Ed,
Sounds like your friend has a poor connection either on that outlet or
one of the outlets between that one and the breaker panel that is
arching. If that outlet is controlled by a switch, it could be causing
the problem also. This is probably not be something that you want to
take on yourself, especially if it is not your house.
Arcing in an electrical circuit can cause heat and fire if not taken
care of properly. Since you say that you don't have a meter, I would
defer repairs to someone qualified. Until then, do not use that outlet
for anything, and if there are other outlets where lights flicker or
don't always work, don't use them either until it is repaired. Get it
looked at by a professional as soon as you can.
Any idea when the house was built? In the 70's aluminum was used for
wire for a few years. It caused this kind of problem and burned down
many buildings. Aluminum wire can be pigtailed to get it to behave
nicely, but it is something that needs to be done correctly to work and
be safe. Do it wrong and you can have more trouble than you did before!
Peace,
Pat
Ed Van Scoy wrote:
>A friend sent me this baffling note from a friend, any
>help here would be greatly appreciated.
>
>"In our bedroom we have a electrical outlet that is
>driving me nuts. Seems when you plug in a clock to
>this one outlet the clock begins to gain time faster
>then it should. At first I thought I had a bad clock
>so I changed it out for another one in the house that
>had been working fine. It to began to add about 15
>mins. each day to the replacement clock. The one I
>removed from the outlet returned to normal after
>plugging it into a outlet in another bedroom. I know
>the one solution would be to just use another outlet
>but is there a problem that I need to address with the
>outlet in question? Can a outlet some how get more
>watts to it that it could change the time in a clock?
>If you have any suggestions PLEASE pass them on to me.
>I don't have a meter to check this out but I'm
>thinking of getting one. I'm not sure what it would
>tell me to help fix the problem.
>
>Thanks,
>Ed
>
>
>
>
--
-- Support Habitat for Humanity - a hand UP, not a hand OUT --
|