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Flickering Lights & Electrical Power Loss
Diagnose & fix flickering, dimming lights or lost electricity

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A diagnostic catalog of the causes & cures of of dimming light fixtures or flickering lights & power losses.

How to diagnose the causes of flickering or dimming lights at or in buildings.

This article gives simple diagnostic steps that a homeowner can do to determine the type of electrical system problem that is causing flickering or dimming lights or intermittent loss of electrical power. We list the common causes of these problems and suggest what to do about them.

Watch out: flickering or dimming lights often indicates a dangerous condition. Switch off the bad-acting appliance or circuit and ask for help from a licensed electrician.

We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.

Dimming or Flickering Lights Indicate Electrical Hazards in Buildings: What to Do

Flourescent light fixture on a ceiling is an example of a long-used luminaire type light fixture (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com Watch out: flickering or dimming lights at a building may be more than an inconvenience. While some causes of flickering lights may be normal and harmless, such as flickering in certain types of light bulbs, many others indicate a dangerous condition, risking fire, shock, injury or worse. The safest approach is to turn off electrical circuits or components that are causing flickering or dimming or acting strangely in any way.

If you cannot safely access your electrical panel to turn off dangerous circuits or components, leave the building and call your local emergency services.

At FLOOD & DISASTER BUILDING DAMAGE REPAIR PROCEDURES we list emergency numbers for various countries from Australia (000) to the U.K. (112). In Canada or the U.S. call 911. In Mexico call 066.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Photo: a fluorescent light fixture may be the only electrical device that is flickering, for any of several reasons we will explain below. Other causes of flickering lights are very dangerous.

How to Diagnose Dimming or Flickering Lights at Buildings

In diagnosing the cause of flickering or dimming lights at a building the following diagnostic questions can help narrow down the cause of the trouble.

Is the dimming light or power loss problem happening in just your building or do neighbors see the same problem at exactly the same time?
If your neighbors are seeing flickering or dimming lights too, chances are the problem is in the electrical supply network or possibly at local electrical wiring in your neighborhood or its power transformer. If your neighborhood frequently loses electrical power

see BACKUP ELECTRICAL GENERATORS
Is the dimming problem or power loss showing up in the whole building or just parts of it? If all lights in the building dim, flicker, or if all power is lost, then the problem is probably in the electrical panel or at the service entry cabling to your building.
The electrician will look for a problem in the electrical panel, at the main breaker, at the service entry wiring connections or at the SEC wiring itself, including the two hot wires and the service neutral wire. But see the exception in step 4 below.

If the dimming, flickering, or lost power occurs in multiple circuits in the building the problem could still be in the electrical panel itself, or in the service entry wiring to the building.

See examples of electric meter failures

at ELECTRIC METERS & METER BASES

Also see ELECTRICAL SERVICE ENTRY WIRING - home
Is the dimming or flickering light problem or power loss associated with circuits in just half of the electrical panel? Depending on electrical panel layout, damage to one panel bus can cause failures or odd behaviour on electrical circuits connected to that panel bus.
See the power loss traced to electric meter failures

at ELECTRIC METER ARC BURN POWER LOSS

Also see ELECTRICAL SERVICE ENTRY WIRING - home
Is the dimming light problem or power loss associated with the operation of a single, specific appliance or motor? This is an exception to the case described in step 2 in that all lights may dim when there is a developing failure in a single major appliance such as an air conditioner compressor motor.
Such motors can draw very high amps (current) for just a brief moment when the motor is starting.

If the current surge is very brief, no circuit breaker may trip but the load may be sufficient to dim all of the incandescent lights that are on or all of fixtures in just part of the building, depending on how the appliance circuit is wired in the electrical panel. (Fluorescent lights probably won't dim).

If the problem never occurs when the circuit to that appliance has been turned off you've probably found the trouble.

If the problem is traced to a specific appliance but is intermittent, other variations in conditions such as temperature, humidity, vibration, or moving around of a loose wire may explain that inconsistency.

See also ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE - home
Is the dimming or flickering light or power loss showing up on just a single circuit? In this case we suspect a faulty circuit breaker or bad connection in the circuit.
Some circuit breaker brands are particularly prone to failure such as FPE Stab-Lok and Zinsco-Sylvania. In this case the problem may ultimately show up on additional circuits in the same building, depending on building age and circuit usage levels and other conditions.

See ELECTRICITY TURN ON AFTER BREAKER TRIP

See CIRCUIT BREAKER FAILURE RATES

Also see these examples of problematic electrical panels

FEDERAL PACIFIC FPE HAZARDS
MURRAY CIRCUIT BREAKER HAZARDS
MURRAY SIEMENS Recall
PUSHMATIC - BULLDOG PANELS
SIEMENS MURRAY Recall
SPLIT BUS ELECTRICAL PANEL HAZARDS
SQUARE-D AFCI RECALL 2004
SQUARE-D COUNTERFEIT BREAKER RECALL
ZINSCO SYLVANIA ELECTRICAL PANELS

Is the dimming or flickering light or power loss showing up just at some fixtures or appliances?
A likely cause of this problem is a failing appliance or motor that is drawing abnormally high current as we cited in step 4.

But sometimes the problem may occur only at lights or appliances plugged-in electrically "downstream" from a specific electrical circuit, or at lights operated by a specific switch. In this case we suspect the trouble is not the appliance itself but in connectors within the receptacle or switch or immediately "upstream" (electrically) from it.

Some receptacle and switch types such as older push-in back-wired devices are more likely to have loose or failing electrical connectors with age and usage.

Try plugging in the light fixture or appliance at a different location on a different electrical circuit in the home. If the bad behavior continues then the trouble is in the light or appliance itself.
Is the flickering light showing up at just one light fixture? Look for loose wiring or an overheating fixture.

Flouresent light fixture as luminaire (C) DanieL Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Is the flickering light found in a fluorescent fixture?
If so, while checking for a loose wire or poor fluorescent bulb connection is important, the most common causes of flickering fluorescent light fixtures are

A bad fluorescent light bulb - take a bulb from a fixture working properly and test it in the flickering fixture; also look for black or other discoloration in the flickering bulb. Replace it.
A bad starter in the fixture
A bad ballast in the fixture

In the photo above I am showing the original data tag for this Fox Co. fluorescent fixture installed in the bathroom of a Minnesota home built in 1963.

To stop the flickering light in this luminaire fixture I needed to replace the ballast.

Details of repairing dead, humming, dim, or flickering fluorescent lights are

at FLUORESCENT LIGHT REPAIRS.

Watch out: for flickering light safety hazards and take the immediate safety measures listed here.

18 Causes of Dimming or Flickering Lights or Electrical Power Loss at Buildings

Start by turning off any electrical appliance or circuit that is misbehaving. If you are not trained and familiar with safe electrical practices and repairs keep your fingers off of the wiring - you could be shocked or killed or could cause a fire. Call for help from a licensed electrician.

Check your local telephone listings for licensed electricians or

see DIRECTORY OF ELECTRICIANS

Aluminum electrical wiring: if your building's branch circuit wiring (such as lights or electrical receptacles) was installed in the 1970's solid-conductor aluminum wiring may have been used. With age, use, and mechanical disturbance the connectors in an aluminum-wired circuit become unsafe, ultimately overheating.
These connections can become hot enough to start a building fire without ever tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse. We have had reports from homeowners of both conventional buildings and mobile homes or doublewides who described flickering lights that indicated trouble traced to aluminum electrical wiring.

Watch out: for this fire hazard. If your home's branch circuits (receptacles and lighting) are wired with aluminum wire, flickering, dimming lights or even sparking may show up on just one circuit but the hazard is building-wide and significant. Turn off the misbehaving circuit and have the electrical system inspected and repaired by an electrician familiar with the hazards of and proper repairs for aluminum wiring.

See ALUMINUM WIRING HAZARDS & REPAIRS - home - aluminum wire connections failing may cause flickering lights or loss of power

Also see MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL DEFECTS
Appliance or motor drawing high current: Any appliance that draws high current (amperage). Sometimes this is normal such as a brief high current draw when some large electric motors start, such as an air conditioning or heat pump compressor.
An air conditioner or heat pump compressor motor may draw considerably higher amps at start-up than it does once the motor has begun to run.

That's why installers should use a slow-blow fuse or slow-trip circuit breaker and it's why air conditioning circuit over-current protection ("breaker size" or "fuse size") is typically permitted to be one size larger (more amps) than the rating of the wire supplying the circuit.

For example, an air conditioner may run on a #10 copper wire 30 Amp circuit but may be fused with a 35A or 40A circuit breaker to avoid nuisance tripping when the A/C unit is starting normally.

But dimming lights can also mean that a motor is drawing high current because it is having difficulty starting.

That in turn can be due to a motor that is seizing or due to a failing start-capacitor. Some of these conditions are unsafe. If the motor or appliance trips a circuit breaker, leave that appliance turned off until it can be repaired or replaced.

See HARD STARTING COMPRESSOR MOTORS

Also TIGHT or SEIZED AC COMPRESSORS

See HARD STARTING ELECTRIC MOTOR CAUSES

Also see ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE describes steps & tests for both offline and online electric motor circuit analysis (MCA) test procedures for hard starting or non-starting A/C electric motors

Technical note: see DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS for definitions of LRA (lock rotor amps) and RLA (running load amps).

