Bad electrical connection- load-testing

My electricity has been causing flickering of lights and occasionally shutting off my computer. This seems to be occurring on more than one circuit.

How effective can a load-test be to locate a bad electrical connection with a home's electrical wiring? What if the bad connection resides with the utility company beyond the home's electrical wiring?

Con Edison did a load test on their equipment at the electric meter and determined there was a bad neutral in the street and said they fixed it, but the flickering problem in my house is still present.

Could it be a coincidence that there was a bad neutral in the street with Con Edison's equipment and a second problem within my home's electrical wiring?

I'm going insane over this and Con Edison keeps dragging their feet to send someone to make an inspection. They probably assume they did their part and that a second problem unrelated to their equipment is causing trouble now.

Reply to
Toasty
Loading thread data ...

Usually ConEd won't do spit, until you hire an electrician to verify that the problem is on their equipment. If you haven't done so, now would be a good time. It would be helpful to determine exactly which circuits are flickering, and when it occurs, what other things in the house are energized. It's possible that there are bad breakers, bad sections of buss in the panel, or loose connections anywhere along these circuits.

Reply to
RBM

|*I agree. Time to call an electrician. As RBM said the problem could be anywhere and yes it is possible that there are multiple problems.

How old is the house?

Reply to
John Grabowski

The problem occurs on 3 separate circuits that I know of at the same time. One of them is connected to a breaker on the left column of my circuit breaker box. The other 2 are on the right column of the box. I had an electrician inspect the connections in the circuit breaker box and look for signs of arcing, water damage, rust, broken buss bars, loose lugs. He also checked the connections in the electrical meter.

Can a load-test detect a bad connection within the confines of my electrical wiring or might it end up detecting a problem on the utility company's side?

Reply to
Misterchas

.

The house was built in 1973. I don't know if there's any aluminum wiring present. I started checking the electrical outlets to see if any of the wires are either back-stabbed or loosely connected to the screws. So far, the affected circuits seem to be properly connected with no back-stabbing. I found a junction box in a closet that I didn't know existed until now. Those connections are good, too.

I did notice that one of the breakers on an affected circuit does not switch on properly sometimes. I'll switch it off, then back on, but the electricity does not come on every time. Could one bad breaker cause problems on others?

I'll get another electrician to make a more thorough inspection.

Reply to
Misterchas

The problem occurs on 3 separate circuits that I know of at the same time. One of them is connected to a breaker on the left column of my circuit breaker box. The other 2 are on the right column of the box. I had an electrician inspect the connections in the circuit breaker box and look for signs of arcing, water damage, rust, broken buss bars, loose lugs. He also checked the connections in the electrical meter.

Can a load-test detect a bad connection within the confines of my electrical wiring or might it end up detecting a problem on the utility company's side?

A load test may or may not show anything. It needs to be determined if the circuit breakers are on the same leg of the service, then work from that point. You need a decent professional

Reply to
RBM

The house was built in 1973. I don't know if there's any aluminum wiring present. I started checking the electrical outlets to see if any of the wires are either back-stabbed or loosely connected to the screws. So far, the affected circuits seem to be properly connected with no back-stabbing. I found a junction box in a closet that I didn't know existed until now. Those connections are good, too.

I did notice that one of the breakers on an affected circuit does not switch on properly sometimes. I'll switch it off, then back on, but the electricity does not come on every time. Could one bad breaker cause problems on others?

I'll get another electrician to make a more thorough inspection.

*If your house was wired with aluminum wiring it would be everywhere. If you have a loose connection on the main breaker that would affect multiple circuits. One breaker could affect another if they were on the same buss and the buss was burned. I would start by tightening everything in the main panel including neutrals and grounds. Pull out the breakers for the affected circuits and see if they are burned or corroded on the back as well as the buss. I know of one particular model circuit breaker that gives the symptoms that you describe when it is on its last leg. It is a thin breaker made by Crouse Hinds. It is identifiable by the hook on the side that connects to the buss. These can be replaced with a BR twin breaker made by Siemens, Murray or Cutler Hammer.

What brand of circuit breaker panel do you have?

Reply to
John Grabowski

I'm not sure what you mean by "load test." But here's another test you CAN do.

Swap circuits at the breaker and see if the problem moves. That is, swap the wire to the problematic plug(s) with the wire to a set of outlets that are not experiencing problems.

If the symptom moves, the problem is with the breaker or breaker box. If the symptom does not move, the problem is with the circuit.

Reply to
HeyBub

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.