Intermittent Electrical Problems. Common Causes

Published May 2024

1) Why does an intermittent electrical issue occur?

An INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL ISSUE can be incredibly frustrating. Whether you have an issue in your vehicle or in your home, it can be frustrating and costly to try and pin down the cause. 

An intermittent electrical problem is often a difficult one for an auto electrician or domestic electrician to pin down. The reason for this is that we need the electrical problem to show up on our testing equipment when we check things over.

Intermittent electrical issues are a sign that things are not quite right and failure could be imminent or on the near future horizon. When it comes to an engine compartment for example, there are many components that rattle, vibrate and move around during the normal use of a vehicle. There are sensors, wires and electrical components that interact with dust, moisture and debris and any of these things can mean an intermittent issue occurs. Loose connections are common and may only show up when driving the vehicle.

2) What kinds of issues can occur in vehicles?

When we consider just how complex electrical systems actually are, especially a vehicles electrical system, there are many components that can fail and break down resulting in:

• Poor Ground Connections or a Bad Ground
• Loose or Corroded Battery Terminals
• Ignition Switch Problems
• Bad connection in fuse box or elsewhere
• Failure of the engine to start
• Issues whilst the vehicle is running

And so many more.

These issues in vehicle’s electrical system can cause dash lights to appear and error messages to be displayed. Often, the diagnostic process will yield no results with the cause of the problem unknown. 

3) What kinds of issues can occur in the home?

Typical intermittent power issues in the home are common and can include symptoms such as:

• Partial power outage 
• Intermittent Problems 
• Flickering Lights 
• Failing Electrical Connections
• Circuit Breaker Tripping
• Main Switch Tripping

4) What is a poor ground or bad earth connection?

A poor ground connection in a vehicle will result in the electrical system operating poorly. A poor ground connection can sometimes be seen when a vehicle puts its indicators on and other lights in the clusters will flash. 

This may mean that the earth connection is corroded, rusty or loose. In these cases checking the earthing connection on the vehicle is the first step. Check the battery terminals are tight, the earthing point on the body of the vehicle for the lights is tight and free of debris and rust.

A poor ground or earth connection in a home's electrical system will not manifest in a similar way. Where there is a poor earth or NO earth in a home electrical system, there will often be no signs until a secondary fault develops. 

Early warning signs of a poor earth in a properties electrical system may include things such as small shocks from metal equipment or electrical accessories and appliances.

5) What can cause a failure of an engine to start?

There can be many reasons that an engine will not start but things such as loose connections, dead battery, faulty ignition coils and starter motor problems such as starter solenoid issues are common. 

Modern vehicles are complicated and will often require a mechanic or auto electrician in order to diagnose the problems. 

6) How do I know if electrical connections are failing?

Faulty wiring often shows no symptoms until things are really bad! 

A loose wire may continue to work until connections overheat and burn out causing damage to other equipment and wiring around them. Terminal connector blocks can melt and short out with each other damage can occur to wiring in our homes and vehicles without our knowledge and only show up when its too late. 

If electrical connections are failing you would expect to see the following common symptoms:

• Intermittent operation of equipment
• Poor operation of electrical equipment
• Burning Smells
• Small shocks from equipment
• Overheating electrical equipment
• Bulbs or lamps burn out quickly
• Switches tripping regularly

There can be a similar problem with a car’s electrical system and a homes electrical system. If you have dim lights or an intermittent electrical issue in your home then you may have a bad neutral rather than a bad ground like on a car. 

7) What dangers are there with faulty wiring?

Wiring problems can leave us at our wits end but there are also potential dangers associated with wiring issues such as:

• Fire Hazard
• Electric Shock Risk
• Stranded vehicles issues
• Home power failures creating hazards

Faulty wiring, if left unchecked can result in other problems. Where vehicles have faulty wiring, electronic systems can become damaged, engine failure and damage can result if electronic timing suffers, home electrical systems can burn out requiring wiring, plaster and other building repairs. 

8) Summary

If you suspect that you have a wiring issue in a vehicle or in your home then it is vital to have it checked out quickly. An INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL ISSUE can be difficult to pin down but once it becomes a permanent issue it is often more expensive to fix. 

A licensed electrician can certainly help with home electrical wiring and a good auto electrician will be able to assist with any vehicle wiring issues that you are experiencing. Older homes and vehicles are more susceptible to problems than more modern homes and vehicles. Whilst electrical wiring may seem to go on forever, it does have a lifespan beyond which inevitable problems will occur.