# Need Electrical Advice



## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

I have a house that has aluminum and copper wiring, mostly copper now due to a renovation. We had blinking lights inside the house on some circuits and were told to upgrade our panel since it was a fire hazard anyways. We upgraded our panel from 75 volts to 200. Were still having trouble with blinking lights. Not all of the lights are blinking, just a few separate circuits. I suspect that when they upgraded the panel they used the old grounding rod. Could this be the culprit? Any ideas? 

Thanks!


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## james hines (Nov 21, 2006)

Sounds like a bad neutral on those circuits,you might check your connections in the switch box behind the switches ,if it was your ground it would make all your lights blink


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## driftwood2 (Jun 6, 2005)

With a new breaker panel installation the meter can and riser would have been replaced and GFCI and AFCI breakers installed along with proper grounding, which probably met new ground wire and a new ground rod. A permit would have been pulled and city inspection done. All the al/cu connections need special connectors and should have been taken care of during the upgrade. If the above wasn't done, then, you didn't get a proper system upgrade.

As for the dimming lights, is it room specific, circuit specific or all lights? Most likely a neutral on a al/cu connections but could be in a number of places. A al/cu needs special treatment and needs to be done by a knowledgeable electrician.

I'm not a electrician but have being researching this for a friend.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

The electrician who put in the new box put in a new grounding wire to the ground rod but used the old grounding rod. Permits were pulled and it was inspected by the city. I may buy a new 8 ft ground rod, run it into the ground, connect it, and see if that has any effect. Are they easy to drive in with just a hammer? Or do I need to use a fence post sledge?

I'm pretty sure that they used al/cu connectors throught the house. I may just go up into the attic and try to look at every connection. Good thing its cooler out.


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## driftwood2 (Jun 6, 2005)

Trying to drive a ground rod without the proper tool will most likely result in bending and mushrooming the head if the ground is hard. Then, the connectors won't slide onto the rod. If the electrician replaced the wire and clamp, the rod probably isn't the problem. Wet the area around the rod and see if the lights still dim. If they do it's not the rod.


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## Texas T (May 21, 2004)

Hopefully you mean you upgraded from 75 AMP to 200 AMP Service not volts


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

I wouldn't think that the ground rod is the problem. As stated above, it wouldn't be limited to just a few lights. More than likely, there is a loose connection somewhere in the branch wiring that feeds that light(s).


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## maskale (Sep 19, 2014)

are these CFL bulbs? Try some incandescent.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

Texas T said:


> Hopefully you mean you upgraded from 75 AMP to 200 AMP Service not volts


Yes AMP's not Volts. I saw that after I could edit it and it after it seemed like no one noticed so I did not change it haha.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

maskale said:


> are these CFL bulbs? Try some incandescent.


Some Incandescent, some halogen.


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## mumbles (Jul 14, 2015)

Are the lights dimming or are they turning off and on? If the lights are turning off and on its a circuit problem I would start by measuring the voltage on the load side of the breaker (where the wire connects to the breaker) and then work my way to the light and see some where its not getting a proper connection. Some times with old houses where they used aluminum it gets hot and expands and then once it cools off it retracts and the connection is not as good as when it was first installed. We have replaced alot of aluminum wire before in house rewiring. Very seldom will a contractor unless told other wise will mix aluminum and copper.

Ground rod would not be the issue because it is there for protection in case of a ground fault (hot wire touching path to ground). The wire connecting the circuit to ground bus bar in the panel could be an issue but unlikely as the breaker is not tripping. Most breakers now days are very sensitive especially the GFI circuit breakers.

Bulbs should not have anything to do with this issue as it would be a power source. If they wanted to check I would swap out the bulbs with a lamp or something where you know its working.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

mumbles said:


> Are the lights dimming or are they turning off and on? If the lights are turning off and on its a circuit problem I would start by measuring the voltage on the load side of the breaker (where the wire connects to the breaker) and then work my way to the light and see some where its not getting a proper connection. Some times with old houses where they used aluminum it gets hot and expands and then once it cools off it retracts and the connection is not as good as when it was first installed. We have replaced alot of aluminum wire before in house rewiring. Very seldom will a contractor unless told other wise will mix aluminum and copper.
> 
> Ground rod would not be the issue because it is there for protection in case of a ground fault (hot wire touching path to ground). The wire connecting the circuit to ground bus bar in the panel could be an issue but unlikely as the breaker is not tripping. Most breakers now days are very sensitive especially the GFI circuit breakers.
> 
> Bulbs should not have anything to do with this issue as it would be a power source. If they wanted to check I would swap out the bulbs with a lamp or something where you know its working.


Thanks for the advice. I still have not yet been able to go up there and check. Im going to try again this weekend. They are flickering. I have a brand new panel, but its doing it on more than one circuit.


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## driftwood2 (Jun 6, 2005)

An old thread but maybe help someone. Recently, I had a neighbor that had some lights going dim and bright. Problem occurred even after isolating different circuits. Called the utility and they found that after Ike a neutral splice that was made was faulty.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I'd tighten all connections in the panel.Sounds like a loose neutral.If you have never jacked with wiring,you may orta call someone.It won't be the ground rod.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

peckerwood said:


> I'd tighten all connections in the panel.Sounds like a loose neutral.If you have never jacked with wiring,you may orta call someone.It won't be the ground rod.


All connections in the panel are tight. I went up in the attic and replaced some splices with the Aluminum/Copper approved terminal blocks, those connections are really tight now. Still having trouble. Maybe I'm not seeing something up there, its hard to follow all of the cables with the insulation covering them.


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## texwake (Aug 17, 2010)

driftwood2 said:


> An old thread but maybe help someone. Recently, I had a neighbor that had some lights going dim and bright. Problem occurred even after isolating different circuits. Called the utility and they found that after Ike a neutral splice that was made was faulty.


From the breaker box, was this on the house side it was faulty or the power pole side?


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