Hi, So their is a burnt smell in my kitchen, it smells like some wires burned but is not burning now. The house is also fluctuating power, the light in the dining room will dim for a few minutes then brighten back up. The fan in the bedroom bogs down to where it's barely running. Things have been randomly shutting off throughout the house. And keep in mind this during hurricane Hermine. I'm thinking it's the fridge. It's still running fine but when I unplugged it the light in the dining room for brighter. Any ideas? Never had this issue until after the hurricane.
It sound like somone has done some weekend wiring in your home. When you install a wall outlet,ceiling fan or extend an excisting circuit you must always see the wires are keep in uniformity. they are polarized and mixing this by wiring a 3 way switch, fan etc... causes flucuation which through the cylce of a/c will naturally follow the point of least resistance most of time sending the crossed polar current to your ground or what i call a third leg. Most breaker boxes are grounded directly into ground via copper cable attached to metal post driven into the ground. Which would ground the problem. Sounds like you have a second ground which is most of the time a copper pipe used for water supply for the house is attached to since the pipe eventully goes into the ground. Try this, go to a bathroom faucet or kitchen and take the underside of your forearm and touch the soft portion of the skin lightly to the faucet end while holding any other part of the faucet with your other hand. If you feel any small stinging sensation in the soft area you have this problem. Only a electrician can determine if it is a ground issue from the box or improper polar wiring which needs to be addressed. For peace of mind contact a certified electrician and not the guy down the street who fixed his porch light on his own.
Problem is outside. The issues it is causing and therefore the smell and flickering lights are inside.
I'll bet good money the problem is where your service wires splice to the power company's wires or up at the pole and the transformer. As the wind whips the wires around the problem comes and goes. As soon as the wind lays down the problem may appear to go away. It hasn't . You will want to call the power company and get on their repair list.
Calling an Electrician won't necessarily be a wast of money, but if the problem is indeed with the service they will have to charge you for the service call.
In the mean time if the smell continues you would do well to limit your electrical use. Your refrigerator is not the cause of the fluctuation or dimming lights. It is just a symptom/contributing factor.
If you had said the problem existed Before the storm I would have had an entirely different answer.
Plug the refrigerator back in to its faceplate. That is the ONLY thing that should be plugged in there. There is one breaker for only the fridge. Nothing else.
Now call up a Licensed Certified Electrician - Yellow pages
Your house must have suffered some damage. That is Where the Electrician will start and open up the walls again to see the wiring.
Something is wired wrong. Maybe more than once.
So expect for them to open repaired walls because they got to check to be sure everything is done right. It will be the damaged areas they will focus on because something has changed there.
Asking over the internet is like asking over the phone. They have to see it first to know what has to be done to fix it. Stop with the house repairs and get in the electrician.
Next time you won't be as lucky as smelling something burning unless the whole house is burning. You may be sound asleep at that time.
Right now you are alive and suffering irritations"which can be fixed"
This is not as simple as a faulty appliance because this would not cause fluctuating voltage if the supply lines were good.
Most likely there is a bad main connection inside the house, which could cause damage if is not quickly seen to. Best to switch off at the main breaker and call an electrician immediately. If you insist on using SOME appliances, then don't use heavy duty ones like heaters, cooker, washing machine, tumble dryer, shower. Maybe just keep fridge and lights on.
The burning smell is going to make an electrical fire. If the smell is in your house, then the problem is in your house. Get a licensed electrician there right away. This is a dangerous situation!!! Stop playing around on Yahoo Answers.
If you were knowledgeable enough to find the problem yourself, you would have done it already. Unplugging the refrigerator makes the room light normal. So what does that mean? You don't even understand! Leave it unplugged until the problem is found.
Sounds a lot like faulty wiring. Sadly this means you need to get your house rewired which will cost at least 1500 or more depending on your size of course but definelty better then it burning down which is a risk you run now. Of course call an electrician to make sure. Good luck. This isn't something you want to put off
Turn OFF the power to your home NOW. Call a qualified professional electrician to do a service on your system. You mention a hurricane and that may have put water with salt and dirt into the wiring or power box. The immediate problem is it could start a fire and destroy your residence and kill people. Many homes have been destroyed because the dirt and salt from a storm provides a short circuit that starts fires.
Keep in mind that you may have to call your electrical utility if you do not know how or cannot do a) AND b) above. And they may "red-tag" your service - that is cut it off at the meter - if they perceive it is dangerous. However, it may be as simple as a bad appliance that once removed solves the immediate problem.
a) Shut down the MAIN BREAKER immediately.
b) Call an electrician immediately.
