Flickering and dim lights

[gcotterl]

What would cause SOME of the lights in my condo to flicker and become dim?

(This condition doesn't affect other lights, TVs, appliances, etc)

[Ralph Mowery]

If the lights just dim and none of the other lights get brigher, I would look for a loose/bad connection. Start with the breaker for those lights. Then check where the wires may be joined together.

If at anytime some of the lights get brighter than normal, then look at the neutral at the main breaker box.

[Fred McKenzie]

Gcotterl-

Most likely you have a loose connection in your wiring. It could be related to just one breaker, or it could be the connection of one side of the 240 Volt line feeding your breaker box.

Either way, this might cause flickering, or might cause overheating of the connection which could start a fire.

Fred

[gcotterl]

Would a loose connection in one of the light fixtures cause flickering/dimming of other lights on the same circuit?

[Ralph Mowery]

It could depending on how the lights are wired. If several hot or neutral wires are running from that light to other lights then it would be possiable.

[trader_4]

Sure if the other ones are downstream and there is a loose connection all the lights from that point on would be affected. First thing is to figure out if all the flickering ones are on the same breaker. Whatever it is needs to be fixed, because a bad connection can get hot, arc, cause a fire.

[Stormin Mormon]

One very common problem is a loose wire in the circuit breaker panel. Loose neutral is quite common problem.

[Paintedcow]

You said "SOME" lights. Are all of them on the same switch? Could be a bad switch. If more than one switch is involved, make a list of all the lights that dim, and see if they are all on the same breaker. If they are, replace the breaker and see if that fixes it. If not, you have a loose connection somewhere, and you'll probably have to take apart every device on the affected circuit(s), and look for loose or burnt connections.

You are aware that loads which draw heavy currents, such as refrigerators, pumps, and so on, can and do cause a small amount of flicker when they start. That is fairly normal, but the amount of flicker is minimal under normal conditions.