All the ceiling lights in the house started flickering intermittently, as if there is a loose connection in the circuit. It's just the light - wall receptacles are fine.
It is not happening all the time or at a particular time of day. My first guess was a loose connection at the circuit breaker panel, but all the connections there are good, and the breaker is fully on.
I know this is not much info, but all I have at this point. I don't think we have rats, but I can picture a big fat rat chewing on a cable in the attic.
For the electrical folks, how would you go about troubleshooting this?
*I would remove some of the circuit breakers to see if there is any indication of arcing on the back of the breakers or busbar. If there is, sand the busbar a little with sandpaper to clean it up and then replace the breakers. If the busbar is severely damaged, move the breaker location or replace the panel or just its interior.
Make sure all connections in the breaker panel are tight, including the neutrals and the mains. I also check the grounds to make sure that they are tight.
If the problem seems to be only on one circuit, start by opening up the switches and ceiling boxes nearest to the electrical panel and go out from there. You should also check any outlets that may be on that circuit.
If the problem is multiple circuits and you didn't find anything by removing the circuit breakers, there may be a loose connection on the main line. This could be inside of the electric meter, at the weatherhead, or at the transformer on the pole.