I have what I believe to be a high voltage spike that happens randomly in ONLY ONE circuit in my home and will destroy items like a TV, Coffee Maker, Garage Door Opener, Boom Box, but not a toaster or light in that circuit. The Circuit Breaker did not trip, so I had it replaced. Then I also added a 2000 Joule Surge Protector. A few days later the surge occured again and took out the Surge Protector (fortunately all items connected to it were protected). Can anyone tell me why this surge is happening and how to cure ?

Thanks,

Frankswsj

 

Power surges occur when the flow of electricity is interrupted, then started again, or when something sends electricity flowing back into the system.
Surges can range from five or ten volts when you turn on your hair dryer to thousands of volts if lightning strikes a transformer.
Your home is filled with items susceptible to power surges. Anything containing a microprocessor is especially vulnerable - the tiny digital components are so sensitive that even a 10-volt fluctuation can disrupt proper functioning.
Microprocessors are found in hundreds of consumer items, including TVs, cordless phones, computers, microwaves, and even seemingly "low-tech" large appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerators.
Large power surges, as with a lightning strike, can cause instantaneous damage, "frying" circuits and melting plastic and metal parts. Fortunately, these types of power surges are rare.
Low-level power surges won't melt parts or blow fuses, but they can cause "electronic rust," gradually degrading internal circuitry until it ultimately fails.
Small surges won't leave any outward evidence, so you may not even be aware they're happening - even though they may occur dozens or even hundreds of times each day.
Internal power surges
More than half of household power surges are internal. These happen dozens of times of day, usually when devices with motors start up or shut off, diverting electricity to and from other appliances.
Refrigerators and air conditioners are the biggest culprits, but smaller devices like hair dryers and power tools can also cause problems.
The first line of defense against power surges is prevention. While most external surges can't be controlled, you can eliminate some common causes of internal surges.
Upgrade inadeqate wiring
If you have an older home, inadequate wiring could be the cause. Electrical systems in homes built before the 1980s weren't designed to handle large-capacity refrigerators, entertainment systems and computer equipment.
Some visible signs of inadequate wiring are frequent blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers, or lights that flicker or dim when the refrigerator or another large appliance kicks on.
Don't ignore these symptoms - they're a signal that something is wrong, and the problem may become a fire hazard.
You may have a problem with an overloaded circuit. Look for two (or more) large appliances drawing power from the same circuit, especially in the kitchen.
Another troublespot might be a circuit with many smaller devices, such as a family room filled with computer and entertainment equipment.
Ask your electrician to establish dedicated circuits for each large appliance, and to divide rooms with multiple devices into separate circuits.

Choosing a Surge Protector
For the items you can't leave unplugged, invest in high-quality surge protectors. They work by monitoring the flow of electricity and diverting excess voltage either back into the system or to the ground.
There are two types of surge protectors - to fully protect your electronics, using both types is a must.
Point-of-use surge protectors
A "point-of-use" surge protector guards individual devices from lower-level internal fluctuations.
You may have equipment plugged into a multi-socket power strip, but it's important to realize that many of these devices function simply as extension cords, providing little or no protection against power surges.
The adage "you get what you pay for" very much applies to surge protectors, with prices ranging from $5 to more than $150.
Here's what to look for:
Enough connections to protect all components of a system.
An on/off switch allowing you to shut off power to every component.
UL-1449 rating to ensure adequate testing by Underwriters Laboratories. Look for a specific UL rating, not just a label that says "UL Listed."
An indicator light or audible alarm so you know a high-level surge has occurred.
A clamping voltage of 330. This is the level at which the device begins to block the surge - the lower the clamping voltage, the better.
The total energy dissipation - the higher the better.
A joule rating of at least 400 is good; 600 is better. This is a measure of the ability to absorb surges.
A response time of 10 nanoseconds or less.
Protection between all three wire combinations: L-G, N-G, L-N.
A warranty against damage to any connected equipment. Keep in mind that no surge protector will be fully warranted against lightning strikes.
Filters for line noise, also known as electromagnetic interference.
Whole-house surge protectors
To protect against large external power surges, a whole-house protector is key. These devices cost around $150 to $300, and are installed on your meter or service panel by a licensed electrician.

 

I have seen strange stuff like that where the ugrounded conductor and the grounding conductor were bonded at someplace other than the panel. Like in a recept box. I had one that blow a motion detector up all the time and the white was shorted to the box. But I have seen it a couple times. Maybe someone bootleg a ground.

 

Open or intermittent neutral somewhere in that circuit? Maybe a loose backstabbed white wire in a recep?

 

Thanks for those answers - I appreciate all the help I can get.
How can I test to find out the cause of the problem or do I have to go to each outlet or the main box ? I only have a volt/ohm meter. Do I need more ?

Thanks,

Frankwsj

 

I learned about backstabbed receps from reading this site and found two that were questionable in my house -- by taking apart every outlet and switch. To be safe, and as long as I had them apart, I switched them all to the screws.

The problem with meters is, if your spikes are intermittent they may not show up on a meter. Visual inspection is the surest method.

 

It sounds from your original question that you have on the same circuit a TV, Coffee Maker, Garage Door Opener, Boom Box, a toaster and a light on that circuit. Which seems like way too much to have on one circuit. Especially when you have solid state equipment on the same circuit with heat producing appliances. Heat producing appliances will almost always cause a spike with results as aphares pointed out, some things are more suseptible. I would suggest you find out how many amps you're running on that circuit, split it up onto a second or even third circuit, etc. Almost certainly if you have both a coffee maker and a toaster on the same circuit, along with everything else, the spike when you use the Garage door opener would be significant to cause this problem.

 

Thanks to all for your help. I pulled all the outlets on the faulty circuit and found a suspect outlet: saw green particles of Cu, burnt terminal, melted insulation for 2 in. on one wire, all 4 wires loose on that outlet (screws NEVER tightened) and, to take the cake, hot and neutral reversed !!! In addition, I got a shot when I pulled out this outlet and found it was being fed by a red wire from the outlet by it's side (different circuit) that also fed the refrigerator. Had a licensed electrician rewire the outlet. Completed as of 5/16/03 and no problems since. Am assuming problem is fixed now. Don't understand 1 thing - how did this circuit function for 39 years without causing any problems ?

 

As Aphares pointed out, for most of 39 years it didnt have all this sensitive equipment on it and new stuff needs to be on the right polarity.

 

Your mention of a Red wire suggests a 120/240 volt 3-wire Branch-Circuit. Should the Neutral (White wire) connection become defective, the result is two loads is series across 240 volts.Unless the 2 loads are exactly equal, there is an un-equal voltage division across the two loads, such as 200 volts across Load A and 40 volts across Load B.