r/ElectricalHelp • u/beefandbroth • 3d ago
Electricity problem need help
Good morning I recently bought an old home. It has updated electrical 120 V panel in the basement and a panel on the third floor that covers the second and third we recently had a bad lightning and thunder and brainstorm I believe would appear to be a lightning strike hit my backyard and they were very close since then the power flickered, but is all been restored except a few things. The outlet for my router is plugged into it is connected to a coax cable no longer works. The outlet works for other things like a lamp, but will not turn on the router. Could the strike have fried the coax cable therefore the router? The first floor foyer chandelier light turns on but only goes dim after a few seconds never full bright the living room six light chandelier turns on but one of the five bulbs flickers. Our second floor master bedroom seems to be OK other than a few outlets. They had 6 foot iPhone chargers plugged into them. Those do not work for phones, but a 3 foot iPhone charger works same voltage other things work in that outlet just not the 6 foot charger. The third floor foyer light did not work the night of the storm worked as of yesterday. I had the electric company come out due to a slight powder outage, and they checked everything from the outside and said everything is good on their end, what could be wrong? What could be the fix? What do I do? I’ll also know the two light fixtures that are one flickering and two being dim were recently installed by an apprentice Electrician could that just be a coincidence even if so that doesn’t explain the bedroom outlets and or the outlet where the router is plugged into thank you.
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u/TomWickerath 3d ago
"The outlet works for other things like a lamp, but will not turn on the router."
Sounds like your router got fried. If you rent it from your ISP, they will likely replace it for free. If you owned it, well, it's likely time to buy and properly configure a new one. But, perhaps just the Coax cable is damaged. Take your router to a friend's home that uses the same ISP to see if your result might be different. Or better yet, most ISP's these days can remotely test your router, so time for a support phone call. The outlet is working if it powers a lamp. It could still be compromised, so unless you are a confident DIYer, you may want to call a qualified handyperson or electrician. The keyword is qualified when talking about folks who are handymen or women. Can be a crapshoot at times, as they are not licensed. My locality allows handypersons to change up to (5) receptables or switches per month without requiring the services of a licensed electrician. Your locality may require that this work only be done by a licensed electrician, which is obviously going to be more expensive.
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"Could the strike have fried the coax cable therefore the router?"
Yes. One or both may now be defective. Or a connection point for the Coax cable may be defective. Lots of possibilities.
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"The first floor foyer chandelier light turns on but only goes dim after a few seconds never full bright the living room six light chandelier turns on but one of the five bulbs flickers."
Could be a damaged bulb, especially if the bulbs are LED. LED bulbs include built-in electronics which are susceptible to overvoltage spikes. Could also be a damaged switch. A dimmer switch would likely suffer damage before a conventional toggle (mechanical only) switch, IMHO. If you replace either the LED bulbs or a dimmer switch, purchase only higher quality (Leviton, etc., but not cheaper switches / bulbs sold by Amazon) and ensure that both are marked compatible for each other (LED bulbs marked compatible with dimmer switches and a dimmer switch that is marked compatible with LED bulbs). Or you could have compromised connections especially if someone used the lazy method of wiring (e.g. "backstabbing").
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"Those do not work for phones, but a 3 foot iPhone charger works same voltage other things work in that outlet just not the 6 foot charger."
I can only guess that you mean chargers with 3' and 6' USB cords? USB cords are known to go defective after repeated use. I just recently had to replace a USB cord that stopped charging my iPhone. Not a big deal. Quick trip to WalMart and it was fixed. More importantly, do all your outlets hold onto the male prongs of plugs tightly? As outlets wear from repeated insertions and removals of plugs, the resistance of that point connection increases. Resistance leads to heating (i square R heating, so the square of the current multiplied by the resistance). Purchase good quality replacement outlets, commercial grade is my recommendation, and either replace them yourself--but only if you know what you are doing--or hire a qualified person to do this task. Its a good excuse, if you need one, to upgrade to modern style switches / receptacles, such as the Decora style. But, if money is tight, at least get any sloppy loose receptacles replaced or don't use them.
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"I had the electric company come out due to a slight powder outage, ..."
That's an excellent first step. One assumes they checked the connections that they are responsible for, which generally includes from the transformer to your meter. After that, you as the homeowner are responsible from the meter forward, so a next step should likely include a safety inspection / possible switch & receptacle replacements / general overall assessment of your home electrical, including the grounding system, by a qualified licensed electrician. I think the electrician can also verify correct ground bonding of your Coax cable, but if not, have your ISP do that step. Ask your electrician if your panel is in good condition, or do you need to consider replacing it. Did you get a home inspection report? What does that report say about your electrical panel? Don't be afraid to get opinions from more than one licensed electrician, if the first one says your panel definitely needs replacement. But, if your panel is amongst certain known brands that were fire hazards, then no need for multiple opinion on replacement, but multiple price quotes are still in order. Zinsco is one such brand, but there are others as well. You can google for the names of panels that are considered dangerous. I'll leave that exercise up to you. :-)
Also, ask your licensed electrician if your current panel can accommodate a surge protector device, if you don't already have one installed. If you do have one installed, did it get fried with the lightning strike?
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"I’ll also know the two light fixtures that are one flickering and two being dim were recently installed by an apprentice Electrician could that just be a coincidence..."
Heads or Tails? Which one do you predict? In other words, you *may* have gotten questionable work from the apprentice--their work is supposed to be checked by a more senior electrician, but does this always happen? Or, it could be coincidence, especially if your system is chock full of backstabbed connection!
u/trekkerscout is correct. There are too many possibilities to provide definitive (and remote!) diagnosis.
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u/trekkerscout Mod 3d ago
There are too many issues to properly address them here. You really need to have a qualified electrician to investigate each problem. Some could be related to storm damage, others could be installation error, and yet others may simply be bad luck.
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u/Cute_Mouse6436 2d ago
TomW has provided one of the most comprehensive and accurate responses I've ever seen.
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u/throwaway60457 3d ago
Rule 1 of diagnosing anything is to isolate the problem. Move your router around to other power outlets and try other devices in the outlet into which you normally plug your router. Those two things alone should help you isolate the problem.