There you'll see that the data tag on an air conditioner or heat pump specifies two different amps or current ratings:

the maximum circuit ampacity (for example 15A) that must be supported by the actual wiring - this is the current drawn when the motor is running
and

the maximum overcurrent protection (for example 20A) that is permitted on the circuit. Typically the data tag will also specify that the installer should use a time delay fuse or HVACR type circuit breaker.

Watch out: many air conditioning and heat pump units are wired with multi-strand aluminum electrical wire - a perfectly legal choice.

But because there is a higher risk of corrosion, resistance, and overheating at the connections of aluminum wiring, if your A/C or heat pump unit is causing severe light dimming or light flickering it makes sense to ask your electrician to check the condition of the wiring and its connections - that will reduce the risk of a total failure or worse, a fire.

Watch out: When you can trace flickering or dimming lights to a single appliance, un-plug it and stop using it until it can be inspected and repaired.

If the appliance is a unit such as central air or a heat pump, switch it off at the electrical panel.
Corrosion from unanticipated sources: homes where Chinese drywall was installed were reported to have strange electrical problems including flickering lights.
Off gassing from Chinese drywall was found to cause corrosion of copper components throughout some of these buildings, including HVAC components, cooling coils, and copper electrical wiring or connectors.

See BACKWIRED RECEPTACLE FAILURE REPORT for an example of corroded electrical connections probably contributing to loss of electrical power

See CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS
Electrical circuit breaker defects: some brands or models of circuit breaker are known to have significantly-higher failure rates than that equipment in general. Examples include Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok circuit breakers and ZInsco circuit breakers.
Watch out: fire or shock hazard: When you trace flickering or dimming lights to a specific electrical circuit, turn that circuit off at the electrical panel until your electrician can inspect and repair the problem.

See CIRCUIT BREAKER FAILURE RATES - a bad circuit breaker or electrical panel connection can cause flickering lights or loss of power. This article lists common or well-known problem circuit breaker or electrical panel brands or models.

Since a failing circuit breaker or device sometimes (not always) suffers internal arcing that produces a buzzing sound, that clue may also be diagnostic. Switch such circuits off.

See NOISES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Electrical circuit wiring defects: specific electrical circuits may be dimming or intermittently losing power if the wiring has become damaged or its electrical connectors are loose. Typically this problem shows up first on just one electrical circuit, or on all of the lights or receptacles ("wall plugs or outlets") downstream from a specific point (where a problem has occurred). A double-wide homeowner reported loss of lights on just one side of a room.
After confirming that no GFCI device had tripped causing a power loss and no circuit breaker had tripped, the owner needed to ask for help from an electrician to find the open wire. For examples

See BACK-WIRED ELECTRICAL DEVICES - home - poor connections lead to flickering lights and loss of electrical power

See BACKWIRED RECEPTACLE FAILURE REPORT - corrosion and poor electrical connections in a beach-front home lead to loss of electrical power

See KNOB & TUBE WIRING
Electric fan or LED bulb induced "light flicker": when certain fluorescent or LED lights or in particular when an overhead fan is in use, depending on factors such as the location light sources and fan in the room, fan speed, fan blade size and who knows what else can cause an apparent flickering of light where the fan is located.
This is not an electrical problem but one of light and shadow. However depending on the flickering light speed, this condition can be uncomfortable for some people and may be hazardous for some who have particular medical concerns such as light-sensitive epilepsy. Video games and TV's can also produce flickering light that can be a problem for the same occupants.
- Dahlquist, Neil R., James F. Mellinger, and Donald W. Klass. "Hazard of video games in patients with light-sensitive epilepsy." JAMA 249, no. 6 (1983): 776-777.
- Romero‐Gómez, Manuel, Juan Córdoba, Rodrigo Jover, Juan A. del Olmo, Marta Ramírez, Ramón Rey, Enrique de Madaria et al. "Value of the critical flicker frequency in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy." Hepatology 45, no. 4 (2007): 879-885.
- Wilkins, Arnold, Jennifer Veitch, and Brad Lehman. "LED lighting flicker and potential health concerns: IEEE standard PAR1789 update." In Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), 2010 IEEE, pp. 171-178. IEEE, 2010.
Electric motor defects: motors drawing high or excessive current can cause dimming or flickering lights
CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS - a hard-starting motor drawing high current may cause flickering lights
Electrical panel defects: as we cite for circuit breakers, some electrical panel brands experience failures far more often than is generally the case among their peers, often because of innate design or manufacturing problems. Some of these electrical panel defects show up as flickering lights, dimming lights, or loss of power on one or more electrical circuits.
See FEDERAL PACIFIC FPE HAZARDS

Also see ZINSCO SYLVANIA ELECTRICAL PANELS for examples.

A complete list is at ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION PANELS in buildings, safety for electrical inspectors, electrical panel, fusing, wiring defects, defective products.

Also see CORROSION in ELECTRICAL PANELS - corrosion on electrical wire or components can cause flickering lights or loss of power
Electrical service supply defects & voltage fluctuations: depending on where you live weather, loads on the community electrical system, age and condition of the electrical grid and power generation can cause dimming or flickering lights. If this is the source of trouble at your building, your neighbors will see the same conditions as you.
Sometimes we monitor voltage being delivered to a building to check the range of voltage variation but of course if your electric company's supply is varying significantly you and your neighbors will all see dimming lights or total loss of power. Problems at a local power transformer can cause the lights of your home and those of your neighbors to flicker or dim or go out entirely.

Some light flickering, outages that last 60 seconds or less, are referred to in the power industry as "momentary outages" while voltage drops - not a total loss of power but a reduction in the voltage being delivered to a building are referred to as "voltage drops".

According to Florida Power and Light (FPL), these may be caused by lightning strikes, damaged electrical equipment, animals interfering with electrical equipment (including a mouse in your electrical panel), and in coastal areas, salt spray that affects power company equipment or wiring.

A "voltage sag" - momentary drop in the voltage level below its nominal 120VAC - may also occur, which explains why some lights may dim. These conditions can re-set or stop operation of computers and other electrical devices unless you have a battery-backup uninterruptible power supply (UPS) installed. - FPL "Power Flickers - Reducing Power Flickers", Florida Power and Light, retrieved 9 Nov 2015, original source: https://www.fpl.com/reliability/power-disturbances/flickers.html

According to Canada's CCOHC, "Usually voltage fluctuations are small and do not have adverse effects on electrical equipment. However, in offices, for example, voltage fluctuations of just a few tenths of one percent can produce very annoying flickers in the lighting, especially if they are regular and repetitive in the 5-15 Hz range." - CCOHS (2015 cited below)

See ELECTRICAL SERVICE ENTRY DAMAGE - damaged electrical feeders or service entry can cause flickering lights or loss of electrical power

See VOLTS MEASUREMENT METHODS

Also see DOUBLE FAULT, LOSS OF ELECTRICITY where we describe faulty wiring at a single building that led to flickering lights and ultimately, loss of power.
Electrical service connection failure: a loose connection at the building's electrical service entry cable or damage to the service entry wiring itself can cause flickering lights or loss of power. I've seen this problem occur in one side of a 240V electrical panel, causing ultimate loss of power to half of the electrical circuits in the home.
See SERVICE ENTRY WIRING & AMPACITY

Also
See ELECTRICAL SERVICE ENTRY WIRING - how is electrical power brought to the building: inspection, troubleshooting, defects
Electrical neutral connection failure: if the electrical system's neutral connection or neutral wiring is faulty, such as a loose connection in the electrical panel, lights in the building may sporadically flicker or dim or power may even be lost intermittently.
I've seen this problem occur when a metal fence post was driven through an underground feeder. A case history that was finally resolved by finding a problem with the electrical utility company's neutral is given

at LOST NEUTRAL LIGHT FLICKER

See LOST NEUTRAL SHOCKS HOMEOWNER for details of this problem
Fluorescent light ballast & other light bulb problems: fluorescent lights that use a ballast to produce the voltage needed to drive the light fixture may suffer from a ballast failure. The ballast, a "black box" found inside of fluorescent light fixtures may cause humming or buzzing sounds heard near the light fixture as well as flickering lights.
This problem occurs where older magnetic type ballasts are installed. Newer electronic ballasts don't hum or buzz.

See FLUORESCENT LIGHT REPAIRS where we describe repairing flicking fluorescent light fixtures.

Also see LIGHTING, INTERIOR GUIDE where buzzing ballasts are discussed.

Separately we discuss eliminating the ballast entirely by switching to an LED bulb - an option available for some fluorescent fixtures.

See LED BULB REPLACES FLUORESCENT
Lightning strikes can damage both area electrical wiring or the supply grid as well as damaging components at an individual building. A frequent sufferer of lighting strikes are well pumps and well pump wiring at properties where a submersible well pump is in a steel-casing well in an area subject to frequent lightning storms.
In this case the problem is usually confined to the well circuit, but I have participated in investigation of more extreme damage to all of a building's wiring and even plumbing systems due to lightning strikes.

See LIGHTNING PROTECTION SYSTEMS
Light fixture or light bulb or bulb socket / wiring defects: flickering lights that occur only at a single light fixture may be caused by a failing or defective light bulb, particularly if the bulb is a traditional incandescent type.
As the filament in an incandescent light bulb begins to fail it may become loose and intermittently "open" electrically causing the light to flicker. Tapping gently on such a bulb may cause it to go out completely. Changing the bulb should fix the trouble.

If the individual light fixture continues to flicker after a new bulb has been installed, check that the bulb itself is ok by trying it in a different light fixture.

