Why Do LIGHTS DIM When AC kicks ON? 🤔
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- There could be a few reasons that your lights are dimming when your air conditioner turns on but the most common issues I find in the field doing service are with the compressor starting apparatus.
The start capacitor and the potential relay or hard start kit.
If you don't have a starting apparatus on your air conditioner you may need to have one installed for your compressor to start efficiently.
What to do if your lights dim when your air conditioner turns on.
Step 1 Call a company
Step 2 Request Maintenance
Step 3 Make sure they check wire size compressor starting apparatus and contactor.
#LightsDimming #AirConditioner
#LockedRotorAmperage
Very helpful. I scheduled my AC check for next day. Thank you.
Thanks skid my buddy was having this issue all his kitchen lights were dimming when the compressor turned on then it would go back to working fine when it was on , I'm going to install a hot start thanks
your welcome
glad you watched and found this video helpful
Best video on this subject! Thanks!
Not sure if this helps but I used an infared thermometer on A/C circuit breaker. Reading was between 100F - 107F. Sometimes it would read "Hi" . The buzzing noise last a second or so and stops. All the other circuit breakers were reading around body temperature or less. My lights dim as well for a second or two.
👍 Hey Teddy ty very much❗️ I’m a union electrician and that is some damn good information ‼️
Hey Thank you for watching 👀😀 Awesome Glad this was helpful 😀
I've gotten used to "sodering" from the States but "fay-rads" sounds like a capacitor from the 90s that surfed and wore their hat backwards (also very reflective sunnies).
Great video, none the less.
very cool Thanks for the laugh 😅 glad you watched 😀thank you 😊
My issue is that my unit never used to do this. Now I notice the flicker every time it comes on. Does this mean my hard starter is going bad? Should I just install a soft starter if the hard starter needs to be replaced anyway?
My lights flicker and the engine starts to shake for a few seconds when my cooling fan turns on. Please provide some opinions or ideas. Thank you.
Attaching terminals to a hot capacitor without discharging? I have to think this is not safe Tad. Also confusing where you add it to the system versus earlier where you say the hard start kit replaces the relay and capacitor. Which is it? Thanks for posting
You are correct Always Discharge my friend. Always place hard start kit across common and hermetic terminal. Thanks for watching please sub and share so I can grow up.
@@TaddyDigest - so if I have a dual capacitor for the fan and the compressor I can just add the hard start kit right? I’m guessing your demonstration was the same - a dual capacitor?
Your “dual” cap will have an F, H,and C terminal.. f=fan, c=common, h=hermetic compressor. Hard start cap goes on the H and C terminals always and never on the F.. most caps on hvac are dual because tge fan motors require a start cap as well as the compressor needing a start cap.. some systems fans require a start and run cap which is a 3 cap system.. that will have an H,C,S,R terminal. The fan wil connect across the c, s, r terminals and compressor on the c,h terminals hard start will go on the c,h terminals as well..
Can we use a big capacitors in the main power to compensate amperage that lost at a few seconds of starting up ?
Having the potential relay to drop out the start winding will work a lot better plus you won't burn the motor up with large capacitors
Wouldn't a soft start be effective? Just wondering why did you choose a hard start kit over a soft start kit which would greatly reduce the amperage at start ?
Yes soft start would be better
How do I find one for a mod. No. 4TTB3030D1000AA aTRANE ?
used them for years now i use soft starts better overall on amps and energy use
Hi. I moved to a house and right before move in I had to replace the AC. The new one is a 4 ton heat pump from Carrier. Every time it turns on the lights on a dimmer gets considerable low. The lights not on a dimmer just flicker for a second but you know when it goes on/off. I asked the technician and he told me that I need an electrician. I don’t know how the old system was operating but before an electrician, any suggestion? Thanks.
So he could be right in suggesting that you need an electrician maybe to check the power wire leading to leading to the equipment And make sure it size properly
To make sure that the Box has no loose connections and to make sure that the breaker or service disconnect is still good
Hey Taddy, Which Hard start lit should i use for a Lennox 14ACX-047-230-034 ton RLA 19.9 LRA 109.0?
This one will work
www.amazon.com/AMI-PARTS-Capacitor-Increases-Compressor/dp/B07X1MB2NH/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=hard+start+kit&qid=1657850379&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTTlUTFdSQUlGWUxXJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDE4MTE0MlRESEZQWUw0WFczSCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDA0NDk2MlJaWlBLS0NOQ0hLUyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
There are flickering lights downstairs in my bedroom, bathroom, and hallway, and the other room downstairs. The air conditioner isn't working properly upstairs. Can these flickering lights downstairs be caused by the air conditioner not working properly upstairs? Also one of the outlet in my room burned 2 portable heaters already.
