Dimming Lights

[onedinosaur]

The lights in my victorian house have recently started dimmin every now and then of their own accord. When this happens, the consumer unit (I think!) can be heard making a clicking sound.

This only seems to have started since someone came out to fix my boiler. Could this be anything to do with it?

I live in South Manchester, and noticed an earlier post where someone suggested this kind of thing is common in the area. Should I call an electrician first, or contact my supplier?

Cheers

 

[felix]

It's possible you have a bad connection somewhere in your lighting circuit. This is a fire hazard so get it fixed pronto.

My suspicion however is that "someone who came out" has connected your boiler/pump into the lighting circuit! Try this test. Do the lights dim when the pump starts up? If so, is that clicking noise coming from your room thermostat? If the answer is yes then the pump is loading the lighting circuit. It doesn't take much voltage drop to make a light dim visibly. Although it's not dangerous it's not a desirable state of affairs. If the pump goes short circuit it will pop the lighting fuse and leave you groping in the dark. The correct way to power a boiler and pump is from a fused connection unit off the ring main or a dedicated fuse in the box.