" result in the behavior
the OP described?

I have no doubt that at least one of the problems he has *could* be an
open neutral (which would be exceedingly easy to determine with a little
probing with a meter), but so far none of the explanations I've read
here would explain why the lights gradually come up to full brightness.
That *is* just plain weird.

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