Occasionally (maybe once every month or two- but not every time it's on) my livingroom track lighting flickers and/or shuts off then turns back on within seconds or up to 10 seconds. It's obviously not turning itself off to cool down since it only stays off for seconds. It was out for a minute then back on. How is this possible? I also have lightbulbs that burn out continually in this home, my lamp in my bedroom goes brighter & dim by itself & some sockets in the basement work sometimes & other times do not work at all. Crazy electrical issues- this home is only 9-10 years old. Help!

Some lighting systems do indeed have thermal overload switches built in them, to prevent overheating. Can lights do, the warning label indicates that. Are the track lights Halogen? These bulbs get extremely hot. As far as flickering, could be a bad socket or another power using device on the same circuit and it is going on and off. Lights plugged into a refrigerator circuit will do that when the compressor comes on and off. Lights powered through a wall switch that sometimes work, sometimes not, are usually traced back to a loose wire on the switch, particularly if back wired, or a faulty switch.

Sounds like a loose neutral at the panel. Could be the main neutral wire has become overheated at some point, especially if it is aluminum, and has caused it to become loose in the terminal. CAUTIOUSLY try to tighten it in the panel, making certain not to touch any hot wires or terminals. If you are unsure of your abilities, PLEASE call a professional.

Tommy,

A neutral can be loose anywhere in the branch circuit. I would suspect something else rather than neutral. I would first like to be sure there is voltage present at the fan outlet.

I seriously doubt that this is a problem with either the main panelboard neutral or the system provided neutral from the Utility is at fault.

It would be wiser for the poster to turn the circuit breaker (or remove the fuse) off from the main panelboard and then to drop the fan down and check for frayed wires. Melted wires or burn marks, loose connections and whether the wiring is copper or aluminium.

Donf, what fan? There was nothing in the post about a fan. It talks about lights and outlets.

I beg your forgiveness for my typo. :)