If the light bulb is not defective then I suspect a bad bulb socket in the light fixture or a loose wire connection in the light fixture's connection to its power circuit. Turn the fixture off until it can be repaired or replaced.

A loose, corroded, or cracked, broken bulb connector or incandescent or LED bulb socket can also cause flickering lights. [Thanks to reader Jan for reminding us of this cause, 2020/10/29 ]
Loose electrical connections in an electrical circuit: loose splices or connections anywhere in an electrical circuit can cause flickering lights. Usually this defect shows up just on the circuit that contains the faulty connection. I've seen this problem at an electrical receptacle that received very frequent use: devices were constantly plugged-in then removed.
The wiggling and jiggling of the device loosened contacts intended to be made between the receptacle and the wall plug. Other receptacles or switches may be wiggled around in their electrical box (if poorly-secured) causing loose, failing electrical connections.

See ELECTRICAL SPLICES, HOW TO MAKE - a bad splice, wire connector or loose screw or wire can cause flickering lights or loss of power

In some cases, such as back-wired push-in type electrical receptacles, the wiring connector itself (a small spring) is inherently weaker than screw-type connectors. On older homes these connections can fail, occasionally leading to a fire.

See BACK-WIRED ELECTRICAL DEVICES
Low or varying voltage from the electrical service utility or due to defects in the service drop or service entry wiring.
VOLTS MEASUREMENT METHODS - voltage variation may cause flickering lights
Outdoor electrical wiring defects: aside from the service entry cable problems I've cited, other outdoor wiring defects can cause flickering lights on those circuits. Examples include lighting fixtures or receptacles that have become wet.
Something else is wrong: the list above is certainly not exhaustive and there may be other causes of flickering or dimming lights that we should add here. Please use the page bottom CONTACT link to let us know what we've missed.

Watch out: flickering or dimming lights may, depending on the cause, indicate a dangerous condition. Arcing or overheating at electrical circuits can ultimately lead not only to power loss but to a building fire. That's why we recommend turning off misbehaving electrical equipment while you wait for the electrician.

What Level of Flickering Light Can People See?

Canada's CCOHS has written some of the most easily-understood description of who sees flickering lights, what people can see or sense, and what health effects may occur when exposed to flickering light. Excerpts are below:

People can see lights flashing on and off up to about 50 flashes per second (50 Hz) - they are most sensitive to time-varying illumination in the 10-25 Hz range. The actual critical flicker frequency increases as the light intensity increases up to a maximum value, after which it starts to decrease.

When a light is flickering at a frequency greater than 50 or so Hertz, most people can no longer distinguish between the individual flickers. At this frequency - the critical flicker frequency or flicker fusion threshold - the flashes appear to fuse into a steady, continuous source of light. This happens because the response to the light stimulus lasts longer than the flash itself.

Most people cannot notice the flicker in fluorescent lights that have a flicker rate of 120 cycles per second (or 120 Hz).

The light flicker may be detected by its stroboscopic effect. When objects move or rotate rapidly, they may be lit at or about the same position during each cycle or rotation.

This makes objects look as if they are moving more slowly than their actual speeds - they may even appear stationary if the object is moving at the same rate as the flicker frequency (or a multiple of it).

This fact is the principle behind a strobe light but it is not the desired effect in general lighting. In fact, it could be a safety hazard if someone mistakenly thought that some equipment was stationary or was moving slowly. - CCOHS, "Lighting Ergonomics - Light Flicker", Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, CCOHS, retrieved 2015/11/09, original source: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/lighting_flicker.html

Also, from a different source we see that flickering light can be a source of eye strain and headaches even if it is not related to electrical malfunctions that we listed earlier in this article:

... the use of high frequency electronic ballasts (20,000 Hz or higher) in fluorescent lights resulted in more than a 50% drop in complaints of eye strain and headaches.

There tended to be fewer complaints of headaches among workers on higher floors compared to those closer to ground level; that is, workers exposed to more natural light experienced fewer health effects. - Wilkins, A. J., I. Nimmo-Smith, A. I. Slater, and L. Bedocs. "Fluorescent lighting, headaches and eyestrain." Lighting Research and Technology 21, no. 1 (1989): 11-18.

Flickering lights traced to bad utility company neutral wire

(Nov 10, 2015) Phil said:

I've been searching and can't find the answer to my problem. All of a sudden (last couple of months) my lights go dim whenever an appliance cycles on. All of them. Even when the coffee maker cycles on and off you can see it happen.

The lights even flicker to the cadence of the washing machine during the wash cycle. The dryer is the worst as the lights go waaay dim, but only for a second or two.

I have no electric heat, a 100 amp service with nothing special in the house requiring anything more than 100 amps. I have a well pump, septic pump and a freezer and all the normal things a house would have requiring intermittent electrical draw.

Nothing special, but why are my lights flickering upon appliance demand all of a sudden? I do have some electrical experience and would like to know some simple troubleshooting I could do before calling in the experts, and the power company etc. Thanks.

Reply: Look for what changed in the electrical system, look for aluminum wiring

Phil,

As you are describing what is a new problem, not one that has been present since original construction, I infer that something has changed. Most likely there is a loose connection or a failing appliance.

The fact that it's "any appliance" is puzzling as I don't expect all appliances to be on the same individual electrical circuit.

Check this for me: take a look at the circuit layout in your electrical panel.

If the flickering only occurs when appliances run, let me know how those appliance circuit breakers are located in your panel. For example if they are all on just one side of the panel that would be diagnostic (and would point to a problem in the panel itself).

While you're there see if you can see any aluminum wiring, and let me know the brand and model of the electrical panel.

Reader follow-up: flickering appliances or lights on more than one electrical circuit

(Nov 11, 2015) Phil said:
None of the appliances are on the same circuit. The washing machine and septic alarm are on one circuit/one breaker, the refer. is on one circuit/one breaker, as is the dishwasher, septic pump, water pump, dryer, and range. I did observe that the range has alum.

wiring which has been treated with a type of grease at the breaker connection. The coffee pot is on my "kitchen receptacle" circuit, but shouldn't be an issue in my opinion. I've checked and re-checked every connection in the panel and all are tight and in good condition.

Washing machine, septic pump and water pump are on the left side of the panel, while the refer, dishwasher, dryer and range are on the right. The panel is Westinghouse and all the breakers are too. The freezer is on the basement receptacle circuit. Hopefully, this doesn't confuse you.

Reply: check the incoming service entry wires

As you're seeing flickering across multiple circuits I suspect the problem is

1. in the panel, a bad connection at the incoming service wire, neutral or hot, or bad connections of breakers to bus - since I don't know of defective breaker/bus issues specific to Westinghouse (and haven't seen many of those) I'd look with care (watch out you can be killed touching anything in the panel) at the connection of the mains and neutral to the main lugs in the panel - a job for an electrician.

An example of that problem is at
inspectapedia.com/electric/Electrical_Neutral_Lost.php

The SEC wires coming into the panel are secured in (in some brands) an aluminum lug with a steel screw or set-screw. The screw can feel tight because it's binding in the lug but it might not actually be tight on the wire.

If all of the bad-actors happen to be fed from breakers that pick up one of the two 120V sides of the panel that'd point to the culprit.

If the bad actors are on both sides of the panel the problem can also be outside: e.g. a buried (UF) service entry cable that's damaged or other damage to the utility company's SEC wires or overhead wires or even a pole transformer

Reader follow-up: hiring an electrician to check the panel for cause of flickering lights

Nov 12, 2015) Phil said:
Ok, I'm gonna hire an electrician to troubleshoot the panel, although it appears to be ok it my estimation. I have to start digging somewhere. I will let you know the outcome.

(Nov 16, 2015) Phil said:
My estimation was right. The panel is sound, very clean in the electrician's opinion. Took off every breaker and inspected them, all ok, very tight connections to the bus bars. Measured the power coming in and it was 120v on both legs. I'm miffed.

Reply: check the service neutral

Phil:

If the panel seems OK I'd expect the electrician to start working outwards from the main lugs that connect the service entry wiring to the panel and onwards;

I've found, for example, that the service neutral was disconnected and the panel was "working" through its local ground path - a dangerous condition.

Reader follow-up:

(Nov 19, 2015) Phil said:
Everything in the panel is satisfactory. There are no problems with the service neutral. Panel is 100% good.

As I sit here around 5:00 AM the only things running are my pellet stove (about a 200 watt draw), and 2 lights, and they continue to flicker with each cycling of the coffee pot going on and off. Oh, the refer. is going on and off too causing much flickering.

Reply: check the panel again or look outside the panel

Phil

As flickering lights are occurring on two different circuits I'd want to trace back those circuits to their origin, either in a shared junction box or in the panel.

I would look for a loose connection, aluminum wiring, or a problem in the panel that was not at first so obvious such as a poor connection of the panel neutral to the bus.

It would help to know the panel and breaker brands, and also to know if any aluminum wiring is present.

OR the problem is outside the electrical panel as suggested earlier.

Reader follow-up:

(Nov 20, 2015) Phil said:
I'll attempt to trace back the circuits. Could take a while.....No aluminum, other than the SEC. The panel is Westinghouse and all the breakers are too.

Reply: check the SEC (service entry conductors) wiring

(Nov 21, 2015) (mod) said:
Phil the SEC could be the problem: particularly if the binding-head screws in the panel lugs are not really making sound contact with the SEC wires.

