Electrician Advice for Light Flicker

[prophet]

This used to happen to me, the breaker turned out to be bad. I replaced it with a new one and no issues since.

 

[tyromeo55]

Calling the power company is not a bad start because it should not cost you a dime. The down side is that if it is not on their side of the meter and they think that it is a hazard then they might pull the service all together until you get an electrician out there and have him make repairs. The power company would likely also want to see a permit an inspection. (ETA>) before they were to restore power to the meter (< )

Unless money is tight and if I could get them in the same timeframe as the power company Id rather get an electrician out there especially before I took advice from a message board

so, With that said.......

Do the lights Dim.... or do they brighten? do all the lights in the house do it? If so, Do lamps plugged into wall sockets do it?

 

[Wheel Gun]

This used to happen to me, the breaker turned out to be bad. I replaced it with a new one and no issues since.

Same here. We had flickering lights in our Landry Room and finally called an electrician. Breaker replacement. (That I could have done cheaply on my own if I'd thought of it.)

 

[jstaylor62]

If the flickering is limited to one circuit, then I would look at replacing the breaker. If the issue continues, then I would check the wiring along that circuit. Do you have problems with squirrels or other rodents?

 

[John6185]

Nothing to do with flickering lights but my freezer in the garage kept losing power so I plugged it in at another receptacle. Finally traced the problem down to a bad GFI which kept tripping. Replaced it and have had no further problem.
Also, I had no power to an outside receptacle once and that WAS frustrating. Finally figured out someone didn't trust the wires and just put a wire cap on them and I fixed it by twisting the wire.

 

[XD-9Guy]

Check the cheap stuff first, replace the breaker just in case - if it doesn't fix it you can still throw it in a box and have a spare.

 

[Mack45]

If it was a service entrance problem, all the circuits in the house would "flicker". Sounds like a branch circuit problem to me. I would start by checking the breaker that feeds the lights in your bathroom. Make sure the screw is tight. Turn the breaker off first before you check this. I would also check the neutral wire at the buss for that circuit. If you are not comfortable working with electricity, I would call your favorite electrician.

 

[Powerman620]

If it was a service entrance problem, all the circuits in the house would "flicker". Sounds like a branch circuit problem to me. I would start by checking the breaker that feeds the lights in your bathroom. Make sure the screw is tight. Turn the breaker off first before you check this. I would also check the neutral wire at the buss for that circuit. If you are not comfortable working with electricity, I would call your favorite electrician.

not if it was on one side of the 220,Half would flicker. if it is neutral then lights will get bright and dim as load changes. Reason I say start at utility end, you can rule it out and may save a service call. You call in a trouble call and service man will be there that day or at least the way we do it. We go out 24 hours a day if you call in with a problem, rain or shine.

 

[Danny Tanner]

To answer some questions, I've tested all other rooms in the house and no other rooms suffer from the flicker. It's only the 6 light fixtures in the bathroom and closet (fixture above the sink houses 6 vanity bulbs).

The lights do not get brighter, only very slight dimming and only for a split second. It's so subtle that my wife didn't even notice it until I pointed it out. While it's constant, it's not a consistent flicker like you often see with LED lights, though the "subtleness" is quite comparable to LEDs.

A couple of days ago, the humidifier (cheap, $30-$40 Vick's unit from Walgreens) in our boys' room (which shares a wall with our bathroom and closet) started making a crackling sound, about the same time I noticed the flicker. We just figured it needs to be run with some salt for cleaning, per the instructions. Tonight, since we didn't have time to clean it, we left it unplugged. I notice now that there is no flicker from any light. If our boys weren't already asleep, I'd plug it back in and check our lights.

I'm still going to replace the breaker and check the junction boxes in the attic. My FIL is an electrician and probably has a spare he can donate. Yes, we called him first and he suggested a loose breaker connection or replacement first. I just wanted a second opinion.

Thanks so far for the advice and for the phone call from an extremely helpful member (I wish I could remember his screen name, he doesn't post much, but I'm far from the only member he's helped out before).

 

[Mack45]

If it was a phase problem, ( one side of the 220 ) there would be more circuits than just the bathroom affected. As you say half the circuits.
From his description, I would suspect the breaker or it's connection in the panel first. I agree that a call to the utility co. Would be the cheapest first step.