Did I fry a circuit breaker?

jhynesrockmtn · 02-22-2010, 08:39 PM

My 10+ year old washer was making weird noises the other night and the lights in my crappy late 50's house were pulsing with the washer. It finished and the washer smelled like burnt wire. I bought a new one today and it works fine but now the lights are still making a slight pulsing when the washer was agitating. Obviously the breaker isn't tripped but might it be damaged? Is there another explanation? I don't want to have to do laundry only when the lights are off and I also don't want the old crappy house to burn down. At least not with me in it.

aways · 02-22-2010, 08:52 PM

Your circuit breaker is either "on" or "off". I don't think that's the problem. Could be that you've just got too many loads on the same circuit.

NY65912 · 02-23-2010, 03:00 AM

The washer motor is pulling more amps than it should.

The breaker as stated above is either good or no good.

The motor is bad or you have too much on that circuit.

onewhippedpuppy · 02-23-2010, 03:06 AM

Try turning off most things in your house, then see if the lights still pulse. As others suggested, you might have one particular circuit overloaded. The wiring in older houses is usually pretty marginal.

david914 · 02-23-2010, 03:17 AM

Could be a number of different things. Loose wires in the breaker panel and/or meter can, lights on same circuit as washing machine, inadequate wiring to washer.

Do the lights in your house dim/pulse when another major appliance (air conditioner, refrigerator, stove, etc.) turns on?

billybek · billybek's Garage

Check all the connections to make sure they are all snug (the supply leads will be be hot so be careful). Check the voltage that you have in the home line to line, line to neutral and line to ground. Check to see that there isn't one side of the breaker box that is supplying more loads than the other (balanced load).
Sometime, breakers do go bad. I had to replace the 100 amp main that supplies one of the panels in my home a couple of months ago.

john70t · 02-23-2010, 06:35 AM

If one circuit is affecting another, I'd suspect bad grounding and/or a faulty panel.
That breaker should have blown when too many amps were being pulled. It didn't.
It needs to be modernized, and probably a new line run to the washer. I think new dryers also now require a 4-wire supply/outlet instead of the 3.

This isn't something to ignore. Get it checked out by licenced, certified proffesionals!

One thing that helps is to trace back the runs to the box and label the wires and breakers. Breakers need to be sized to the wires and outlets. I (think) the maximum number of outlets is 8 or twelve on one string, but less is always better. Aluminum wire mixed with copper has a reputation of causing big problems. All the major appliances should be on their own dedicated circuits, and there should be only one wire going out from those breakers.

rick-l · 02-23-2010, 07:17 AM

If this is happened (dimming lights) suddenly (started with no changes) you have a problem. Obviously your washer is not on a dedicated circuit.

How dim do the lights get? I don't think induction motors like voltage sags.

bivenator · 02-23-2010, 08:05 AM

Do not ignore, seek professional help, see thread on My house burned down tonite.

carambola · carambola's Garage

dimming lights is a neutral problem. is it only affecting a single circuit or multiple circuits in the house, i couldn't tell by your post. find the circuit the washer is on and determine what else in on that circuit. on the plus side, your old washer may still be in usable condition.

T77911S · 02-23-2010, 08:50 AM

as others have said. look into bad connections. mine would dim everytime the ac came on. i found a brokrn lug in the meter base, neutral i think it was.

HardDrive · 02-23-2010, 08:50 AM

I can feel your pain man. Our house was built in 47. I swear, the post war houses built in the Seattle area were the biggest POS on earth. Just junk. We just spent almost $30k replacing our electrical system

We had to remove 2 driveways, landscaping, and trench 170ft to lay conduit and bring in a new feed. Total nightmare.

Por_sha911 · Por_sha911's Garage

Do you know if you have AL wiring? If so, you have a major and much needed repair due yesterday.
Hijack but related: my lights dim slightly for just a split second when my 4 Ton HVAC unit kicks in. 25 YO house. I was told this is normal. Was I given bad info?

idontknow · 02-23-2010, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Do you know if you have AL wiring? If so, you have a major and much needed repair due yesterday.
Hijack but related: my lights dim slightly for just a split second when my 4 Ton HVAC unit kicks in. 25 YO house. I was told this is normal. Was I given bad info?

Normal. Though you can add a start capacitor to the A/C unit to help with the dimming lights. An a/c unit on startup pulls more current than the utility/panel can deliver. It's completely normal though.

On topic: Assuming the lights are on a different circuit, you most likely have a loose neutral or ground. It's most likely in the panel too. A good electrician should be able to find the source of the problem in under 2 hours. IMO I'd go this route if I were you.