Why are my lights suddenly flickering when my ac starts

You have a bad disgronificator. Call the utility company and ask them to replace it.

It shouldn't cost you anything and if they charge they are scam artists.

Check the ground at your service.

I've seen these kinds of issues with a bad ground at the service. Often times the ground wire/clamp can be damaged by weed trimmers or mowers.

While the AC capacitor is another lily culprit, older HVAC equipment can demand higher amps at startup also even with a good cap.

Another cause can be corrosion or a crack at the meter base. Seen this before in a house where one of the three meter lugs had a hairline crack.


Hope this helps.

Thanks, I'll ck in the morning

Is it all of your lights or just one room/area?

I had the same problem recently. Power Co. came out and replaced the connections on the neutral line to fix it.

Link if you want to read up on the possible problem.

Open Main Wire -- Strange Effects

Ghost

Could be a loose ground on the triplex at your weatherhead (if your electric service is overhead). This can cause low voltage when a motor starts, such as an AC or washer/dryer.
Electric company could hook up a Voltage Monitor for a day, and see what's happening. Request one for inside the house.

I had the same problem when I'd use large tools and my welder. Entergy guy came out within an hour of me calling them, and he redid all grounds from my box to the power pole. No problems now

quote:

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Disgronificators can overheat and lead to household fires. Most of the time it can be blamed on a stuck desalinator valve.

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