Hot take: everyone says to check the neutral first, but my worst call was a phantom voltage on a three-way switch loop

Got a service call for lights flickering in a finished basement in Springfield. Homeowner said it only happened when the washing machine ran. Spent a whole day checking the panel, every connection, and the appliance circuit itself. Everything metered out fine under load. The problem was in the switch leg for the basement lights, which shared a wall with the laundry room. A nail had nicked the travelers, and the vibration from the washer was inducing just enough voltage to make the LEDs glow and flicker. Took me eight hours over two visits to find it because I kept looking at the power feed and the neutral path. I was so sure it was a bad shared neutral. Ever have a problem that was in the last place you thought to look because the usual fix didn't work?

3 comments

3 Comments

brookep622mo ago

Yeah, phantom voltages are the worst. That story from @the_ben about the rain splice is a good reminder to check for weird paths. Sometimes the problem just isn't where the power comes from.

the_ben2mo ago

Found a bad splice in a wall that only arced during heavy rain.

hayden58721d ago

Calling that "the worst" is a bit much. Seen plenty of bad splices that only act up in weird conditions. Usually just means the wire got a little wet and that's it. Unless it's actually tripping breakers or frying stuff, probably not worth tearing the wall open over.