Flickering downstairs ceiling lights - any help appreciated.

[JANE61]

Hi, We seem to have a problem with our downstairs ceiling lights. This happens regularly but not all the time. When turned on they flicker - sometimes they will then come on dull and then come brighter but sometimes they have to be turned off as the flickering gets worse. Other times you can hit the switch and they light perfectly. We have had an electrician out to them but he was baffled. He did say that when he tested the power it was wavering and not a constant reading? This problem seems to be worse at night. We have tried to isolate the problem by turning off other appliances but this has had no effect. We can't understand why it only happens sometimes and is only affecting the downstairs ceiling lights. Also (only sometimes) when you turn on the fluorescent light in the kitchen you can hear the light in the next room buzzing!:shocked3: It seems as though our power to these appliances is too low. Any help please???:wub:

 

[markc123]

Get another electrician. Who has decent test equipment with him - should be a doddle.

The florry buzzing is quite common, replace the ballast.

The low voltage could be down to something as simple as a loose connection - this would tie in with the flickering. Difficult to tell online, but a competent spark should be able to diagnose it.

Are the light switches dimmer switches?

(You don't have anything with a humongus starting current in circuit do you lol? - unlikley on lighting i know)

My money on a loose connection somewhere though.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

I'm with markc on this, and it is within the realm of a competent DIY person to a certain point.

Firstly, turn off the circuit breaker, or pull out the fuse for the circuit. Remove each switch and light fitting, in turn and check them for loose connections, buy yourself a decent set of electrical screwdrivers so that you get one that fits the electrical terminals properly. if everything is tight, then using a pair of long nosed pliers, give each wire a tug, but dont go silly, it is not uncommon for the terminal to be tight, but someone before you has overtightened something, and the wire breaks, but still looks connected. A loose or broken wire will give the symptoms you describe. If any of the above doesnt fix it, then as someone else has said, its call a competent and suitably equipped sparky in time.

forgot to add, a decent sparky with a proper tester will be able to check that your voltage is in tolerance as well. A proper tester is not a £20 multimeter off ebay, they are very expensive, calibrated and accurate pieces of kit, that cost upwards of about £1600

Cheers...........Howard

PS if you fix it, lets us know.

 

[Marvo]

This could also be a symptom of a poor connection in the consumer unit. If you can switch off the power to the CU then you could whip the cover off and visually check the wiring for signs of burning or overheating especially where the terminations are into the circuit breakers / fuses and also on the neutral bar(s). Don't go poking around inside though, just look with your eyes. Assume the CU is live at all times unless you have the equipment and experience to prove it's dead.

Either way whether you find damage or not you'll probably need to get hold of a decent electrician to assist you with finding the problem or with the repairing.

 

[JANE61]

Hi and thanks everyone for your help, it's much appreciated. In answer to Markc123 no we have no dimmer switches or humongus electrical appliances lol. Can't understand this at all........ everything is absolutely fine at the moment and we haven't done anything to anything??? I'm not holding my breath though because I'm sure it will come back and will need fixing. The problem is if we call an electrician and the fault is not showing itself at the time how will he know where to look? :whatchutalkingabout This sounds stupid but when it was REALLY bad it was bouncing down with rain and windy and for the last couple of days it has been fine - could this be anything to do with it do you think?

 

[markc123]

Wind could cause movement - loose connection - light flickers. However, i know Sheffield construction is bad but come on this is highly unlikley lol.

Dampness, possibilty.

It could be something as silly as the lamp wasn't screwed down tight enough in the lampholder - electrician comes along, remove's lamp ect... then screw's it back in and .... magic! ALSO, Sometimes the pins in certain lampholders need pulling out aswell so there is a proper and true contact with the actual lamp - over time, with endless amounts of screwing (pardon the pun) of lamps the contacts become worn and squashed, making the connection with the new lamp unstable.

Another point, what type of fitting is the light? I know the florry is a seperate problem - is the flickering light also a florry? Because if not, it could be a dodgey tranny ( electricians word for transformer ) .....

 

[markc123]

Just remembered the low voltage point, ignore my comment about the lamp

 

[SirKit Breaker]

I had an intermittent problem with a lighting circuit a few years ago, that was a t*** to sort, eventually found it to be the MCB had a hairline crack in the side of it. It looked like it had had a very fine pencil line drawn on it. To check this IS an Electrician ONLY job, as the CU will need parts taking out, and if you are not wise to its inner components, IT WILL KILL YOU.

Cheers...........Howard