Lighting circuit problem in WA

** Yep - one of your neighbours is using an arc welder.

Car body repairs, metal fabrication etc .....

SFA you can do about it.

..... Phil

If the power source for the halogen is switch mode it might go into hysterics due to some local panel beater doing welding in his backyard on same phase But since voltage recorder doesnt register it, then sounds like a dodgy screw joint which interrupts due to magnetic and/or thermal effects, makes the screw act like a over current/heat switch, so a. Drive the lights from somewhere else on the ceiling supply b. trace back all the fittings, bear in mind some didgy wiring has breaks *inside* the insulation, they only use cheap single core most of the time so that is so likely to happen and if its just touching most of the time then some current draw can be enough for it to go discontinuous and act like a intermittent, have seen stranger things happen

--
Regards
Mike
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A very rare but possible answer also is that you may have a ham radio operator in your area with a high powered transmitter. If you are running fluro lights it is quiet possible to pick up the stray rf signal which makes the lights glow with the power off. Not sure if it can have any effect on lights when they are on though. You can hold a fluro above your head in parts of sth brisbane and get a nice glow going at night.

a: Loose connection in one of the fittings or in the roof space

** That will make a loud crackle in a AM radio tuned between stations.

Try it.

....... Phil

I would check every fitting for loose screws. Have had several new fittings with internal wiring between the connector and the bulb socket simply not connected, or loose. One bad connection can make all the lights on that circuit jitter as the load comes on and off.

--
Regards,

Adrian Jansen           adrianjansen at internode dot on dot net
Design Engineer         J & K Micro Systems
Microcomputer solutions for industrial control
Note reply address is invalid, convert address above to machine form.

snip---

If Western power can't detect it, how about trying to section isolate it to either mains/switchboard, lighting circuit, or power circuit?

Plug a lead light or bed lamp, into a power outlet in a room you use most often.

If you catch the lamp flickering at the same rate, then it is mains, or switchboard, and not a lighting circuit.

Don...

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Don McKenzie
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just to add to that, or mains induced. Yes it could be a nearby xmitter, welder, ice manufacturer, etc.

Don...

--
Don McKenzie
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Crystal clear, super bright OLED LCD (128x128) for your microcontroller.
Simple serial RX/TX interface. Many memory sizes.
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Thanks for the responses everyone.

I'm going to check every light fitting this weekend and I'll certainly check lights on power points although I haven't noticed any flicker from those.

I still think that my neighbours would have the same problem if the issue were an external influence from a mig, transmitter etc, but the AM radio test sounds good.

I'll post back with the results, good or bad.

I'm still curious about the the roof space wiring and whether taping the cable bundles together is standard practice rather than using some type of screw in junction box. Any thoughts on that?

Probably "bue point" connectors hidden inside the tape, which are quite kosher.

Or could be those twist-on types, which DON'T give a good connection.

wrote

I'm going to check every light fitting this weekend and I'll certainly check lights on power points although I haven't noticed any flicker from those.

****** Got any airconditioning in the house?Perhaps an larger,older style window unit?

Broken rotor bars in the motor can cause the sort of problem you describe.

Inverter technology air conditioning can cause a similiar problem.

Brian G

"Brian g"

** Hmmmmmm,

that smacks of the "voice of experience" ......

...... Phil

>

On 22 Feb 2007 04:24:39 -0800, nick snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com put finger to keyboard and composed:

I'd take Don's advice to determine whether or not the problem is confined to your lighting circuit. If it is, I'd then find out which light is closest to the breaker and leave this one on while switching the others off. If the first light doesn't flicker, then keep switching on more lights until the problem shows up. A high resistance connection in the circuit should not be a problem until you try to pass current through it.

- Franc Zabkar

--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Australian Rules. Just had this very problem in a 2 switch plate supplying 2 lights. At first glance all looked OK but with the power off it turned out the 3 wires in the LOOP terminal on one switch were a bit loose. Tightened the screw and all is well.

-- John G.

Had the same problem in only one room in the house. After a bit of piss farting about it turned out to be a dodgy connector that was loose. I sometimes wonder where some sparkies get their ticket from. :P -:(

Cheers, Alan

If you inspected some of the work being done by long term sparkies you would never employ one again .

"Alan Rutlidge" wrote

Had the same problem in only one room in the house. After a bit of piss farting about it turned out to be a dodgy connector that was loose.

***** Only a non sparkie would "piss fart" around,anyone who had the slightest clue would know how to troubleshoot such a small problem!

Brian g

I had three phase power put on my house the same day I had ducted air installed

Not long after, lights in bathroom, toilet, second and third bedrooms would flicker occasionally

I had a fluoro in third bedroom - take it out - all lights OK. Put it in and the occasional flicker would come back. All other lights no problems

The air conditioning sparkies who I called back to fix it (assumption - they disturbed the wiring while crawling around my roof space) found it interesting about this intermittent flickering, but couldn't find the problem

I'm getting too old to bugger around in the roof space, but they weren't going to fix it

So, I, who has an electronics cert (not a sparky ticket in sight) took my 60 year old body and a multimeter into the roof and found the problem in about 15 minutes - it ended up being a loose loop connection in the light in the main bedroom.

I'd follow Franc's advice if I were you, then call the electricians back after you've found it, and demand they fix it. That way you get a certificate of compliance. Tell us how long they took

Argusy

Brian "brainless" g. Get out of the wrong side of bed today? Perhaps for the totally inept like you I should have put inverted commas around the piss farting around part. By "piss farting around" I meant to imply the unnecessary (IMO) task of having to pull the light assembly and cabling through the hole in the ceiling to discover the dodgy workmanship. The sparkie in question would not return to investigate the fault he created by doing a poor installation job in the first place, so seeing no point in paying for yet another incompetent f***wit to make things worse I applied a small amount of attained knowledge and investigated and repaired the fault myself.

Maybe Brian g is one of those sparkies who needs to be out of the industry? Who knows? Of all the f***wit sparkies I've had to endure over the years I often wonder how they get their qualifications. Kind of reminds me of my TAFE relief lecturing days when some stupid apprentice was still convinced it was okay to check the mains voltage in a switchboard with an el cheapo multimeter on the 10A current measuring range. Thank God for the big red isolation button. !!!

Cheers, Alan

I'm not sure about other states but in Western Australia you could threaten to ring the electrical inspectors if they don't come back to fix it up. I can't remember off the top of of my head what department they are but the inspectors carry a big stick and don't hesitate to use it. "Poor workmanship" is sufficient justification for a largish fine and a black mark on your (electricians) record.

Friday