I just purchased my first flourescent bulbs to replace incandescants in my garage (I know, I’m years behind the times!) These are Lightwiz Spirals, 23W. As soon as I screwed one in (with the switch OFF), it started to faintly blink – pulses ON about every 3-4 seconds. It’s still doing it, days later. Works normally with power on.
I’m guessing that there must be an electric field around, strong enough to light the bulb – has anyone else encountered this? Should I be worried about anything, like a grounding problem? My only guess is the wireless router in my office above as the source of the field. What do you all think?
And since I’m asking, here’s a somewhat related question: my mother had a heat pump replaced last year. Right after the work was done, she started to have a problem where the phone rang every time the heat pump turned on (you can’t make this stuff up). I suspected a ground problem, and noticed that the furnace people had grounded all the electronics to the copper water pipe – unfortunately, this was not the house ground, because she had a plastic water main. I took a jumper cable from my car and connected it to the water pipe at the furnace and the braided copper cable that went to a grounding rod – problem improved a LOT, but not completely. I added another jumper cable in parallel, and it almost went away completely (still does it now and then). Question: a) does this make sense; b) is it safe (I know it will be better if I replace the jumper cables with a real connection). I’m concerned because it seems like a lot of current must be flowing to ground, since the second cable made a difference. c)any other suggestions?
Oh, I DID try to get the furnace guys back, but phone their phone is disconnected – apparently out of business.
And I had an electrician in (before I figured out the jumper cable thing) – he threw up his hands, said he had no idea, and I should call the phone company. They came in and replaced ALL of their stuff, but nothing changed.
Thanks, Bill.
Replies
You don't happen to live under/ near high voltage (high tension when I grew up) power lines, do you?
no - none nearby my house. My mother's house is with 500 feet of high tension lines, but I think her problem is related to the furnace.
I can't shed any 'light' on your flickering problem, but I have used a few of those LightWhiz bulbs. A few of them failed in a very short time (about a year). Certainly, they failed much sooner than expected for that type of bulb.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Near an airport? A military base? High-power RF will light up fluorescent bulbs. If so, I'd be worried about exposure if the power was that high. A wireless router only puts out milliwatts. Not enough. Either has to be pulses on the AC line (doubtful because of the ballast) or a substantial radio-frequency field. From the 2-3 second period, it sounds like a weather or approach radar to me.
As far as the ringing phone, every time the heat pump kicks in it puts out a blip of interference from a relay or solid-state relay. The phone (I assume cordless) is picking it up as a ring signal. You can get ferrite interference suppressors at radio shack. Put one over the AC line inside the unit. You wrap a turn or two of the wire through the core and snap it closed. That may help.
Do you have one of the "nite lite" switches? I have a a three-way switch with a flouresent bulb, and when the "nite lite" switch is illuminated, the bulb has a barely visible flicker.
Jeffrey
whaddya know ... it's a 3-way, and one of the switches IS a night-lite switch ... go figure ... so does it make sense that the night-lite is coupling enough energy to the bulb to blink it? is the 3 second period consistent? thanks ... Bill.
That 3 secons has to be coming from something in the house or maybe comming down the powerline at that rate.
Try taking a hand-held AM radio and turn it to an off frequency near the low end of the band. Then hold it near the switch or light and see if you hear a click or pulse at the same time.
Then you can try moving around the house and find the source, if it is internal.
Also I suspect that if you install an incandensance bulb in one of the sockets that it will "load down" the noise enough that this will not happen.
About the phone is it hardwired to cordless.
Bill, by any chance, do you and your mother have a problem keeping your wrist-watches running?
Are you related to St. Elmo?
Don't live near Salem, do you?
Just winkin and noddin, here.
I took a jumper cable from my car and connected it to the water pipe at the furnace and the braided copper cable that went to a grounding rod - problem improved a LOT, but not completely.
Yes, that is significant. Yes you should replace those jumpers as soon as you can with a proper grounding wire.
Wirenut your ground wire directly to their ground wire. Use a ground wire at least as big as theirs.
Did they connect more than one ground to the pipe? If so, then use a different wire for each of their wires. You can use a piece of romex the same size as their largest wire.
Use a split bolt to connect to the braided ground cable and clean all wires/cables before you make the connections.
Turn the furnace breakers off before you do the work!
Bobs' got the right idea about your flickering flourescents. You got radar. Wanna have some fun? Hook up one of those flat ribbon TEE type radio antennas to a light socket and and watch the flourescent flash.
SamT
The significant thing about this is that the grounding solves or at least reduces the problem with the phone.
The ground is only for safety and NORMALLY there is no current through it. This implies that there is something else wrong.
But this is against code and should have never been done that way.
my mother had a heat pump replaced last year. Right after the work was done, she started to have a problem where the phone rang every time the heat pump turned on
Relax, it's just the power company calling to thank her for selecting electric heat!
C.
Edited 12/17/2003 5:15:55 PM ET by CWTURNER
they call a lot on cold days!
abisluitly get a 12 AGU or larger solid coper ground and proper clamps should clear the problem. For your blinking light try turing off your router and see if it stops; florsents will light in any strong pulsing magnitic field.