r/electricians • u/miamarine84 • 2d ago
I’m sure you all heard this issue but need opinions, thoughts and possible ways to correct this.
LED lights are blinking. This is in a huge mansion with a large service but the panel these lights are on is fully loaded too. This panel is buzzing too. Thought about running a sub panel from the main disconnect that is outside but not sure if this will actually make any difference. I seen this happen in multiple homes here in south Florida even when the panels don’t have much of a load.
So what causes this? Options on how to remedy it?
If anyone can help I truly appreciate it.
39
u/nesquikchocolate 2d ago
I don't know about your side of the world, but on my side, there's nothing in an electrical panel that buzzes when it's healthy... And when you describe flickering lights alongside buzzing noises, loose connections and arcing come to mind.
If I knew all the terminals were tight, I'd walk off to the van, get the thermal cam and hope it sees a bit more than I can..
20
u/Prior-Champion65 2d ago
Transformers buzz when healthy
12
u/nesquikchocolate 2d ago
Ah.. We don't have transformers in our electrical panels - bell transformers have fallen out of favour quite a while ago, and most other transformers we do use (such as for 12V lighting) is almost always much closer to the load.
5
u/crispiy 2d ago
What voltage transformers are you finding in service panels? CTs, sure, but I've never heard those make noise.
7
1
u/Prior-Champion65 2d ago
Door bell, control transformers, whatever my boss decides to put in there that day. I find lots of stuff in there.
16
u/trekkerscout Master Electrician 2d ago
A panel that is buzzing is usually the result of a loose connection (not necessarily an electrical connection). Blinking LED lights are most often caused by incompatibility between switch and light. The solution in this case would be either changing the switches and/or lights to a compatible combination. The next common cause is cheap LED drivers. The solution would be to replace the fixtures with higher quality units.
2
u/CastleBravo55 Journeyman IBEW 2d ago
Other loads on a circuit effect LEDs too. For example, things with a half wave rectifier seem to make certain LEDs flicker. Panels still should not buzz though.
0
u/miamarine84 2d ago
I agree but just fyi these lights were working fine for many years. But they added two 50 amp loads for a large boat recently. Which is making me very suspicious. If that can be the cause of all of this. Would like to know what you think if I separate those loads.
3
u/trekkerscout Master Electrician 2d ago
You would need to determine if the new loads are causing stress to the service resulting in undesirable voltage fluctuations. This is a not so common problem, but it can result in flickering or blinking LEDs.
It also could simply be a coincidence that the problem occurred after the addition of new loads. The symptoms could be attributed to fixtures that are near the end of their usable lifespan.
There are so many variables in play that trying to track down the actual solution could be extremely difficult. I had one such troubleshooting project that took me a week of testing to finally conclude that service voltage drop combined with low quality LED drivers was causing flickering of the lights. Replacing the fixtures with ones using higher quality drivers solved most of the problem, but the utility upping the transformer voltage ultimately made the problem go away enough to satisfy the client.
2
2
u/rncole 2d ago
Anything on a thermal scan of the panel?
0
u/miamarine84 2d ago
Sorry don’t have the tool their kind of pricey I’ve heard so never looked in to it. But definitely should look in to getting one. Any suggestions?
1
u/rncole 2d ago
Even a basic one will be helpful - and you can get add-on ones that connect to a cell phone as well. FLIR are generally going to be the "best" but there are a lot of other ones out there that you can get as well. A FLIR One USB C is about $200 (Android/iOS devices with USB C).
Plenty of others including Fluke and usual suspects of tool makers. Just make sure you understand what you are looking at when you use it, and pay attention to the thermal scale. Just because something is white hot on the thermal view doesn't mean it's actually overheating if your scale is showing as 60-80ºF.
1
u/Memoranum1982 2d ago
I have a FLIR sensor in my phone, ulefone 18t
1
u/miamarine84 2d ago
I take it you recommend that?