Keep in mind that you may have to call your electrical utility if you do not know how or cannot do a) AND b) above. And they may "red-tag" your service - that is cut it off at the meter - if they perceive it is dangerous. However, it may be as simple as a bad appliance that once removed solves the immediate problem.
It sound like somone has done some weekend wiring in your home. When you install a wall outlet,ceiling fan or extend an excisting circuit you must always see the wires are keep in uniformity. they are polarized and mixing this by wiring a 3 way switch, fan etc... causes flucuation which through the cylce of a/c will naturally follow the point of least resistance most of time sending the crossed polar current to your ground or what i call a third leg. Most breaker boxes are grounded directly into ground via copper cable attached to metal post driven into the ground. Which would ground the problem. Sounds like you have a second ground which is most of the time a copper pipe used for water supply for the house is attached to since the pipe eventully goes into the ground. Try this, go to a bathroom faucet or kitchen and take the underside of your forearm and touch the soft portion of the skin lightly to the faucet end while holding any other part of the faucet with your other hand. If you feel any small stinging sensation in the soft area you have this problem. Only a electrician can determine if it is a ground issue from the box or improper polar wiring which needs to be addressed. For peace of mind contact a certified electrician and not the guy down the street who fixed his porch light on his own.
Problem is outside. The issues it is causing and therefore the smell and flickering lights are inside.
I'll bet good money the problem is where your service wires splice to the power company's wires or up at the pole and the transformer. As the wind whips the wires around the problem comes and goes. As soon as the wind lays down the problem may appear to go away. It hasn't . You will want to call the power company and get on their repair list.
Calling an Electrician won't necessarily be a wast of money, but if the problem is indeed with the service they will have to charge you for the service call.
In the mean time if the smell continues you would do well to limit your electrical use. Your refrigerator is not the cause of the fluctuation or dimming lights. It is just a symptom/contributing factor.
If you had said the problem existed Before the storm I would have had an entirely different answer.
Plug the refrigerator back in to its faceplate. That is the ONLY thing that should be plugged in there. There is one breaker for only the fridge. Nothing else.
Now call up a Licensed Certified Electrician - Yellow pages
Your house must have suffered some damage. That is Where the Electrician will start and open up the walls again to see the wiring.
Something is wired wrong. Maybe more than once.
So expect for them to open repaired walls because they got to check to be sure everything is done right. It will be the damaged areas they will focus on because something has changed there.
Asking over the internet is like asking over the phone. They have to see it first to know what has to be done to fix it. Stop with the house repairs and get in the electrician.
Next time you won't be as lucky as smelling something burning unless the whole house is burning. You may be sound asleep at that time.
Right now you are alive and suffering irritations"which can be fixed"
This is not as simple as a faulty appliance because this would not cause fluctuating voltage if the supply lines were good.
Most likely there is a bad main connection inside the house, which could cause damage if is not quickly seen to. Best to switch off at the main breaker and call an electrician immediately. If you insist on using SOME appliances, then don't use heavy duty ones like heaters, cooker, washing machine, tumble dryer, shower. Maybe just keep fridge and lights on.
The burning smell is going to make an electrical fire. If the smell is in your house, then the problem is in your house. Get a licensed electrician there right away. This is a dangerous situation!!! Stop playing around on Yahoo Answers.
If you were knowledgeable enough to find the problem yourself, you would have done it already. Unplugging the refrigerator makes the room light normal. So what does that mean? You don't even understand! Leave it unplugged until the problem is found.
Sounds a lot like faulty wiring. Sadly this means you need to get your house rewired which will cost at least 1500 or more depending on your size of course but definelty better then it burning down which is a risk you run now. Of course call an electrician to make sure. Good luck. This isn't something you want to put off
Turn OFF the power to your home NOW. Call a qualified professional electrician to do a service on your system. You mention a hurricane and that may have put water with salt and dirt into the wiring or power box. The immediate problem is it could start a fire and destroy your residence and kill people. Many homes have been destroyed because the dirt and salt from a storm provides a short circuit that starts fires.
Keep in mind that you may have to call your electrical utility if you do not know how or cannot do a) AND b) above. And they may "red-tag" your service - that is cut it off at the meter - if they perceive it is dangerous. However, it may be as simple as a bad appliance that once removed solves the immediate problem.
a) Shut down the MAIN BREAKER immediately.
b) Call an electrician immediately.
Keep in mind that you may have to call your electrical utility if you do not know how or cannot do a) AND b) above. And they may "red-tag" your service - that is cut it off at the meter - if they perceive it is dangerous. However, it may be as simple as a bad appliance that once removed solves the immediate problem.