the house lights dim anytime i use any appliance,be it the dishwasher,fridge ice dispenser, turn on a tv,etc. why do they dim?what is the cause? can i fix it myself? will it be expensive?
2006-07-13 16:59:52 · 8 answers · asked by jonas t 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
u have a power hog. i saw the commercial. go to powerhog.com(i think that's their website).
2006-07-13 17:03:39 · answer #1 · answered by cannon_primed 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like yo uhave a loose neutral either at the main panel or in your sub panel, first call power company and have them check for a loose connection Not power , they will come out and check for voltage have them check there connection fomr you to pole.
When they say you have the correct voltage and the connections are good ,
Call an electrican , have him tighten the nuetral at the meter and in the tighten the neutral at the sub panel.
I would not try this your self .depending on the age of you hosue and main service it might be good to get new installation of your outside panel.
if your house is a very old house you may have a 100 amp service the way to tell is look at the wires where the power company makes it connection you should have two very large looking wire and a stranded bare wire about the maybe 3/4 or moreof an inchcoming form your house. any smaller than that you need to get a pro to advise you
again don;t go into this your self, very hot
2006-07-16 02:17:47 · answer #2 · answered by mr_jim51 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are several things that will cause this condition. Being that it is summer you may be experiencing a "brown out" caused by the excessive usage of electric in your area and the power company not able to keep up with the usage. There could be a loose connection in your meter base or breaker panel. Check with your neighbors to see if they are having a similar occurrence.If so then the problem lies in the power company's equipment. If not an electrician should be consulted. He would be able to estimate the cost to correct the problem as the cost of labor varies throughout the country. Unless you have the knowledge to work with power it is not advisable to try anything on your own. An accident doing this would be costly either monetarily or could cost you your life.
2006-07-13 17:43:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What you have is either a high resistance neutral, or one or both hot legs from the utility.
You need to first have your utility come out and METER,not wiggy your supply voltage. This is critical, as if they use a wiggy,. they will only know the VOLTAGE RANGE. Not he exact voltage.
A volt meter will identify if the low voltage is coming from their end.
If it isn't, you will need a private electrical contractor to come and test the voltage on the house side of your meter. What you would have here is either an arcing main breaker(on the bussing), or poor electrical continuity on any sub panel feeders and subsequent breakers.
An honest electrical contractor will find the loose conductor and hopefully it won't be damaged. If this problem has been going on for some time you need to address it immediately, or you will probably have a fire.
2006-07-13 19:29:13 · answer #4 · answered by Tim 47 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you have a problem in your main breaker box. Your appliances should not cause this problem.It may not be getting enough amps. Or could be a short somewhere in a power outlet. You should call an electrician or the power company. If the problem is inside your home it could cost you a good bit, but if it's an outside problem then it should not.
2006-07-13 17:42:06 · answer #5 · answered by Lester S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How old is your house? Sounds like you don't have enough amperage coming into your house to provide adequate power to all your appliances. Depending on how much power your power company is providing to your house... the solution could be simple or difficult. If the power is available, you might not have a large enough main breaker to distribute the power to your power box.. You should consult with a certified electrician since this will require the power to be turned off at the outside main to replace. Otherwise, your power company might not be providing adequate power to your house. A call to them should provide that answer. good luck but be careful.
2006-07-13 17:09:06 · answer #6 · answered by mahomet_rick 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should locate the "provider panel" or "client unit" because it truly is virtually particular that a circuit breaker has tripped or a fuse has blown. Fuses ought to get replaced and circuit breakers switched decrease back to the "on" position. those gadgets are regularly extremely on the point of the electrical energy meter - in our case the meter is on the exterior wall of the living house and the customer unit is interior an similar region on the interior wall. If the fuse blows or the CB journeys back, it truly is virtually particular that you've a defective equipment somwhere on that circuit - perchance the microwave yet no longer inevitably so. in case you unplug the microwave then plug it decrease back in back even as skill is restored this try will make certain it.
2016-12-01 06:17:09 · answer #7 · answered by kirchoff 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My lights use to dim when I used the vacuum or air conditioner. Now I make sure I have just 1 thing plugged into a socket. It doesn't happen anymore!
2006-07-13 17:30:27 · answer #8 · answered by jane doe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