On the primary side, there would be other homes being affected as well. And since the power company previously said they could find no problem with their equipment either during their testing they did not experience one of those brown-outs. Fixing a loose connection can be the fix or it can reveal yet another loose connection somewhere upstream or downstream.

You DID see the movie U571, right? Toward the end they need to fire a torpedo but can't because of broken air lines. Every time they fixed one break another appeared. It wasn't until all leaks were shut down before they could fire the torpedo. This shows that there's the possibility of multiple problems along the line, whether in the home or on the pole. Since they changed the transformer it stands to reason they already expect the problem to be on their end of it. Otherwise they would not have sent a crew out to change a transformer that is otherwise working. Especially since it's a single home, single home transformer. One of those TINY transformers. Or Tubs as Tony called it.

 

The TS already mentioned that they were the only one fed from that transformer. That tells me that there IS a fair amount of prinary feed that only serves that one customer. All of the wire back to the previous transformer! And as I mentioned, as well as in post#81, until all of the problems are fixed, the failure remains. And if one loose connection was found, the same crew may have made another one. Possibly a worn part in that splice crimper. The utility folks do not use split-bolt connectors so much any more. Crimps are cheaper, faster, and demand less skill.

 

On the primary side

The TS already mentioned that they were the only one fed from that transformer.

Understood. What I meant is the HV that powers that single unit transformer. In my neighborhood the HV line is 7KV. IF (big IF there) IF the primary feed is where the issue lies then I'm sure OTHER homes would also be on that primary feed, the HV that feeds all the transformers on that leg of the circuit. MY home has the transformer with up to 12 homes on it. When we had a burned out wire repaired from the transformer to the 240 bus the technician stated that "The tub was hot". Meaning it was being overloaded. I believe there are plans in the future, probably distant future, to replace that transformer.

The burned out wire was on one of the legs. ALL the houses on that transformer had half their power out. It was only one wire, and it wasn't the neutral. IF the 7K line were to blow a fuse then all the houses on this circuit would lose ALL power.

Remember, we're trying to diagnose a problem remotely without being able to visually inspect or to test. We have to rely on someone who may use different terminology when describing a problem and we fail to pick up on what's being conveyed.

I've read EVERY post. Yes, I know what the TS has said. Much of it I do recall quite clearly. That's why it's highly recommended that anyone posting here should read the entire post before making a suggestion like they were the only one to think of such a thing. It does bug me when I see someone suggest boiling an egg (example only) just to see someone else later say "I recommend you try boiling an egg." Rather, one might quote that initial comment about eggs and say "I agree with this. You really should give it a try." Otherwise the person making the same recommendation ends up trying to look like a genius when they actually make themselves look kind of the opposite.

 

It seems that this thread has become a recycling of thoughts from a few days ago over and over again (with maybe some slight word changes)... and still in exactly in the same place / problem as the original post.

 

Thank you everyone for your responses.

I should admit that I have absolutely no knowledge or experience when it comes to electrical repairs. As in, I do not even feel confident enough to change my own outlets. I am a bit embarrassed to say that here on this forum, but it is the truth.

Although I am not able to do any of the troubleshooting you have suggested myself, I have taken many notes and come up with many questions that I will ask the next electrician I hire.

Since I first posted the power company came back and checked the transformer again. This time, they did find a loose connection. They were confident this would fix the problem, but it did not. They came back a second time and completely replaced the transformer with a bigger and more powerful one. Their reasoning was the distance my house is from the transformer and how far the voltage had to travel down the wires, the fact that the old transformer was the smallest available, and the fact that new houses have been going up in the area. I live in a rural area and my house is the only one serviced by this transformer. I was hopeful, but this did not work either.

The electrician came back and checked all the wires behind all of the light switches, outlets, fans, and light fixtures. I know it was stated on a post here that a competent electrician would not suggest that and he was just trying to run up the service charge. However, I agreed to it because the outlets, switches, and fixtures in the house were very old and I had been wanting to get them replaced anyways. So I asked him to replace them all as he was checking for loose wires. He did in fact find one loose neutral behind a switch and one loose hot wire behind an outlet, but still the dimming lights persist.

The dimming is intermittent and unpredictable. As I mentioned earlier it can be several quick dims back to back to back or it can be dims that last a few seconds, or a combination of the two. Usually there are several single dims throughout the day and a few periods of 15 minutes or so when there are dozens at a time. Lights, the refrigerator, fans, etc. will all experience a drop in voltage. I have never noticed any brightening or indications of a rise in voltage. 9-11 PM seems to be when the most activity occurs, although it happens at other times as well.

Something that I have only noticed over the past few days, and I think is very important, is that one circuit seems unaffected. There are two lights, a hall light and an office light, on the same circuit, which do NOT dim when all the other lights in the house do. These lights are rarely used. I wish I had noticed this earlier and reported it here on my initial post.

What could cause all BUT one circuit to experience intermittent drops in voltage? Apologies if clues to the answer to this question are present in the previous posts. My lack of electrical knowledge means that things that are clear to you all may go right over my head. I am trying to learn and understand, but still...

Again, thank you all very much for taking the time to respond and try to help me!

Hi

I know this may seem an impractical suggestion...but I'll suggest it anyway...

Have you tried disconnecting ALL devices from ALL electrical outlets and see if the light dimming still occurs?
Then try the same with ALL house bulbs (except one to see if it dims)

It may be there is a faulty device causing the problem.

