Gu10 flickering issue after power cut

[GinGaz]

Had a 5hr power cut last week and since then the LED downlights in both kitchen and bathroom have started to intermittently flicker.
Changed all the ones in bathroom but no difference, filled in the webform to Northern Powergrid who rang to say someone would come to check it out that afternoon, nobody turned up and I received a text saying to get an electrician in first or we aren't coming. Its only a year since I had a new consumer unit fitted and the whole system was checked then.
Am I being fobbed off?

 

[Scally-Ho]

Did anything else connected suffer?

 

[Murdochcat]

Interesting. If it affects 2 rooms AND replacing the GU10 bulbs hasn’t improved matters I think there is another issue at play here

Could be external, could be internal

Best suggestion would be to get a local spark to check over the tightness of the connections inside the CU

BTW, if you get very close to the service head, can you hear anything?

 

[GinGaz]

No nothing, it's happening on the kitchen and bathroom circuits, no problems at all so far on anything plugged into 13 amp sockets or anything.

 

[Scally-Ho]

I was thinking of a neutral fault causing overvoltage in the electronic transformers driving the LED's

 

[GinGaz]

What's the service head? is that the part just before the consumer unit?

 

[Murdochcat]

What's the service head? is that the part just before the consumer unit?

Yes, it has the dno fuse in it

 

[GinGaz]

No noises coming from there at all ......

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

No nothing, it's happening on the kitchen and bathroom circuits, no problems at all so far on anything plugged into 13 amp sockets or anything.

Some items plugged into 13amp sockets, might not show a flickering supply. Equally, it might just be a fault affecting just those two circuits. Are the two areas of affected lights, on two circuits, or the same circuit/MCB/RCBO?

 

[GinGaz]

2 different circuits on RCBO ...

 

[robinbanks]

If you plug a lamp into a 13A socket, does it also flicker when the lights do?

How many trip switches in your CU for lighting? Do lights on different circuits (eg upstairs/downstairs) all flicker?

 

[ebee]

If you have a spare lampholder that properly fits the effected lamps or you have the knowhow to SAFELY remove one temporarily for this purpose and you again have the skills to SAFELY wire it into a plug you could try one or all of those lamps on one or more power circuits to discover whether the flicker remains or disappears.
That should give you a good indication as to whether the problem is with the lamps or with the particular lighting circuit(s)/ whole house supply.

Similarly if it also always happens as above then testing at another persons house might point you to a conclusion.

Electrics is easy to do, it is not much more than simply twisting two bits of wire together.
Doing it SAFELY is a completely different matter!

 

[bernardgreen]

have started to intermittently flicker.

How often do they flicker ? Is it normal ( no flickers ) for most of the time and ocassionally a short period of flickering ?

It might be that restoring power ( the 5 hour power cut ) required re-routing the local supply network. Your area may now be supplied from a line that also feeds industrial users,

Do your neighbour's lights have a similar problem ?

 

[bernardgreen]

it is not much more than simply twisting two bits of wire together.

The skill is knowing which two wires can be twisted together

 

[Murdochcat]

Dimmers or standard switches