In some electrical panel, tightening the screw binds in the lug and you think it's tight on the wire when in fact the wire is loose. An electrician, who knows how to do this without being killed, might pull the meter, then remove and re-make the SEC connections.

Reader follow-up: flickering light problem found: bad neutral wire from the utility company

Had the local power company here yesterday. They installed a device in the meter socket that simulates a 1500 watt draw, and then measured the voltage on both legs. One side was 135v and the other 108v. That prompted him to check the transformer at the pole.

Transformer was fine, but found that the aluminum ground wire on the cable assembly from the pole to the house was 99.9% severed, with only one strand of aluminum left holding on.

They replaced the cable and VOILA, no more issues. My question now is
: What would have happened if it was 100% severed?

Reply: effects of a lost neutral at the SEC

Thanks for this important feedback, Phil. I've come across this issue before and have described it at InspectApedia.com in an article LOST NEUTRAL Shocks Homeowner - found at inspectapedia.com/electric/Electrical_Neutral_Lost.php

What happens is this: if you lose the electric utility's neutral AND if your panel is properly installed, you still have a local connection to earth - to ground - at your building. IN the panel where neutral and local ground are tied together, all of the neutral wires in all of your circuits continue to work but all of their return current is flowing out on the local ground.

Watch out: a lost neutral or bad electrical grounding are both very dangerous. Once the neutral has been lost the ground system will be doing work it's not designed to perform.

If there is anything marginal about the local ground - which is common - you can have flickering lights or even overheating and burn-ups on individual ground wires or circuits in the home.
Ultimately the result is very dangerous as loss of safe grounding can result in someone being electrocuted.

Reader Q&A - also see the FAQs series linked-to below

@John,

Thanks for the added detail; keep us posted;

Certainly some of my warnings will err on the side of safety.

@inspectapedia.com.moderator, thank you. I will definitely not be attempting to investigate or fix beyond what you suggested. I have a great deal of respect for this things and experienced electrical shock as a child!

I just recalled that when we bought the home we did have an electrician over as part of renovating two rooms. He replaced some switches and install a number of new outlets. He did find two switches quite old that needed replacing. My hope is that he would have noticed the aluminum but I'll have someone check regardless.

However I believe he did not investigate or check the other rooms in the home as I just checked a number of outlets in these rooms and they have reverse polarization which I know is not usually a big deal but thought to ask if it could have any relation to the issue with my computer. The outlet the computer and monitor are plugged into has reverse polarization.

@John,

Your electrician will be able to tell immediately if there is aluminum wiring in the electrical panel when she opens the panel cover to inspect the circuits inside.

That's not something you should do as you could be shocked or killed.

However if you look at any electrical wiring that is visually accessible you may occasionally see printed on the plastic covering of plastic wire the word "aluminum"
which would be significant.

You can also use the on-page search box to search this website for

IDENTIFY ALUMINUM WIRING

For an article describing other wiring text or imprint or size that identifies it as an aluminum product.

From the age of your house, the original wiring would not be aluminum.

@mak.church, Thank you. I think the work done in the 1970s was to increase the amps in the home. I confirmed it was not done by a electrician - instead it was done by a family member who is very handy with homes. (Make me nervous). The home was built in the late 1940s and is a two family. It now has 100 amps per apartment.

Is there anything I can do that would help you identify whether I have aluminum wiring such as taking a photo? I will have an electrician come to check regardless but appreciate an unbiased opinion

Also

@John,
Except where your electrical wiring was improperly sized in the first place or where it has been damaged by a building event such as a fire, it is quite rare that it is ever necessary or even appropriate to replace the wiring itself. Copper doesn't wear out. Copper thousands of years old has been found intact in the Egyptian tombs.

It could be a problem with connectors, or an overloaded circuit. Simply turning on the bathroom light should be such a trivial load on the circuit but I suspect there is an unsafe connection or switch for which you need to help electrician who will locate and fix the connector, switch, or device.

Because it's expensive to bring electrician to a property for a single small problem that would be a great time to have the electrician add a dedicated electrical circuit to the room where you use your computer.

Watch out: 1970s electrical wiring could include aluminum solid conductor branch circuit wires. If your home has aluminum wiring and the wiring has not been properly repaired by installing the special connector at each and every connection then that circuit is unsafe and is a fire hazard.

So be sure to have your electrician check promptly for the presence of aluminum wiring. Let us know what you're told.

Hello, i bought a house that had its electrical wiring updated in the 70s. When they did it, they did not dedicate a circuit for each room so some rooms share circuits.

In my small office I had my computer with monitor and when someone turns on the bathroom ceiling light my computer monitor power turns off - it does this consistently.

I am worried because the computer monitor is LED, uses low power and the light bulb in the bathroom also is LED.

I do not have any high intensity applicances on in my room, just laptop, LED monitor and sometimes a fan and light.

Does this indicate bad or wiring that should be replaced? My concern is that the previous owners were very frugal and likely has the wiring done by unlicensed electricians.

@Cori,

Before the electrician leaves ask him to observe whether there are any flickering lights and ask him if there's something else that he recommends

I have flickering and dimming lights thought out the whole house. Electrician is here now.

He is replacing my outside main wire and will replace 3 or 4 breakers on panel but says it' NOT GUARANTEED the flickering and dimming lights will stop. R u kidding me?? I'm paying him $1850.00!!!

@Zach,

That sounds like a shorted electrical circuit, switch, or fixture.

Your electrician will probably use a DMM or VOM to check for shorting and check the current draw on each of those circuits and also she'd inspect the electrical panel itself, the breakers and the bus - for arcing.

Is there aluminum circuit wire in the building?

What's the electrical circuit brand?

How old is the building?

Whenever I turn my kitchen light on my dining room fan/light combo dims. It stays dim until I turn kitchen light off. At first I thought it was possibly in the switch as it's a double switch with power hooked to the top that controls both the top and bottom switch. There is also a 3way switch in the same location ran on a separate breaker.

I turned off both breakers took both the dining room light and kitchen light off the switch and hooked each one directly to the power feed with wire nuts. One connected to one circuit and the other connected to the circuit that the 3way had been on. I flipped on one breaker and dining light came on. I flipped on the other breaker and kitchen light came on.

Again dining room light dimmed as before. I've checked and tightened all wiring going to both fixtures. Help!

Bootleg ground neutral wired to ground at receptacle- unsafe (C) Inspectapedia.com John S I understand your points and appreciate the additional explanation and description of your building conditions.

I must add, howerver:

Watch out: improper sources of electrical ground, such as relying on connecting a device ground (receptacle ground) to a metal box whose own connection to earth is uncertain, is very dangerous.

A metal box should itself be bonded to the system ground through a ground wire that ultimately returns to the panel and to earth.

But only for safety.

If the box is normally your ground path (instead of a ground wire) AND worse, where some of your building is-wiring is "cheating" by connecting neutral wires to the box or to the ground, then whenever anything on that circuit is actually in use, a portion (or in some cases ALL) of the return current is flowing through the metal box to earth by some unknown route.

The result can be a shock or even death to a building occupant.

For example, you plug in a vacuum cleaner and turn it on. The return current is flowing though the metal box, to somewhere to earth, and is not moving through the insulated neutral wire.

The metal box can be touched, and so can bare ground wires or a wet concrete wall or whatever is carrying that current to earth.

Someone touching ANY of those components could be badly shocked.

I have personally seen this happen; it's not just theory. I found improper neutral to ground connections in metal boxes in a building. When I pointed out the safety concern to a home buyer, the home owner, standing nearby, was incensed.

To prove that "There is absolutely nothing wrong with this wiring" he made a fist (I thought he was going to punch me), then he licked the knuckles of his first finger and pinkey of his fist.

He reached up to the overhead metal component that was near a water pipe and touched both at the same time with his wet fist.

There was a short "pffft" sound and the man was shocked and knocked dead unconscious to the floor.

Your reference to the NEC sectin 250146 (D) may not be the exactly correct interpretation of the code. The code was intended to discuss isolated grounds at receptaacles for noise-reduction on certain electrical circuits.

U.S. National Electrical Code NEC 250.146 Connecting Receptacle Grounding Terminal to Box.

An equipment bonding jumper shall be used to connect the grounding terminal of a grounding-type receptacle to a grounded box unless grounded as in 250.146(A) through (D).

The equipment bonding jumper shall be sized in accordance with Table 250.122 based on the rating of the overcurrent device protecting the circuit conductors.

Photo: I'm holding a "heavy-duty" electrical receptacle; you can see the screw-retaining clip at the left end of the receptacle - and there is no paper nor plastic washer retaining the mounting screw: this is to assure metal-to-metal contact between the receptacle's (internally-connected to ground) metal strap and mounting ears and the metal box into which it is being mounted.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Notice at the right end of the receptacle that there is no spring clip but there is a paper washer retaining that screw. That paper washer could interfere with good electrical contact between metal strap and metal box.

In other words, a "self-grounding" receptacle will be designed so that at least one of the device's two mounting connectors do not use an insulating washer.

(A) Surface-Mounted Box.

Where the box is mounted on the surface, direct metal-to-metal contact between the device yoke and the box or a contact yoke or device that complies with 250.146(B) shall be permitted to ground the receptacle to the box.

At least one of the insulating washers shall be removed from receptacles that do not have a contact yoke or device that complies with 250.146(B) to ensure direct metal-to-metal contact.