 

The TS already mentioned that they were the only one fed from that transformer. That tells me that there IS a fair amount of primary feed that only serves that one customer. All of the wire back to the previous transformer!

I'll somewhat disagree with this. It is possible due to spacing of houses that there are other houses further down the primary that have their own transformer and are experiencing no issues. Just because this house happens to be the only one on the transformer doesn't mean it is the last on the line. Most houses outside of populated areas are single home transformers. The TS also states they live in a rural area which would be more than enough to consider this to be the case.

 

Being a rural setting I am assuming it is an overhead service entrance. Do the wires happen to pass through a pine / coniferous tree? There is something about tree sap that will eat away wiring, but still provide enough conductivity to make everything work. It's not a common thing, but I have heard of it happening.

 

I have seen breaker panels that failed at the connection to the bar that tghe breakers connect to. And I have seen the failure where that bar was burned by a poor breaker connection.
It might easily be that the TS is the last customer on the primary feed and so any primary feed variations would not affect others. It might also be a primary neutral side issue that is more challenging to discover.

 

The electrician came back and changed the phases in the indoor breaker panel. He explained that whatever was on A he moved to B and vice versa.

Since then, the one circuit which had been unaffected is now affected. The lights dim along with the rest of the house whereas before they did not.

Additionally, there are two circuits which had been affected that are now unaffected. The lights do not dim along with the rest of the house whereas before they did.

I will call the electrician on Monday to tell him. Do any of you understand what this means?

 

Appears it could possibly be in one side of the main breaker itself?

 

Do you gave more than one distribution panel?

 

OK, that means that the problem is on just one side of the feed. Either in the drop, at the meter,, in the line from the meter to the panel, or in the panel itself..

 

OK, that means that the problem is on just one side of the feed. Either in the drop, at the meter,, in the line from the meter to the panel, or in the panel itself..

How do you come to that conclusion? The way i read his post is that most of the lights dimmed both before and after the switch.

@Ecbessa, can you confirm this, are there lights that dimmed both before and after?

 

From my impression - I get that half the lamps would dim (original); then after the switch, the OTHER half would dim. And no - I'm not suggesting this is only lamps, I'm just using lamps as an example. The split phase suggests that one of the line voltages are experiencing the problem. This seems to be born out by the comment

The electrician came back and changed the phases in the indoor breaker panel. He explained that whatever was on A he moved to B and vice versa. Since then, the one circuit which had been unaffected is now affected.

I assume by "the one circuit which had been unaffected is now affected" that this means that the former circuits that were affected are now unaffected.

AND since it's the feeds that have changed - and the issue has moved, it's not a breaker issue, nor is it an issue with the breaker panel. The problem is before the breaker panel. That's ALL I can conclude from the reports. Whether it's a faulty wire or a bad connection somewhere. Possibly a bad connection within the meter itself. That can't be ruled out either. At least not yet.

The next test I'd like to see is moving the feed wires at the meter. If the problem shifts again then it's either the meter or the feed.

 

How do you come to that conclusion? The way i read his post is that most of the lights dimmed both before and after the switch.

@Ecbessa, can you confirm this, are there lights that dimmed both before and after?

Yes most of the lights dimmed both before and after the phases were switched.

The difference is that before the lights on all but one circuit dimmed. Now the lights on all but two circuits dim. And the circuit that previously did not dim has now joined all those that do.

 

Are the circuits that don’t dim near the top or bottom of the panel?

 

I'm wondering if there's a case of semantics: Instead of talking about half the lights, we need to know if a specific light dims. Doesn't matter which light you choose, just stick with it. Suppose the kitchen light dimmed before the swap but now after the swap it doesn't dim, it's a different light dimming.

If you have 10 lights and "Half" of them dim, then you swap the feeds and now "Half" the lights dim; are we talking about the same 5 lights or different lights? I'm making this as an example. I don't know about anybody else but I'm not sure you're saying the same exact lights dim regardless of the feed swap or if we're talking about some lights dim, then the swap, then OTHER lights dim and those that WERE dimming no longer dim.

 

How do you come to that conclusion? The way i read his post is that most of the lights dimmed both before and after the switch.

@Ecbessa, can you confirm this, are there lights that dimmed both before and after?

See post #89: the circuits were exchanged, and that now the situation is reversed. "Half" was not adequately descriptive.
It is now evident that it is only one phase. That excludes all the breakers and the neutral. Some panels have breakers partly down the busbars so that the 240 volt circuits are above and separated. In that case it possibly could be the dual breaker with one weak side , but I doubt it. It could still be a loose connection between the meter and the input connections at the breaker panel, or between the main breaker and the busbars. Or even above the meter, since there is always a splice connection between the drop cable and the cable to the meter box. Given that the transformer is new it is not guilty, nor, hopefully, the connections to the transformer. If the connections out of the meter were all tightened, that points toward the problem being inside the breaker panel. So it is time to wiggle wires very carefully.
The fault might even possibly be in the common connection strip, if the electrician exchanged the common side of the lighting circuits as well.

 

It could still be a loose connection between the meter and the input connections at the breaker panel

Why didn't I think of that?!

The problem is before the breaker panel. That's ALL I can conclude from the reports.

Oh, wait a minute; I did.

Bill, I know you agree with me. But why can't you just say so rather than plagiarizing someone else's answer as your own. You seem to do that a whole lot.

 

Here you go Bill; go ahead and tell us all how the problem could be in the meter itself.

Possibly a bad connection within the meter itself. That can't be ruled out either. At least not yet.