I had a friend to call me and tell me they had lights that were getting real bright and blowing. I immediately suspected a loss neutral somewhere, since I seem to be running into quiet a few of these lately.Went to check it out the next morning. They had fortunately
turned off the main breaker. After checking voltage, I found out that there was way high voltage on 1 phase of panel when a load was put on it. After checking several things, I found out that the power lines went through the neighbors trees, and the wind had rubbed the insulation off the hot wire, and shorted to the neutral, and burnt it into [Linked Image] I called the power company, and they came out to fix it. Unfortunately, it had already done the damage to some of the homeowner's appliances.
Microwave, garage door opener, and several other items. On the brighter side, the power company agreed to pay for the losses. Every time I see a "frayed" neutral on a house, I try to warn the homeowner. Beware of loose or broken neutrals [Linked Image]