This provision shall not apply to cover-mounted receptacles unless the box and cover combination are listed as providing satisfactory ground continuity between the box and the receptacle.

A listed exposed work cover shall be permitted to be the grounding and bonding means when

(1) the device is attached to the cover with at least two fasteners that are permanent (such as a rivet) or have a thread locking or screw or nut locking means and

(2) when the cover mounting holes are located on a flat non-raised portion of the cover.

(B) Contact Devices or Yokes.

Contact devices or yokes designed and listed as self-grounding shall be permitted in conjunction with the supporting screws to establish the grounding circuit between the device yoke and flush-type boxes.

About your U.S. NEC citation,

Really? A listed spring-type grounding strap for holding the mounting screw and for establishing the grounding connection of receptacle to box is there so that an equipment bonding jumper is not required is permitted (used only on fllush type [metal] box mounting). This is providing a ground for the metal box, it is not IMO intended to provide the grounding path for the electrical circuit nor for the receptacle's ground connector!

The Elecrical Contrator in ecmag.com summarizes the intent of this detail:

Section 250.146(D) still requires the receptacle-grounding terminal to be grounded to a separate insulated equipment-grounding run with the circuit conductors.

This separate insulated equipment-grounding conductor is permitted to pass through without any connection to the box. It can also pass through any panelboards without connection to the panelboard with the final termination at the service or at a separately derived system.

This insulated equipment-grounding conductor will carry any ground fault, but the isolated-ground system will interrupt the noise circuit. - 2021/03/24 original source: https://www.ecmag.com/section/codes-standards/isolated-ground-receptacles

thanks again, for like the 20th time. I didn't know wet concrete could be an effective conductor - at least not to the point of giving false ground readings. I'll swap out all the rusty outlet boxes, but not for plastic ones right now:

First, since the outlet boxes are presently my only equipment grounding path, I'd lose equipment ground with a plastic outlet box (unless I go down the nipple to connect to the metal jacket of the wiring directly, upstream of the outlet box, which seems to me like it couldn't be an okay thing to do, or up to code).

If I do the whole house rewiring because all the neutral wires going to my outlets are burnt, I could consider it after I put a breaker box in that has a ground bus bar and toss that Stab-Lok in the trash where it belongs.

But, besides that... the reason why flat concrete roofs filter so much water if they're unsealed or the sealing has worn out is because ground settling causes the concrete to warp and crack, producing ponding areas in the roof where there weren't any previously; but perhaps that same movement of the structure may warp or crush a plastic outlet box, and crack it if it is aged, which seems to me more risky than using metal outlet boxes with regular roof maintenance.

I have family in FL and PR, and I've done house maintenance and reconstruction there, and I don't think I'd even consider plastic boxes in Puerto Rico (because it's not just hurricanes that concrete houses have to survive down there, but earthquakes too).

Speaking of grounding code, I've continued to read and realized that grounding through the outlet screws is actually up to code.

Many electricians online have pointed out that it's risky because the yokes can get rusty or painted over in addition to the screws loosening, same as the InspectAPedia page, but

250.146 of the 2020 NEC still says it's okay... for some reason which I can't fathom. At least jumpers and clips will give me redundance.

Gracias por todo, de nuevo. Adiós.

@John S.,

Si -I mean Yes, (aqui hablamos español tambien ) you're probably talking about NMC or non-metallic cable, aka "Romex" or a variety of other names, of which some product versions are specifically labelled for use in damp or wet locations.

Below I include an example, 12/2 UF-B rated electrical wire, rated for wet locations. It's called "UF" or "Underground Feeder" but is rated for use indoors for wet or corrosive locations as well.

For wiring in Miami or other warm wet humid areas, we want to use the best wire, connectors, electrical boxes, and devices we can find that are moisture-resistant.

For me that would include changing out all those rusty metal boxes for plastic ones.

And yes, wet concrete can carry some electrical current.

12/2 UF-B electrical wire suitable for wet or damp locations - cited & discussed at InspecctApedia.com

@John S., I found the following on a page:

"With the circuit energized, touch one end of the tester to the hot wire (the smaller slot on the outlet) and one end of the tester to the electrical box. If the tester lights up, the box is grounded. [...]

"If the tester lit up, then all you need to do is run a bare copper wire from the ground screw on the outlet and attach it to the metal box. This will provide a ground using the equipment already in your house.

"If your outlets are installed in a concrete wall, there is a possibility of getting a false reading, but for wood frame structures, this is a good test. If you are dealing with concrete walls, call an electrician to check things out [...]"

Why would concrete walls possibly give a false reading, and what could I or an electrician do to "check things out"?

...

thanks for the ideas. I hadn't even realized that bonding to ground through the metal jacket of wiring was a possibility. Shows my age, or lack thereof: For homes around here, all I've ever seen anyone use within my lifetime is "superservi" cable (and I've never heard it called anything else, because in Miami it's easier to hear Spanish that English on the street, but I'm referring to SOOW cable, whatever it may be referred to commonly in English - romex, maybe?).

In any case, I checked hot against the faceplate screw and got 120 V, so there's grounding of the outlet through the outlet box. Since the cable feeding the outlet box is encased in the poured concrete, I have no idea what cable it may be, and the internet has been very contradictory in explaining the differences between MC, AC, and BX cable, so I've no idea if the metal jacket I have (whichever it may be) was permitted to be used as grounding.

I guess the only question left is... is it okay to run a jumper from the outlet box to the grounding screw of the outlet? Would this then be a secure way of grounding the outlet and any equipment plugged into it? (I don't even see a hole for a grounding screw in the box; just two nipples. Can I take the jumper to the outlet from somewhere else, such as wrapping it around the nipple and clamping it securely, or from the outlet ear screws instead?)

...

@John S., I continued searching, eventually found the InspectAPedia page

on Electrical Outlet GROUND WIRE CONNECTIONS ,

and ended up answering most of my questions. I'm glad your page has this great resource. I'm going to go get green-insulated wire to make jumpers out of and grounding clips to secure them to the box. (Even if the outlet boxes has screw holes, screwing across the box is not an option - there is only rock-hard concrete on the other side.)

I still wonder about the concrete walls possibly giving false ground readings and what is to be done about that.

@John S.,

Check:

So if there is no wire connected to the ground screw on the receptacle, it can still find an unreliable ground connection through its metal mounting ears to a metal box to the box ground or if the box was wired with BX then through the BX exterior (these are NOT safe reliable grounds)

I've also seen electricians hot wire the neutral to the ground screw - a good way to shock somebody.

I read up on all the FPE pages on your website. I appreciate how your site has a remarkably complete collection of information regarding these panels and breakers. I'm sure many others are just as appreciative. I applaud your commitment.

The outlet has no connection from ground to the outlet box. I'll keep researching online and thinking about it. The breaker box has no ground wires going from it to any outlet box, but the neutral that goes from the breaker box to the meter box does connect to a ground wire there; maybe this has something to do with the "grounded" lights being on in all the surge protectors plugged into ungrounded outlets; I don't know yet.

With all the neutrals in the outlets being considerably blackened and no ground wires in the outlets, it seems I ought to begin saving for a full-house rewiring. I'm already doing the regular roof sealings that flat concrete roofs require, so with my adequate maintenance work I expect no further water filtration within walls and no subsequent water damage to the electrical outlets or the concrete-encased rebar of the structure.

It's interesting how seeking a fix for lights that flickered whenever the washing machine came on managed to slowly uncover all these electrical problems in this house, including all the bootleg grounds and the Stab-Lok breakers and box. Such is life, I guess.

With your help, you may have prevented a fire with property damage and personal injury by using your experience to point the breaker brand to me, even though this was not directly related to the open neutral problem that brought me to this page and to you. Thumbs up for being a Good Samaritan. I imagine all houses in this block -which were all built at the same time- have this same breaker box; I'll pass on the word and pay it forward, perhaps multiplying the positive consequences of your willingness to help via your time and your brain.

I'll go back to waiting for the utility to fix its open neutral as I take care of the other discovered problems as fast as I reasonably can.

@John S.,

Watch out: What you are seeing with your receptacle test that shows it still finds a ground is possibly a fake ground through the receptacle mounting screw connections to a metal box. That is both an unreliable ground and a shock hazard.

Our standard advice is to turn OFF circuits that are producing flickering lights until the whole circuit is examined and repaired or replaced.

Same for FPE breaker-powered circuits.

Bottom line::

there are so many problems it's impossible to have any confidence in any single remote-diagnosis: here are what we've seen (at least most of it) in no particular order:

- wet humid climate causing damage to electrical components
- rust and water entry shorting electrical devicves
- overheated wires
- backwired receptacles - unreliable connection
- FPE breakers - unsafe breakers
- DIY wiring

@John S., By the way, the outlet with the bootlegged ground I just replaced still lights up the "grounded" light of a surge protector, even though it has no wire connected to ground anymore. I don't get it.

DIY test shows unsafe ground at electrical receptacle (C) InspectApedia.com John S

thank you for the further education on Federal Pacific.

I understand about the push-in outlets. I've always used outlets with screw connectors for the wires. This is the only back-stabbed outlet I've seen in this house so far. I guess it was chosen by whomever put it in because of the small (or perhaps crushed) outlet box that reduced clearances for the outlet to basically zero.

So, the house is grounded at the meter box but I have no ground wires going to any outlet and all neutrals look overheated or burnt all over. Is is time for a major refurbishment (with a new breaker box included, of course)? Is there any way to reduce the risk from the FPE box in the meantime?

