Magnetic Field Trouble in Los Angeles: Equipment Failures

[Adder_Noir]

That's what I was thinking. If they're in panels then they should be well protected. Curious that the lights only go off for a second and then come back on without ever dimming.

Do you have a single phase supply coming in or three phase?

I think by now you can rule out a faulty appliance at your premises and also a wiring fault. This is definitely something external which is causing it.

It looks like some kind of large power drop and then a large power surge. To be honest mate I'd guess something like that would be traceable to the power company which puts the solution out of your hands, and into the hands of a large group of people whose policy will probably be to withhold information from you.

Given that all the other avenues have been exhausted I'd guess it must be something to do with the quality/consistency of power entering your property. This ties in with you having no problems with the generator run circuits.

That is the direction I'd focus on now. You have to try and think of everything first though very thoroughly before you start looking that way just in case.

There would be things you can do to keep the power coming in clean, but it would mean spending money on a new custom made panel I think.

Unless any new information comes to light mate I'm afraid I'm all burned out of ideas! I hope you get it sorted out soon. Just remember that if you've got no issue at your place and the last guy had no problems then I would guess its a power supply problem on the part of the power company. Looks to me like someone or something, somewhere is getting the lion's share of your buildings power for its own use when it needs it and you're getting the ****ty end of the stick.

Best of luck mate, sorry we couldn't help

 

[business man]

I will keep writing updates if any new info comes up.
Thanks again for all of your help.
Maybe Dangers buddy has seen this problem before? He's going to need at least an hour to read all the replies:zzz:

 

[Darryl]

just got my copy of "Silicon Chip magazine.

Product Showcase section has an artical of a new Power quality tester.
By Fluke:

"the logger will troubleshoot and analyse power quality issues and is capable of logging up to 500 power parameters for up to 85 days.
It is ideal for identifying intermittent and hard to find power quality issues, quality of service compliance, assessing baseline power qualithy, load studies and energy and power quality performance validation.
The recorder provides advanced power quality analysis and consistent compliance testing.. " it goes on...

www.fluke.com.au

www.siliconchip.com.au

mabey its possible to hire such test equipment.

 

[business man]

my guy has had something that looks like this hooked up for awhile, I will see if it is the same thing.
thanks for your input.

 

[Electro-Man12]

Businessman,

Your problems are not with electromagnetic fields. Hire a REAL electrician, Any electrician and technician you have had in there before, I would never let in again. They aren't worth a darn if you ask me.

No wonder you have been pulling your hair out. Ignorant know nothing people who do electrical work, who aren't real electricians keep telling people like you they are electricians. Just because someone can hook up 2 wires and make the light come on in no way qualifies them as an electrician.

I am a REAL electrician and I have run into this problem more than once. I found the problem each and every time. And it is ALWAYS the same problem. I bet you would like to know what the problem is.

If I was in Los Angeles I would tell you to call me and I would come fix your problem. For fee of course. However I live in Dallas Tx, so I won't be stopping by anytime soon.

You have discovered your own problem but then never followed through with it. You said the conduit was carrying current. ""BIG RED FLAG"" Conduit should never carry current EVER!

Let me tell you about a story of one instance which electrified an entire house including the brick outside. The problem was with a light in a bedroom of a house. the ground wire was laying on the side of the switch, and whenever that particular bedroom light was on, the ground wire became electrified. BUT the interesting part is the breaker did not blow.
If you turned the bedroom light on and went outside and touched the brick on the house, it would shock you. The short was not a direct short, but was actually creating a spark gap at the bedroom switch. The people had called 20 plus ""electricians"" before me who could not fix it. I fixed in within 15 minutes.

Another story was a business in a concrete building, with rebar in walls just like yours.
Their computers kept blowing out, and they couldn't figure out why. The power company came in and checked the line, they were good. They hired someone else to come in and check the line voltage, and record it, they were fine no surges all night. BUT the computers blew out again.

None of these people would monitor the ground. Which is what I suggested within 5 minutes of arriving and hearing their story. As soon as they started monitoring the ground they discovered a spike. The spike was occurring when another piece of equipment would turn on, I believe it was a roof A/C this time. When the a/c would kick on, it created a short, but again NOT A DIRECT short. It too was a spark gap short that would not blow the breaker but electrified the ground in the entire building. effectively doubling the voltage on the computers.

Everyone kept looking for surges in the line, when in fact they were coming from the ground system.

Call a REAL electrician.

Have a great day.

 

[Electro-Man12]

Businessman,

If the conduit is carrying current ALL the time, and not just when the anomalies are happening, then in fact you have a neutral wire disconnected or broke somewhere, which is causing the conduit to carry current all the time. Which is your problem. I would start looking at the equipment that the conduit you tested was running first, and go from there.

If the conduit is carrying current only during the anomalies, then whatever piece of equipment is on during the anomalies is the problem. Roof A/c, refrigerator, heater, water fountain chiller.

I would look for something turning on, or off at the same times these anomalies happen. A low crackling sound, sounds like a spark gap to me. I would try to pin point it. If your grounding system is carrying current and you ground your equipment better, expect MORE failures.

Well Have fun.

Call a REAL Electrician.

One more thing, as the short starts occurring it will draw the power from the equipment that is on, lights or whatever, and sometimes those will go off as long as the spark gap is occurring. Then they will come back on, as the spark gap stops, and go back off as the spark starts again. And all of this can happen without blowing the breakers.