Sounds like your compressor made May need to check the capacitor that powers the compressor
Hi Taddy I got a question for you please ,our furnace technician was out earlier replacing a leaky a coil in my furnace ,we found when we removed the exhaust& fresh air pipe that a 90 day metal fitting had gotten dropped in pipe and blocked off exhaust “pipe” by about 80% your thoughts on this this metal pipe has been rusting over the last five years and contaminated the fan down below and the hoses and orifices and what not, your thoughts please.
need to know details pictures would be great 👍
Rust wont hurt anyting .. if disturbed you could inhale it but at most youd just get a little extra iron in your body which is normal.. at least you got. It out so the system can now breathe.. so no worries and should get better heat and lower bills…
Are you talking about lights dimming just briefly or staying dim while the AC is running? My lights have always slightly dimmed for a split second when the AC first turns on and I've always been told that's normal and not a problem.
dimming for a second
Thank you for this!
Absolutely you're welcome I'm glad you watched please like and share to help me grow
Lra is if the compressor is locked its not the starting amperage.
The maximum start-up current is referred to as "Locked Rotor Amps" (LRA) because at the first moment when the rotor is at standstill, it appears as if it's locked. This current will drop significantly when motor accelerates to about 75% full speed.
This is the reason I refer to starting amps as LRA, my friend
Is their any chance the dimming could be caused by a loose connection? My lights do dim when the AC kicks on an my unit is fairly new maybe 1 1/2 years old
Yes Could be wire issue or loose connection
Nice video!
thanks 😊
When my lights dim I just add a flux capacitor! 1.21 jiggawatts!
YYYEeESSSS!!!
"What the hell is a jigawatt?"
@@trollem69😂😂😂
Hello Taddy. I have noticed lights dimming around my house when we use our A/C (Portable AC, 12,000 BTU's) and when our dishwasher is running. It's not a mild dim, it's pretty noticeable. It only happens when the AC kicks on and when the dishwasher changes cycles. Is this something to be concerned about? I want to know if we should call in an Electrician to have a look. Thanks!
check wire size, breaker and breaker box
yes call an electrician to check and make sure nothing is loose
Ive seen houses with an 80 or even 60 amp main feed do this. Just mean ya aint got the power capm.. when dishwasher is running thats around 11 amps when draining and 18amps on the running ac, plus all the other stuff running around the house adding up to another possible 30 amps with fridge, lights, stuffs.. and sometimes you can be way below your max rating but the power company feed could not be at high use and the draw of the stuff kicking on causes a small drop until the power feed catches up to the new demand.. happens in small communities alot…. Or if ya notice it only happening certain times and not other times than could be a demand issue which cant be fixed unless repeated use at those times changes the demand times for the power company so they change higher draw hours schedule….
But what if I just got a brand new AC unit and lights still flicker
Check your breaker Box voltage coming in check the connections yeah connections check the connections for the unit as well in the Box check the wire size to the unit
💥
Put a meter(amp clamp) on it when it starts bet you any money it’s not pulling 74 amps, it will if the compressor is bad internally. But starting amps would probably be around 20/22 amps and then will come down to 12/13 amps (RLA) sincerely and hvac tech
LRA amps will most of the time be around 70-150+ in most residential systems. Test LRA amps not regular ampers noob.
Sincerely hvac tech…
We just had a hard start kit added to our AC unit. Now, we've noticed that when the AC turns on, the lights in the bathroom near it get brighter. This seems like the opposite of what people say about AC/light dimming.
You have an open neutral wire somewhere. Thats why the lights get brighter. Open could be anywhere. I had a squirrel chew the neutral on power pole by the road. Dryer would make lights get brighter.
Your brave not denergizing the cap before sticking your fingers in there. Lol
hahaha I love being electrified early in the morning Its my favorite 🤪
None of that crap is going to stop any lights from flickering. Also, your heat exchanger is probably not cracked.
Neighbors ac dims my lights.
hahaha thats not good lol
@@TaddyDigest both house service lines are lugged together at the pole. Maybe re lug or separate may work.
Yea if your neighbors power has any effect on your owm its either like you said the connection at the transformet on the pole, thr transformer is overloaded, your service cabling is inadequate, or youralls power is shared somehow and your getting screwed. All the other issues should be fixed fior free by your electric company..
We call that false flagging
. Thats not the only reason bro. your video is only for views. get out the way bro.
You're watching me I'm not watching you
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