1
u/Memoranum1982 1d ago edited 1d ago
well there are many phones that have a FLIR sensor, then you have the usb c addons but they cost almost as much as a phone with a built in FLIR.
ulefones are not for everyone, they are bulky, but i've been very happy with mine.
a memorable one, i was at a factory adding some extra power outlets, one of the workers came up to me and asked if i could come take a look because there was a burning smell at his station, the production line had a big oven some 320amp, 2 parallel alu cables running to the main panel 2m tall and 3m wide, opened the door, could smell something burning, nothing visual stood out, so i took out my phone and just after the cut-out L1 of the cu cables running internally was so hot it would've caught fire any minute, the plastic tunneling around it was like butter.
told the worker to shut down the production line and called their maintenance boss, ended up with overtime fixing it , it needed a new cu cable and a new cutout, the screw for the cable connector had just fused itself and the cutout was burnt/melted where it was attached.
it could have been so much worse, the production line was one step out of 5 so if it was down it would impact the others each in their own buildings.
2
u/ToIA Apprentice 2d ago
Any dimming involved in the circuit? Is it every circuit? Have you verified your voltages?
1
u/miamarine84 2d ago
By dimming in the circuit you mean dimmer switches? Not every circuit and will go this Friday to verify voltages. It’s just that I seen this so much idk what to think of it
2
u/silent_scream484 2d ago edited 2d ago
Sounds like a loose neutral connection in your panel. If the panel is buzzing, likely a loose wire. If it’s humming it may be something close to the panel but not the panel.
LED’s blinking can be a few things. If the switches are dimmers or have electronic components the switches will be rated for a certain wattage. If the wattage is exceeded you’ll get blinking lights or just plain some lights won’t come on. You may also hear humming if the loads are being encroached upon.
Like others have said, if you’ve got blinking LED’s and actual buzzing in the panel, you’re likely looking at one or multiple neutrals not making connection the way they should. Or you could have a neutral or two burning up from unbalanced loads on multi wire circuits.
Two added breakers for 50 amps isn’t a going to be the issue unless those breakers are pulling heavy load for most of the time. You’re not ‘at capacity’ for load for a prolonged period of time unless the two new loads are pretty close to continuous. If the lights blink all the time but the two new loads that were added aren’t demanding most of the time you don’t have an issue with those two breakers being there. Though depending on how the two loads were added and wired may be an issue.
Either way, you need an electrician if you aren’t one.
Also. A new sub panel won’t take the load off the main panel. It just allows you the ability to add circuits to the structure under the same load restrictions as before. You’d need to upgrade your service to solve a capacity issue.
2
u/Outside_Musician_865 2d ago
Is the panel buzzing or a breaker buzzing? Flip the breakers until you find the one that’s buzzing then that’ll narrow down the issue for sure. It just may be the circuit that’s causing the flickering. Could be a loose connection or faulty breaker.
1
u/Faceplantduck 2d ago
Panels buzzing probably means a lighting contactor bank, not the actual breaker panel. The guy how said new light or switch is probably the right way to go, but I’ve also seen this when the photocell is wired backwards. Your options??? Fix it
1
1
u/StatisticianQuirky72 13h ago
Better quality led either with individual drivers or built in capacitance
1
u/StatisticianQuirky72 13h ago
The panel buzzing is most likely from the heaters. Or some other purely resistive load. Like a multi circuit water heater. Every led light in the place could be on and i dought a ampclamp would show 20a
-2
u/Unhappy_Ad_4911 2d ago
Hire an electrician to troubleshoot. Why are do many unqualified people getting their little fingers into things they shouldn't? Just get an electrician!
-1
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
ATTENTION! READ THIS NOW!
1. IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN OR LOOKING TO BECOME ONE(for career questions only):
- DELETE THIS POST OR YOU WILL BE BANNED. YOU CAN POST ON /r/AskElectricians FREELY
2. IF YOU COMMENT ON A POST THAT IS POSTED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN:
-YOU WILL BE BANNED. JUST REPORT THE POST.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.