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?

Thanks, David

On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:35:07 -0800 (PST), hibb
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?

Thanks, David

Poltergeist?

"hibb" wrote in message
...
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?

Thanks, David


It is not a short circuit, but an "open circuit". If it affects all the
outlets on the circuit, you may want to check the connections on the breaker
and the neutral buss. If it only affects some of the outlets on the circuit,
you will want to find the junction box of the last properly working outlet,
or the first improperly working outlet

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.

hibb 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?

Thanks, David

Step 1: check for voltage at the output of the breaker. You may have to
remove the cover of your breaker panel to do this. Be very careful as
the two large service wires are unfused and unswitched, you don't want
to touch them!

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

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

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.

hibb 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?

Thanks, David
Hi,
Some connection is loose. Think logic and take time avoiding zapping
yourself. You need at least a mult meter.

hibb 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?

Thanks, David

probably a 'backstabbed' outlet somewhere's along the way feeding that
light. BTDT a few dozen times.

s

On Nov 15, 1:06*pm, wrote:
On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:35:07 -0800 (PST), hibb
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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.

David

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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.



*Just because an outlet is working does not mean the problem is not there.
The line side can be okay and the load side could have the loose connection.

On Nov 16, 12:22*am, wrote:
On Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:46:45 -0800 (PST), hibb
wrote:



On Nov 15, 1:06*pm, wrote:
On Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:35:07 -0800 (PST), hibb
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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.

David

I still say your top pick should be a loose wirenut in a ceiling box
over one of the light fixtures. You might just turn on all the lights
and tap on the canopies of each one of them to see if you can get a
light to flicker. That will be the one.

Seems to me that if that was the case it would only effect that
particular light fixture and the rest of the lights would work fine.
Doesn't the power run from one light switch to the next? I have always
been able to turn off one light without effecting the others.

Thanks, David

On Nov 16, 7:18*am, "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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.

*Just because an outlet is working does not mean the problem is not there..
The line side can be okay and the load side could have the loose connection.

I will be turning off the breaker again today to see if any of the
outlets are on that circuit. So far I only see that the 4 light
switches are getting power on that circuit. Even tho all the lights
are powered from the same breaker they operate independent of each
other. Yet this problem causes all the lights from that breaker to
quit working at the same time. So, it seems to me, that the problem
has to be somewhere between the breaker box and the first light
switch.

Thanks, David

On Nov 16, 7:18*am, "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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.

*Just because an outlet is working does not mean the problem is not there..
The line side can be okay and the load side could have the loose connection.

OK, today I turned on the kitchen light and it went dead after only a
few seconds. So I checked the outlets to see if they were all working
and they were so I turned off the breaker and checked to see if any of
the outlets were dead. All the outlets had power.

So I opened up the breaker box, turned the breaker back on and checked
to see if any power was coming from the breaker. It seemed OK so I
went back upstairs and turned the kitchen light back on and it came on
fine and did not go back off. I wanted the problem to develop again so
I could test if power was coming from the breaker again. I turned on
the rest of the lights to put more of a load on the circuit and still
had no problems and it has been fine all afternoon.

Looks like the problem is solved for now. Maybe is was just turning
the breaker off for a longer time before turning it back on. We'll
see.

Thanks, David

"hibb" wrote in message
...
On Nov 16, 7:18 am, "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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.

*Just because an outlet is working does not mean the problem is not there.
The line side can be okay and the load side could have the loose
connection.

OK, today I turned on the kitchen light and it went dead after only a
few seconds. So I checked the outlets to see if they were all working
and they were so I turned off the breaker and checked to see if any of
the outlets were dead. All the outlets had power.

So I opened up the breaker box, turned the breaker back on and checked
to see if any power was coming from the breaker. It seemed OK so I
went back upstairs and turned the kitchen light back on and it came on
fine and did not go back off. I wanted the problem to develop again so
I could test if power was coming from the breaker again. I turned on
the rest of the lights to put more of a load on the circuit and still
had no problems and it has been fine all afternoon.

Looks like the problem is solved for now. Maybe is was just turning
the breaker off for a longer time before turning it back on. We'll
see.

Thanks, David

============
breakers can get weak and trip when they heat up. is today colder? you might
swap that breaker with another one and see if the problem follows.

On Nov 16, 4:19*pm, "charlie" wrote:
"hibb" wrote in message

...
On Nov 16, 7:18 am, "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?

Thanks, David

First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I have tripped the breaker a number of times. Today I opened up all
the switches for the 4 lights on the circuit to check if there is a
problem. I didn't find anything there and there were no backstabbed
units in any of them. Now I need to double check to see if any outlets
are also on that circuit. I haven't noticed any yet.

If I don't find anything there I might as well open up the breaker box
and start with the breaker and trace things forward from there. I hate
getting into the breaker box but I do have a switch outside that
transfers whole house power from the grid to a generator hook-up when
power goes out.

*Just because an outlet is working does not mean the problem is not there.
The line side can be okay and the load side could have the loose
connection.

OK, today I turned on the kitchen light and it went dead after only a
few seconds. So I checked the outlets to see if they were all working
and they were so I turned off the breaker and checked to see if any of
the outlets were dead. All the outlets had power.

So I opened up the breaker box, turned the breaker back on and checked
to see if any power was coming from the breaker. It seemed OK so I
went back upstairs and turned the kitchen light back on and it came on
fine and did not go back off. I wanted the problem to develop again so
I could test if power was coming from the breaker again. I turned on
the rest of the lights to put more of a load on the circuit and still
had no problems and it has been fine all afternoon.

Looks like the problem is solved for now. Maybe is was just turning
the breaker off for a longer time before turning it back on. We'll
see.

Thanks, David

============
breakers can get weak and trip when they heat up. is today colder? you might
swap that breaker with another one and see if the problem follows.

Yeah, I think I will go ahead and just replace that one. But I think
if the problem crops up again I will test the breaker first while the
problem is going on before I flip the breaker off and back on and see
if I can determine if that is actually the problem.

Thanks, David

hibb wrote:

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

Highly probable bad breaker. Replace it or have a pro do it for you.

On Nov 17, 12:34*pm, Tony wrote:
hibb wrote:

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

Highly probable bad breaker. *Replace it or have a pro do it for you.

I would try tightening the connection to the breaker before I replaced
it. Are anymore lights in the house tied to this breaker? If so do
they have the same problem?

Jimmie

In article ,
wrote:



First trip and reset the breaker a few times then;
My money is on one of the big "cludge" wire nuts full of white wires
in a ceiling box.
Backstabbed receptacles are #2 on the list.,

I think we need to elect an official a.h.r. bookie, so we can make the
group a little more interesting by actually placing bets on stuff like
this.