Weird electrical problem

[Mark Corbelli]

OK, I said I'd post back with an update. As luck would have it, before I changed out the backstabbed outlets, the overhead light burned out in the suspect room. When I went to change it, the glass was broken away from the metal. I got pliars and got the old one out and replaced it with new and the dimming has stopped for now. I don't know if that's it, but I'm not going any further until it starts again. Anyone know if and why a damaged light bulb could have caused my problems?

[Nate Nagel]

If the bulb's filament was shorted hot to ground, even partially, that could cause the other device son the same circuit to dim. Sounds like a long shot, but I have seen it happen (fuse blows when you drop a work light, etc. as the filament shorts itself)

nate

[hvacrmedic]

You need to replace the lamp socket. A loose connection is causing a resistive heating effect, and that is what caused the bulb to break, and also what caused it to flicker.