And I'm still waiting for the utility to fix their open neutral...

@John S.,

Watch out: you cannot know that an FPE breaker is working correctly by looking at it, not even by testing it, and in fact switching it on and off can increase the probability of a future failure. If you have an FPE panel it should be replaced.

That's not to say that there weren't other electrical problems such as the ones you've shown in the building.

Also if you can read at this website, back wired push and type electrical receptacles are unreliable. If you have a lot of those connections (typically at both receptacles and switches) in your house you can expect more connection failures.

See my article at BACK-WIRED ELECTRICAL DEVICES

thanks for your advice. I know about the infamous reputation of Federal Pacific, but I wouldn't have recognized their breakers on sight. They do seem to be operating well. (Nothing blew up when I shorted the circuit by removing the breaker box cover yesterday and touching the frayed hot inside with one of the cover screws, etc., so hooray.)

I removed plenty of insulation (maybe 2"), but it all looks just as burnt further back, on both outlet neutrals I examined.

I also figured on the water damage causing rusting. It's an eternal problem of tropical houses: habitually made from CMU with rebar, or poured concrete (like this one) because nothing else will resist a Category 5 hurricane, but roofs require plenty of maintenance to avoid leaks through the porous concrete. I've never seen water filtration downwards through a wall go the entire length of the wall to the bottom, though. I've been taking care of the house, but it was empty for a long time before I moved in.

I'll show you another pic where the jumped ground is more clearly evident. I couldn't snap off the rusted hot and neutral, so I cut them off and left just the jumper. I already replaced the outlet (and the breakers worked there too, because the hot apparently touched the nipple on the bottom wall of the metal box in my first try at putting the new outlet in. I guess now I know why a push-in outlet was used here but nowhere else in the house - the box is really cramped, for some reason. I wrapped the new outlet in electrical tape and put it in for now.)

Burned neutral-to-ground wire at receptacle ("outlet") (C) InspectApedia.com John S

@Anonymous, (John),

Watch out: In your photos I see what looks like burned, overheated electrical wiring, badly rust-damaged receptacle and metal box, perhaps water entry and a short circuit?, and "

Watch out: what you also know is a "bootleg ground" we see on that rust-damaged, shorted receptacle that the circuit neutral was also wired through the receptacles ground screw - this is very dangerous and could shock someone badly.

Watch out: I think those are FPE Federal Pacific Electric circuit breakers in one of your photos - if so you should know that those breakers abd panels are unsafe, risking fire or shock as breakers fail to trip in response to over-current at a high rate compared with typical properly-performing breakers; FPE panels should be replaced entirely.

See details at: FEDERAL PACIFIC FPE HAZARDS where you'll also find links to FPE Identification photos & tips.

About re-wiring the whole house: not based on that one photo of an overheated neutral wire tip; inspect the wire insulation; if it looks burned or discolored AND if there's not enough extra length to cut back all of the suspect wire, then yeah you may need to add a junction box and new wire fed into the new receptacle and box from a point at which the wiring is intact.

Electrical Wires don't "wear out" from use, but they can be damaged from overheating, mechanical damage, even rodents or water.

From what I see in your latest photos the FPE panel and the neutral-to-ground connection are the the worst offenders, though that terrible rusting of the electrical system components also risks fire and shock.

Burned neutral wire at receptaacle (C) InspectApedia.com John S

@John S.,

FPE breakers in sub panel - unsafe (C) Inspectapedia.com John S

hi again. If the system lets me, I'm going to add an image to this post (or as replies to it) that you can use as examples and cautionary tales for your readers.

I asked someone else for advice on my suspected lost neutral and I got told to check my breaker box. I hadn't touched it until now, because I had noticed the different voltages at different parts of the house by measuring the outlets with a multimeter; and then I proceeded to check the connections inside the meter box to see whether the suspected open neutral was upstream or downstream of the meter; so I had no apparent reason to mess with the breaker box.

The breaker box dates from 1964/65. It has no main breaker and just six breakers: total: Four are singles for 120 V service, which cut power to a different quarter of the house each, and two are doubles for 240 V service, one of which is connected to the electric kitchen range, and the other one of which is used at 120 V with one hot and one neutral for the water heater.

I actually tripped three of the breakers while removing the cover. As it turns out, the breaker box cover screw that I'd left for last had frayed the insulation on a hot wire the last time it was screwed in, apparently, and a minimal movement of that screw made contact with the exposed part of the hot wire as I pulled the breaker box cover away.

In any case, I got my second big surprise soon enough: From the wiring of the breaker box, it seems that absolutely none of the outlets in the house are grounded. This is a surprise for two reasons: First, all the outlets in the house are three-prong; and second, all the surge protectors with a "grounded" light have that light turn on when the surge protector is plugged in. There appears to be only one ground wire inside the breaker box: Insulated in white instead of green, it comes from the kitchen range. All other wires connected to the neutral busbar of the breaker box appear to be bona fide neutral wires.

I checked some outlets by unscrewing them and checking their wiring. The first had only two wires connected to it: a hot (insulated in green!) and a neutral, but a surge protector plugged into it still showed grounding. The second was even more of a gut-punch: a completely rusted-over (but still live!) outlet with a jumped ground to neutral. I'll send you a pic for your free use in your future educational efforts.

The bootleg ground I understand, but the "grounded" light on the other two-wire outlet is more confusing. I assume it is in series with another bootleg ground somewhere, but I'd need to check all outlets to confirm. I wonder whether the supposed ground that is lighting up the surge protectors is instead a reflection that the house *is* grounded, because the neutral that goes from the breaker box to the meter box is connected to the wire that goes from the meter box to the grounding rod (and also to the neutral wire that goes from the weatherhead to the meter box, and also to the back of the meter box itself at this same spot too). Perhaps you can set me straight on this.

I also assume I can't change the breakers on this old box to GFCI without changing the entire box. The costs may be comparable to running green ground wires from the old box to every outlet. Perhaps you can set me straight on this as well.

But, speaking of rewiring, the two outlets I disconnected had neutrals that looked more black than copper. Should I (or, at this point, do I need to) rewire the neutrals in the entire house?

Thanks. Again. And again. And... again.

thanks again. I really am appreciative of your experience, wisdom, and willingness to help.

I've tried looking around and it seems like the box is bent in near the neutral point and is touching it; yet I can't see the significance of this, because the metal clip and screws bonding the neutral and ground are attached to the rear of the metal box anyway, obviously by design, so neutral or ground touching the side of the box can't be a bad thing. I figure measuring the lines against the box ought to be the same as measuring against the neutral point, so maybe I ought not be surprised if I get a non-zero voltage. I'll take your word that I'm not supposed to get any voltage measuring the metal box against the lines, even if I'm not sure why. Anyway the ~20 V gap between the lines with a load reeks of lost neutral outside, so it's just a matter of waiting for the utility. It's been well over a month now, and no service is in sight anytime soon. Enjoy your day.

@John S.,

good detective work, and good going not to get shocked or killed.

If I've understood you correctly, indeed one should never see voltage between the metal box and ground as the box should never be "live" - if you find that, as you report, I agree that there is a short, hot to ground or hot to neutral, somewhere.

And of course as the metal box is grounded one would expect to be able to measure voltage between a hot wire and the box or a hot wire and ground.

In the electrical main panel (and not further into the building) the ground and neutral buses are ultimately made-common. What I found in some of our "lost neutral" articles in this series was that when the utility company's neutral failed, we were relying on our local ground for all of the return current that normally flows on the neutral wire. A result can be overheated and even burned ground wires.

LOST NEUTRAL LIGHT FLICKER

and

LOST NEUTRAL SHOCKS HOMEOWNER

are worth a look

I misspoke in my previous message; it's the neutral that goes down the same hole as the two lines and the ground goes through its own hole. Measuring the lines against the sides of the metal box where the meter is gives me the same readings than measuring the lines against the neutral point. I have pictures of the meter and the box it's in but the comments system isn't letting me share them. I've thought some more and I now assume the entire box is grounded for safety so I ought to get these measurements, and the spots where I just get zero probably have to do with eddy currents across the metal surface or something. Either way, the lost neutral is not due to anything within the house; it's upstream from the billing meter.

I misspoke in my previous message; it's the neutral that goes down the same hole as the two lines and the ground goes through its own hole. I've added a couple of pictures of the billing meter area; measuring the lines against the sides of the metal box gives me the same readings than measuring the lines against the neutral point. I've thought some more and I now assume the entire box is grounded for safety so I ought to get these measurements, and the spots where I just get zero probably have to do with eddy currents across the metal surface or something. Either way, the lost neutral is not due to anything within the house; it's upstream from the billing meter.

@danjoefriedman Hello. I know I said I wouldn't bother you again, but I'm writing to give you an update more than I am to ask for further advice.

I managed to do what the less-than-fully-competent electrician sent by the homeowners' warranty service refused to do, which was measure around the billing meter. I couldn't ask him to do more than he wanted on his visit because I wasn't paying him for his visit (the warranty service was), but I read up a bit, went to the billing meter, and opened the panel immediately below. I saw the two live lines descending from the billing meter; next to them, I saw the neutral descending from the top of the box and, further down, saw the point of union with the ground wire. The ground and both lives went through a hole at the bottom of the box, while the neutral continued down and went through its own opening.

