Inexplicable power flicker

This is well more a search for information than anything supernatural, UFO related, or 'woo'.

A few days ago, we had the power start acting up in our apt. We have Duke power, and the stuff literally goes out randomly. This time, we had the flickering, and then it got worse... and if it was like the last time, we were going to be looking for food out. Last time the power was out for 4 hours.

It didn't do that... but what happened was just, weird. We have a night light in the hall. (we have a toddler). We had 2 sets of fluorescent tube lights in the kitchen, and a dining room light in the dining room. The only one that is a regular bulb is the night light.

The lights flickered in a 'marquee' pattern- you know how the lights seem to chase each other on a marquee? That. hall, kitchen, dining room lights all flickered in that way, and then the power stayed on (which is a miracle in itself...).

I have never seen lights do that, ever. Should we have our electrical system checked, or was it a one time fluke?

a reply to: wylekat

You typed Duke™ I've experienced power outages and My landline has been kaput for more than 3 weeks. My skin is currently in Flori-Duh where it is written into law that I get the privilege of paying Duke™ for a nuclear plant that "MAY" be built in 2070!!! So the folks that We have running our power supply are banking on 'still' using nuclear power 55 years from now..

Now I ask You this question, like a volley or quid pro quo or versa-visa??? What is worse, paying for the maybe nukes or re-electing a Gov. that to be erected He spent $72M for a job that pays $137k/yr???

Are You familiar with "Ley Lines" ? Since moving to My waterfront abode, I've noticed I'm just off an intersection and each time there is an electrical storm it ALWAYS bangs in the same place.

SECO™ has also been in the neighborhood changing some lines (probably for the implementation of the NWO hahaha)

It feels good to be "off the grid"

namaste

These fluorescent light bulbs have electronic circuits with capacitors. I'd imagine that the low voltage would be causing the capacitors to charge up slower than usual, so you would see a strobing effect as all the lights were at different phases.

a reply to: wylekat

Poltergeist-type phenomena may be at the root of that as you tend to suspect. Why not? that phenomena need not be confined to the typical field of mechanical energy we know about poltergeost activity with kitchenware flying around the room, etc. Heck, I blame gremlins (or something similar) to be infecting my computer, so why not electrical shenanigans?

A youngest in the local? Your situation brings to mind a short story that I never published (more or less stolen from Arthur C. Clark's magnificent novel childhood's End). The children in their cribs starting doing "mind-over-matter" tricks, such as a rattle toy tapping itself, unheld, against the crib rail. The parents were first terrified and afraid until they understood that they had produced a new form of humanity. Something better than had ever existed before.

Yeah. It may be a unusual electrical problem, and it certainly will be dismissed by about everyone as the cause, but you may never know. At any rate, cherish the child!

a reply to: wylekat

no way to know unless you call an electrician.. If it keeps happening your breaker box may be short circuiting certain breakers. My old apartment had this issue. At some point especially if the entire Bus is old the breakers can corrode.

Sometimes it caused a cascade effect, but not exactly like what you describe. More like one light would flicker and dim and then it would come on bright and another light would go dim or flicker.

If it only randomly happens once, then I don't know. Sounds interesting.

My opinion on this 'phenomenon' is that there was a heavy fault on the system that pulled the voltage down for a short time before it was cleared and the effect on different lamp types (incandescent, flouro, CFL, LED) is highly variable due to the presence or lack of capacitors in the different designs. The fault itself could be local or even a long way from your location depending on whether it was on the LV, HV or EHV part of the transmission/distribution system.

I get similar effects here when there's a fault on a HV feeder out of the nearest substation. The fault current on one feeder pulls the voltage down on the entire bus before the circuit breaker on the faulted feeder opens allowing the bus and all remaining feeders to 'bounce' back up to normal voltage. Everyone connected to that bus will experience the flicker but some lamp types will ride through better than others making it imperceptible to some. An old and overloaded system will exaggerate the effect too as it's a function of the overall impedance of conductors all the way back to the source of your power.

I read your title as "Inexplicable Flower Picker". Thought it was going to be something about flowers missing from your garden or something.

But yeah, if it were me, I'd keep an eye on it and if it happens again call an electrician. I personally don't like to take chances on things that can escalate quickly (like an electrical fire).

If you've got a bad undervoltage going on, CFLs and LED bulbs will often pulsate or blink. It's due to the design.

If you wire up a few CFL bulbs in a series they'll flicker like this.
(don't do electrical wire work with more than two beers in your system)

Wiring them up like that divides the voltage- so their internal electronics (capacitors) charge and discharge... funny.


In the old days, that called that a "brown out"

originally posted by: MojaveBurning
I read your title as "Inexplicable Flower Picker". Thought it was going to be something about flowers missing from your garden or something.

But yeah, if it were me, I'd keep an eye on it and if it happens again call an electrician. I personally don't like to take chances on things that can escalate quickly (like an electrical fire).

That's funnny!
That has actually happened to me several times. The entire plants pulled out, soil intact and dumped on my driveway. I blame kids. Another time I came home to all my flowers gone. I thought some asshole went across them with a lawnmower. They were all cut up. Turns out it was golf ball sized hail while I was gone, that seemed to like my garden best. All my neighbours had flowers.

Anyways back on topic, I've had the random strange flickering before. Had it checked by an electrician.


If your suspicious op it's a good idea to have it looked at. What about xmas lights overloading the curcuit? Mine have done that before. Some aren't meant to be plugged into others. At least it says that on the cords.

a reply to: JimNasium

Oh. I should have said NC Duke. We moved from FL Hell in July. Ever see a Uhaul burn rubber?

Oh, we do. She is so past normal toddler intelligence (when she feels like it), she is at the gifted end of things for the most part. a reply to: Aliensun

No Xmas lights are up. We have a toddler and 3 cats. I got a novelty inflatable xmas tree... And *its* up on a high shelf. a reply to: violet

a reply to: Pilgrum

You explained even better than me. It would be strange if the OP would respond to us.

I've had my own demon/ghost events, but I would hope they check out their Bus.. Their breaker box..

Sometimes it can cause bad issues..