Troubleshooting

Almost all light fixtures or lamps supplied in new homes, or sold at retail are of LED variety which is great for the energy efficiency of your home. However, a flickering effect is a common issue that can occur with this technology. The most common issue is low quality LED bulbs or drivers which may not have the same quality control and voltage regulation as name brand ones. We recommend saving yourself the headache and purchasing quality brands such as Phillips or Sylvania.

Overheating can also be an issue especially in high temperature environments. Always make sure fixtures and lamps are rated to be used in the appropriate applications. For instance; an enclosed fixture should have lamps that are “rated for an enclosed fixture” which will be disclosed on the labeling. Another common example of overheating are for fixtures that are facing down towards the ground such as over a bathroom vanity. Try lamps rated for an enclosed fixture in that scenario as well.

If there is a dimmer on an LED lighting load, always make sure:

The dimmer is rated for LED lights

The LED lamps or driver are rated to be dimmable

If compatibility or faulty products are not the issue, then it is possible there is a loose connection, or on rare occurrence voltage fluctuations in the home’s wiring or from the electric utility lines outside the home. In this case call a licensed electrician for service.

When there is no power at an outlet the first thing to check is if the outlet(s) is on a switch. If any of the rooms in your home have switched wall outlets, the top half of the outlet will be controlled by the wall switch. The bottom half of that same outlet will remain energized at all times.

If the outlets are protected by a GFCI device, it is possible the GFCI tripped and should be reset.

If a wall switch or a GFCI are not interrupting power to the circuit, check the breaker panel to see if the circuit breaker has tripped and reset it to the on position.

Your dishwasher is required by code to have a disconnect switch and protected by a GFCI. This GFC switch is usually located in the base cabinet under the sink. If your dishwasher is not working, please reset this GFCI switch. If the switch is on and the dishwasher still isn’t working, check the circuit breaker.

It is normal for a dimmer switch to feel slightly warm to the touch during operation, but it should not be excessively hot. Dimmer switches work by regulating the flow of electrical current to control the brightness of connected lights. This regulation involves some level of resistance, which can generate a small amount of heat as a byproduct of the dimming process.

However, if it is over 130 degrees fahrenheit, it could be a sign of an issue. If this is the case, shut off power to the switch and call James Electric.

Laundry room outlets are required by code to be protected by AFCI breakers. Also, if the room has a sink then the outlets must also be GFCI protected.

If loss of power to the laundry appliances is an issue, it is highly unlikely there is anything wrong with the wiring installation for the laundry circuit(s).

Appliance manufacturers are expected to test their equipment with all makes and brands of breakers. Occasionally, some appliance brands will sell equipment that’s internal components under normal operation cause a healthy arc-fault breaker or a GFCI outlet to trip. In this case, you likely will either need to replace the AFCI breaker, GFCI outlet, or the laundry appliances with different models/ manufacturers that have been tested to work properly with one another.

Note: A home wired by James Electric will include Legrand/ Pass & Seymour GFCI’s and Square D QO AFCI breakers. It is the homeowners responsibility to ensure their appliances are tested to work with these brands.

If you built a home wired by James Electric than you most likely have one of the following model numbers from these two top quality brands:

Broan RB110, RB80, RB110L1 (fan/light), RB80L1 (fan/light)

Delta SIG110, GBR80, SIG80-110 LED (fan/light)