Across the live lines, I measured 243 V, and each line measured against the neutral point with ground gave me 122 V with no large load inside the house; just as it should be. When I turned on the vacuum cleaner (or a hair blower, or the water pump, or the washing machine, etc.) I repeated the measurement and got the same ~130/110 V line split that I saw in the outlets inside the house with the same 243 V total across the lines. This gave me extra confidence I have an open neutral that is outside the house. But...

On a whim, I decided to measure the lines against the metal inside walls of the box rather than against the neutral point. Depending on where I measured, I got either 0 V or the same 122 V difference that I got against the neutral point.

So now I'm thinking there's a short in the billing meter area somewhere. I'll keep exploring. Enjoy your day.

@John S., I hope you will let us know what the power company technician tells you as that will certainly help other readers. Thanks.

thank you (again). This is house dates from 1964-65. From what you say plus what I see, I'm fairly sure the grounding electrode is inaccessible. There's likely a tube embedded within the cement wall that would carry the wire that would connect to the grounding rod.

The electrician that inspected the house and refused to deal with the service meter told me that even though his instructors were to tell the power company that everything inside there was all right, that they'd be able to see that he hadn't looked because that required breaking some seals inside. Given that, I think I'll pass on measuring the ground wire connection at the billing meter panel and just wait until the power company shows up (or until Hell freezes over, which will probably happen first).

I won't bother you again. Thank you, and goodbye.

@John S.,

The building will, if it's code compliant, have at least one, probably (on newer buildings) two connections to earth: a grounding electrode or on older buildings sometimes a connection to the water pipe or incoming water main. If your electrician were looking for the grounding system components she'd follow the electrical grounding conductor out of the panel.

I am not an authority on all of the various sources and causes of voltage variation;

Among the myriad of causes obstructions to or damage to or inadequate wiring are cited in some sources, more-likely to be observed when the wiring is under load.

In your case, however, more-likely the underlying cause is resistance at or otherwise poor connections at the neutral leg of your circuits - and from your description, at a power-company connector at the meter or ahead of it.

The underlying principle is that an increase in current flow in a circuit causes a voltage drop across the resistance of that circuit. If I've got this right, when you are measuring voltage level on a receptacle circuit with nothing plugged-in and then add a load such as your vacuum cleaner, if there's abnormal resistance in the circuit you might indeed see a voltage drop.

See details at OHM's LAW, ELECRICAL RESISTANCE

thank you. I have no idea how to find the grounding electrode. The service meter is in the southwest corner of the house and all wires running from the billing meter run along the inside of the wall, which is poured concrete. The breaker panel is in the north wall of the house, on the other side from the billing meter, and all wiring from and to it also goes through the inside of the wall, which is also poured concrete.

thanks for your reply. Where do you suggest the best place to measure current to ground is, if I'm going to do it myself? In the breaker box, inside the billing meter panel, somewhere else..?

@John S., my best guesses, more complete than making it up again off-the-cuff here, are in the article above.

Watch out: if the utility company's neutral connection is poor - (that might be anywhere in the panel or meter or outside near your home) - your electrical system may be relying on your local ground connection to earth at your home to run your electrical system at all. If that's the case it's very dangerous with a high risk of electric shock .

An electrician who knows how to use a DMM or VOM (or you as you've got a multimeter) would check for unexepected current on the ground- system.

If that were my home I'd have a licensed electrican trace the circuits involved, both to find the arcing or loose connectors, other unsafe connections and devices, and/or to get clear on what's wired on what circuit: we may need to add circuits to correct an overloading problem as well as fixing the wiring problems.

Recently I had a circut that controlled 3 outside motion lights fail.
I checked for proper voltage at the switch and got "0" voltage reading.
Then I checked for voltage at the circut breaker and it measure 117v.

Then two days later I'm assuming the same or neighboring circut failed which controls 5 outlets which have a washer, small firdge, garage door opener, and some small devices.(6outlets)
I noticed that all of these circuts arent even isolated to certain areas of the house , they seemed to be mixed up.

this house was built in the 60's with what appears to me as some renovation along the way with poorly added circutry.
3 years prior to all these issues dimming of lights when washer and or dryer is in use, as well as bzzing in swiches was present.

Any comments as to what the next step or solution to this problem would be is greatly apreaciated.

The other thing , the lights still burn with the outer glass shell off.

Funny you should say that. The one behind it just exploded and fell off. Amazon is willing to refund my money, but this fixture exposes the bulbs, and wont look right without Edison bulbs.

@John S., I hope you will let us know what the power company technician tells you as that will certainly help other readers. Thanks.

I won't bother you again. Thank you, and goodbye.

@John S.,

@Anonymous,

I am not an authority on all of the various sources and causes of voltage variation;

Among the myriad of causes obstructions to or damage to or inadequate wiring are cited in some sources, more-likely to be observed when the wiring is under load.

See details at OHM's LAW, ELECRICAL RESISTANCE

@danjoefriedman Never mind; I tested an ordinary outlet and hot-neutral gave me 119.4 V, while either hot or neutral with ground gave me the same 119.4 V and exactly 0.00 V. I turned on the vacuum cleaner; I got 129.0 V on hot-neutral, and measuring both against ground gave me the same 129.0 V and exactly 0.00 V. There does not seem to be current flowing through ground. The suspected bad utility neutral isn't bad enough apparently to cause current to flow to ground. I'm still confused by how turning on a vacuum cleaner (or any other motor, like the washing machine) can cause voltage to go up in part of the house (especially since voltage goes down in another part of the house at the same time.)

Working backwards starting at the grounding electrode we be electrician is measuring to try to find where the current is or where neutral has been lost

Watch out, and if you're not familiar with safe electrical wiring and testing you could be shocked or killed

thanks for your reply. Where do you suggest the best place to measure current to ground is, if I'm going to do it myself? In the breaker box, inside the billing meter panel, somewhere else..?

@John S., my best guesses, more complete than making it up again off-the-cuff here, are in the article above.

An electrician who knows how to use a DMM or VOM (or you as you've got a multimeter) would check for unexepected current on the ground- system.

Hello. I have an issue at my house that is similar to the "Flickering lights traced to bad utility company neutral wire" story by Phil that's above on this page, but not identical to it.

The "grounded" light on my surge protector also flickers with the cadence of the washing machine, as did Phil's lights. But, beyond that, when any device with a large-enough motor is running (i.e., vacuum cleaner, water pump, etc.), my appliance surge protectors show an over-voltage situation in one part of the house and an under-voltage situation in another part of the house, simultaneously.

In the over-voltage part of the house, my multimeter shows ~130 V (normal is ~120 V), but I suspect that this is because of the averaging time of the meter, since the surge protector light isn't supposed to turn on until there is a peak of more than 140 V detected. Similarly, in the under-voltage part of the house, the multimeter shows ~110 V but the surge protector under-voltage light is meant for cases of less than 90 V. Therefore, I suspect there is a great amplitude of the voltage oscillation within an AC cycle, with the voltage peaks and valleys going beyond the surge protector limits very briefly.

An electrician came by and told mehe thinks the fault lies with the power company neutral wire, since the connection from the power pole outside the house shows visible signs of corrosion. However, there is no expectation for the utility to respond rapidly due to an ongoing labor dispute (i.e., employee strike).

I assembled makeshift extension cables from 1 ft lengths of 10/3 SOOW wire meant to serve as buffers between the wall taps and the appliance plugs, so that the large gauge would moderate the voltage irregularities and prevent more damage. (The water pump's computerized control was fried a while back, and the repairman blamed the electrical problems in the house.) This, of course, is a work-around and not a work-through of the problem.

I'm not too confident in the competency of the electrician that inspected my house, in part because he refused to look at the panel where the utility's billing meter is (because he was in a hurry) and told me to tell the power company that everything inside there was all right. So, I have two questions:

1) Do you have another possible idea as to what could be causing the problems, besides the corroded utility neutral connection?; and 2), do you have any other suggestions for me as to what I could do to normalize the voltage in my place until the power company shows up, besides the 10/3 SOOW buffer extensions that I'm currently using?

Thank you in advance.

These must be LED lights as an incandescent filament would burn up immediately if exposed to air.

The other thing danjoe Friedman, the lights still burn with the outer glass shell off.

Funny you should say that. The one behind it just exploded and fell off. Amazon is willing to refund my money, but this fixture exposes the bulbs, and wont look right without Edison bulbs.

That's very strange I agree. Is it possible that you got a bunch of defective bulbs. Try taking one of the bulbs from the other sockets and screwing it into the misbehaving one. Another thing I would look at is whether it's difficult to screw the bulb into a particular socket such that has we screwed and we actually are twisting the glass in the Edison base. I sure like to see a photo of the event or the parts involved.

I have a new prewired light fixture we bought at Home Depot that takes 5 Edison bulbs. After 3 to 4 days, the middle bulb, and middle bulb only, outer glass shell falls in the floor and burst. The bulb keeps burning. We've changed it 1 time, and after 4 days, it did the same thing. I've been around construction and building all my life, and I have never heard of this happening.

Lee

I agree that what you describe is baffling.

Watch out: I suspect that there is very dangerous mis-wiring or damaged electrical wiring in the home, possibly back-feeding 240VAC through the stove circuit.

You need an on-site licensed electrician, and

meanwhile leave electrical power OFF at the panel.

The risk is fire or death by electrical shock.

My friend lose power to the AC unit, hot water, and the stove. Also lights in kitchen and bathroom, but when you turn on the stove and turn the knob the kitchen and lights come on what happened.

