c/electricians

I finally cracked the case of the flickering kitchen lights.

I was called to a house where the kitchen lights would dim and brighten randomly. At first, I thought it was a loose connection, so I checked all the switches and fixtures. Then I saw the neutral wire in the main panel was getting hot. I tightened the neutral bus bar and used some antioxidant paste to stop corrosion. Now the lights are steady, and I check the panel first for similar issues.

3 comments

the_mia•1d ago

My area is suddenly full of electric car charger jobs

Lately, my phone keeps ringing for charger installs at homes. It used to be a rare ask, but now it's weekly. For example, last Tuesday I had two houses on the same street needing new circuits. This shift means I'm pulling more wire and swapping out old panels. I like the work, but it makes me think about how fast things change. I bet in a few years, this will just be normal for us. Has anyone else seen this jump in their work too?

2 comments

parkerperez•2d ago

Vent: Customer tried to fix their own breaker and made things way worse

Tbh, I got called out to a house last Friday because the lights kept flickering. Honestly, when I opened the panel, I saw a mess of wires and a breaker that was clearly tampered with. Ngl, the homeowner admitted they tried to replace a faulty breaker themselves to save money. They used the wrong type of breaker and didn't secure the connections properly. This caused arcing and damaged some of the bus bar, which is a real safety hazard. I had to spend extra time fixing it and educating them on why it's dangerous. How do you guys handle situations where customers do unsafe DIY work? Sometimes I worry about what happens when I'm not there to catch these mistakes.

3 comments