Weird electrical fluctuations

[pbrise]

I am having a weird issue at my home that has been getting progressively worse over the past few months. It all started out with some specific circuits (not all of them) that would intermittently fluctuate their supply voltage (ie: Lights would flicker on and off) and would cause the devices on these circuits (ie: internet modem) to reset. This only seems to happen on some specific circuits, but not all of them. This would happen intermittently and would follow no apparent pattern (ie: not when any specific load was on, like the washing machine). No changes to the original wiring was done, this issue just started happening a few months ago and is getting progressively worse. No circuit breakers would trip at this point either.

What was really strange last night, and this only happened for a few hours (around 4 hrs), was that some of the circuit breakers held their output voltage (when the breaker was on) at 110 VAC, and the other specific ones (same ones that would flicker that were mentioned above) would hold their output voltage at 2 VAC. I had to reset the Main Breaker and hold for at least 5 seconds. Once I turned the main breaker back on, the output voltage on all breakers would maintain their voltage at 110 VAC.

Has anyone ever experienced this issue before, and if so, how do I start to trouble shoot

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Are all the affected circuits on one leg, i.e. every second breaker in the row? If so, there might be a high-resistance connection or contact in that leg only. The fact that operating the main breaker improved things suggests the bad contact might be right there, although anything carrying half your house load and making bad contact is likely to be getting hot and making itself known to you. Or it could be at the meter or anywhere between your panel and where your service splits off from the main cable in the street.

The fact that you haven't noticed any voltages that are too high, suggests the problem is with a hot leg rather than the neutral, and therefore it is less likely to blow up any of your appliances. But, because an arcing main connection can get dangerously hot, obviously it needs investigation as soon as possible.

 

[pbrise]

Are all the affected circuits on one leg, i.e. every second breaker in the row? If so, there might be a high-resistance connection or contact in that leg only. The fact that operating the main breaker improved things suggests the bad contact might be right there, although anything carrying half your house load and making bad contact is likely to be getting hot and making itself known to you. Or it could be at the meter or anywhere between your panel and where your service splits off from the main cable in the street.

The fact that you haven't noticed any voltages that are too high, suggests the problem is with a hot leg rather than the neutral, and therefore it is less likely to blow up any of your appliances. But, because an arcing main connection can get dangerously hot, obviously it needs investigation as soon as possible.

So, can it be something like a bad appliance acting up (such as a freezer or fridge)? What is really strange is that it happens very intermittently, and only seems to be affected in the late evening or middle of the night (even when everyone is sleeping). Some times there are no issues for days.

I don't think that it was every second breaker, just random ones. What was really strange as well was that some double pull breakers had 110 v on one output and the other breaker had 2 v.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

So, can it be something like a bad appliance acting up

Not likely. The only way an appliance can significantly affect the voltage at the panel and on other circuits is by having a catastrophic short-circuit; the breaker will trip or something will go up in smoke and die permanently, it won't last more than a second or two. To be able to repeatedly disturb multiple circuits the problem really has to be between the utility company supply and the busbars in the panel, i.e. something carrying current to all the affected circuits.

some double pull breakers had 110 v on one output and the other breaker had 2 v.

If you are seeing one live pole and one dead pole (measuring voltage to ground or neutral) at multiple double-pole breakers, and/or 110V between the two hot wires of a 220V circuit, it is a clear indication that one leg of the incoming power to the busbars is going down. When I mentioned every second breaker being affected, I meant specifically single-pole, not double, as every second lug on the busbar is from the same hot leg. A double-pole breaker takes in one of each.

If there is no sign of overheating damage to the main breaker and / or its wiring, and giving those a gentle wriggle and shake doesn't cause the intermittent connection to show up, it might be time to engage an electrician and/or the power co. to investigate backwards towards the source, e.g. at the meter and incoming feeder.

 

[pbrise]

Than

Not likely. The only way an appliance can significantly affect the voltage at the panel and on other circuits is by having a catastrophic short-circuit; the breaker will trip or something will go up in smoke and die permanently, it won't last more than a second or two. To be able to repeatedly disturb multiple circuits the problem really has to be between the utility company supply and the busbars in the panel, i.e. something carrying current to all the affected circuits.



If you are seeing one live pole and one dead pole (measuring voltage to ground or neutral) at multiple double-pole breakers, and/or 110V between the two hot wires of a 220V circuit, it is a clear indication that one leg of the incoming power to the busbars is going down. When I mentioned every second breaker being affected, I meant specifically single-pole, not double, as every second lug on the busbar is from the same hot leg. A double-pole breaker takes in one of each.

If there is no sign of overheating damage to the main breaker and / or its wiring, and giving those a gentle wriggle and shake doesn't cause the intermittent connection to show up, it might be time to engage an electrician and/or the power co. to investigate backwards towards the source, e.g. at the meter and incoming feeder.

Thanks for your advise Lucien, I will definitely call my electrical supplier tomorrow to get this resolved.

 

[pbrise]

Not likely. The only way an appliance can significantly affect the voltage at the panel and on other circuits is by having a catastrophic short-circuit; the breaker will trip or something will go up in smoke and die permanently, it won't last more than a second or two. To be able to repeatedly disturb multiple circuits the problem really has to be between the utility company supply and the busbars in the panel, i.e. something carrying current to all the affected circuits.



If you are seeing one live pole and one dead pole (measuring voltage to ground or neutral) at multiple double-pole breakers, and/or 110V between the two hot wires of a 220V circuit, it is a clear indication that one leg of the incoming power to the busbars is going down. When I mentioned every second breaker being affected, I meant specifically single-pole, not double, as every second lug on the busbar is from the same hot leg. A double-pole breaker takes in one of each.

If there is no sign of overheating damage to the main breaker and / or its wiring, and giving those a gentle wriggle and shake doesn't cause the intermittent connection to show up, it might be time to engage an electrician and/or the power co. to investigate backwards towards the source, e.g. at the meter and incoming feeder.

Not likely. The only way an appliance can significantly affect the voltage at the panel and on other circuits is by having a catastrophic short-circuit; the breaker will trip or something will go up in smoke and die permanently, it won't last more than a second or two. To be able to repeatedly disturb multiple circuits the problem really has to be between the utility company supply and the busbars in the panel, i.e. something carrying current to all the affected circuits.



If you are seeing one live pole and one dead pole (measuring voltage to ground or neutral) at multiple double-pole breakers, and/or 110V between the two hot wires of a 220V circuit, it is a clear indication that one leg of the incoming power to the busbars is going down. When I mentioned every second breaker being affected, I meant specifically single-pole, not double, as every second lug on the busbar is from the same hot leg. A double-pole breaker takes in one of each.

If there is no sign of overheating damage to the main breaker and / or its wiring, and giving those a gentle wriggle and shake doesn't cause the intermittent connection to show up, it might be time to engage an electrician and/or the power co. to investigate backwards towards the source, e.g. at the meter and incoming feeder.

Hey Lucien, the issue was happening last night and I was able to record which breakers were holding their output at 110VAC and which ones were holding their output at 3VAC. I have 24 breakers in total, so the #1 and #2 breakers would hold at 110, then #3 and #4 would hold at 3, then #5 and #6 = 110, #7 and #8 = 3.....etc. all the way to the last breakers and always in that same sequence.

I was not able to "Reset" the issue by switching the Main Breaker, and like before the issue could happen in a split second (ie: the issue would resolve itself) or you could wait a few minutes before it would fix itself.

Could this be an issue with the electricity provider, or something in my panel is acting weird? I called the electricity provider and they said that they will check out their end in a few days. They will also let me know if I need an electrician to look at my panel.