And no power came on to the 220 units

Every time a motor starts up wether a vacuum, exhaust fan, a/c, ect. The lights dim in the house. None are on the same circuit. Plug the vacuum anywhere in the house it does the same thing. I do have aluminum service entrance cable. Could this be the problem?

Bought a small mobile home for my mom, hooked up the electrical and everything works fine for a couple of hours then everything goes dim and the ac is bogged down like it is not getting enough power to fully turn on.

Cait

I like the flickers when the kids are jumping around above it certainly sounds to me like a loose electrical connection either at a splice in the electrical box to which the light has been connected or inside the light fixture itself. However before having someone fool with the wiring be sure you have tried installing a new bulb because if your bulb is the older tungsten filament is type a failing bulb or even a bulb is loose in the socket can give the identical symptom

Let me know if that helps

The lights on our Downstairs ceiling fixture flicker when our kids run around upstairs, directly overhead. It's just the one fixture, a hanging with several bulbs. It's on a dimmer switch. It doesn't flicker any other times. Thanks!

Thank you that will be helpful to everyone.

Thank you for responding to my post. I will suggest he view this page. If they every figure it out, I will update my post.

Star

I an by no means smarter than the on-site experts you've already had at your home.

You might, however, ask your electrician to look through the eighteen or so causes of flickering lights that we've cataloged on thi page and see if he has anything to add to those as well as asking if any of those suggest another cause worth investigating further.

Hello.
I have been having an issue in my home for the last few months with flickering lights. All the lights in the house flicker a few times a night. By flicker, I mean quickly dim and brighten. It happens when the air conditioner or deep freezer cuts on (no big surprise) and at other times when there is nothing running or cutting on.

Additionally, it gets worse when there are storms with strong-ish winds and lightning in the area. Saturday night, we noticed the lights flickering for the first time that night and when I checked the weather app, there was a storm moving through the northern part of the county.

We have had an electrician out repeatedly. He has changed most of the outlets in our home and rewired some of the lights. He has checked the breaker box repeatedly and installed a new main breaker switch. He will be coming back the week after next to replace all the other breaker switches.

The electric company has come out multiple times, checked the connectors, replaced connectors, and installed a voltage recorder. The tech came by today and said that the readings showed no fluctuations and that he is going to submit a request to have the transformer replaced next week.

The electrician said he thinks it is on the outside (the electric company's end) and, of course, the electric company said it is not them and it has to be in the house.
This is getting ridiculous. We are spending a ton of money, no one can seem to figure out why our lights are flickering, and I, obviously, do not want our home to burn down. Any advise or ideas would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you.

Dennis

The flickering lights on that circuit are probably caused by one of the conditions given on the page above.

I would start by looking for a loose connection and I would be sure that we're not talking about an aluminum wire electrical circuit. Do you wear if there could be a fire hazard involved.

All lights on one breaker have a slight flickering to them. Looks like a loose bulb but not. Replaced breaker and no fix. Any ideas?

Adam

As an electrician you know more than I about this, but I can offer a couple of opinons:

1. I don't like to see a refrigerator on a GFCI circuit as you can find it tripping off and spoiling the food when you're away

2. When the lights flicker in the whole house it'd be odd (not impossible) for the problem to be due to one specific sub-circuit in the home.

But IMO the issue could be on either the neutral side OR the hot side anywhere from the service entry through the meter, through the main switch, even into the panel bus assembly.

I've seen

- an apparently-tight main panel lug that actually was not making good contact with the incoming SEC. The problem is a steel binding head screw in an aluminum terminal block. Tightening the screw it binds in the block and you think it's tight but actually it's not tight against the wire.

- corrosion and overheating and arcing at main connections anywhere in the link series I listed above, particularly when the SEC is aluminum as the connections may have been made without abrading and use of antioxidant

- a steel fencepost driven into the ground on a property nicking the underground SEC causing intermittent flickering, shorts, current leaks to earth (very dangerous)

- a lost neutral back at the SEC or even at the utility company's pole, then the panel relying on a local ground that itself was loose or inadequate

Other possibilities are in the article above on this page.

I've also had so much aggravation with AFCIs that I've seen electricians remove them once the local electrical inspector approved the installation (as they're required in new work) - the particular problem shows up if the AFCI is on a shared-neutral circuit.
NUISANCE TRIPPING of AFCIs https://inspectapedia.com/electric/AFCI_Nuisance_Tripping.php

About finding mis-wiring at the AFCIs, that's a red flag that somebody less-expert has done wiring on the home which in turn makes everything suspect until every device, wire, and connector is checked out, as we don't know what that person did. The fridge on GFCI circuit is another example.

About the Fluke monitoring, if flickering is due to a bad connection or damaged wire, the absence of voltage variation isn't going to be diagnostic.

? If you disconnect the local ground (TEMPORARILY as this is dangerous) what happens? If power drops we know the power company neutral is bad.

? How old is the building and its wiring?

? Is there aluminum wiring anywhere?

? What is the brand of panel?

Do let me know what else you find (and ask more follow-up questions) as what we learn will help other readers.

Hello,
Sorry if I'm asking in the wrong place, I asked the same question in another area, but I wasn't sure which was the right place to ask.

I'm an electrician myself, I'm having a problem with my own house. My lights are flickering in the whole house. It's very sporadic and there is no rhyme or reason to the pattern. It's totally acting like there is a loose neutral somewhere, but I had the power company come out and make sure all of the connections were tight on the street and at my weather head.

I checked all of the obvious connections, it the panel made sure the neutral was tight in there as well. It's not on one circuit, that's what is driving me crazy trying to figure it out. I had a logging Fluke 1735 scope meter on it for days and no crazy fluctuation in the voltages. The house is new construction and the electrician that wired it made some mistakes that I have found.

A few things that I found as I was in the panel (which surprised me that they even worked) there were 2 arch fault breakers the had the neutrals reversed. I fixed them but that wasn't the problem, still flickering. One morning my wife the fridge was off. I went down to the panel and the GFI was tripped.

I thought that was weird, I turned it on and there weren't any issues, didn't trip again. I'm wondering if that was part of the problem though. My gut keeps telling me the way it's responding though, that there is a neutral problem. Do you think that a lose neutral in a switch box somewhere could make the whole house pulse/flicker like that.? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Al:

First for safety you may want to turn off the circuit.

Take a look through the causes of flickering lights in the article above.

Once you rule out the obvious items like a bad bulb (easily changed by you) it's time to have an electrician step through the circuit to find the loose or bad or overheating connection.

Watch out: if you're not familiar with safe proper electrical wiring you could be shocked or killed. Hence my cautious reply.

I have flickering lights only on one circuit , how can I fix it ?

Anon

The light circut(s) in your home are usually (and should be) separate from the circuits powering electrical receptacles or "sockets".

So there's a problem with your lighting circuit(s).

What could it be if my lights flicker inside my home then cut off? Yet the sockets all still work to plug into from the wall?

...

Continue reading at ELECTRICITY TURN ON AFTER BREAKER TRIP - reset circuit breaker, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see FLICKERING LIGHT DIAGNOSTIC FAQs - questions and answers posted originally at this article

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Flicker Hot to Draw Books

Source: https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Flickering_Light_Diagnosis.php

Flicker Hot to Draw Books

Flickering Lights & Electrical Power Loss
Diagnose & fix flickering, dimming lights or lost electricity

Dimming or Flickering Lights Indicate Electrical Hazards in Buildings: What to Do

How to Diagnose Dimming or Flickering Lights at Buildings

18 Causes of Dimming or Flickering Lights or Electrical Power Loss at Buildings

What Level of Flickering Light Can People See?

Flickering lights traced to bad utility company neutral wire

Reply: Look for what changed in the electrical system, look for aluminum wiring

Reader follow-up: flickering appliances or lights on more than one electrical circuit

Reply: check the incoming service entry wires

Reader follow-up: hiring an electrician to check the panel for cause of flickering lights

Reply: check the service neutral

Reader follow-up:

Reply: check the panel again or look outside the panel

Reader follow-up:

Reply: check the SEC (service entry conductors) wiring

Reader follow-up: flickering light problem found: bad neutral wire from the utility company

Reply: effects of a lost neutral at the SEC

Reader Q&A - also see the FAQs series linked-to below

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Flicker Hot to Draw Books

Flickering Lights & Electrical Power Loss Diagnose & fix flickering, dimming lights or lost electricity

Dimming or Flickering Lights Indicate Electrical Hazards in Buildings: What to Do

How to Diagnose Dimming or Flickering Lights at Buildings

18 Causes of Dimming or Flickering Lights or Electrical Power Loss at Buildings

What Level of Flickering Light Can People See?

Flickering lights traced to bad utility company neutral wire

Reply: Look for what changed in the electrical system, look for aluminum wiring

Reader follow-up: flickering appliances or lights on more than one electrical circuit

Reply: check the incoming service entry wires

Reader follow-up: hiring an electrician to check the panel for cause of flickering lights

Reply: check the service neutral

Reader follow-up:

Reply: check the panel again or look outside the panel

Reader follow-up:

Reply: check the SEC (service entry conductors) wiring

Reader follow-up: flickering light problem found: bad neutral wire from the utility company

Reply: effects of a lost neutral at the SEC

Reader Q&A - also see the FAQs series linked-to below

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Flickering Lights & Electrical Power Loss
Diagnose & fix flickering, dimming lights or lost electricity