Lightning strike problems

fetzeriiif · Sep 5, 2019

Lightning either struck my house or close enough that it created a major power surge in my house. It was strong enough that it wrecked an internet modem, 4 DirecTV receivers, 3 TVs, a garage door opener, and a wireless home phone set. It also caused a gfi breaker in the electrical panel to trip and no longer be able to be reset.

I replaced the breaker with a new gfi breaker and it seems to be working fine.

Here is my question. Both of the lights in my kids rooms that are on the circuit that had a blown out breaker now have issues. When you turn them on, they stay on for about three seconds and then shut off. They are both ceiling fans with lights. The fans still work fine. Are the lights in the fans shot or is there something else that I could be missing? Thanks for any help you can give me.
[automerge]1567650600[/automerge]
I'm guessing that the surge did something to a voltage regulator in the light. I tried taking two of the three bulbs out to see if that would make a difference, but it still shut off after 2 seconds. Time for a new fan or can the regulator be replaced?

Bobster · Sep 5, 2019

I would be getting an electrician in to inspect and test the wiring also. Lightning can do some strange things, an could've damaged wiring hidden in your walls that could potentially cause further problems down the line.

I imagine with the amount of things damaged, this will be an insurance claim anyway, so just stick the electricians cost onto that.

Megawatt · Sep 19, 2019

fetzeriiif said:
Lightning either struck my house or close enough that it created a major power surge in my house. It was strong enough that it wrecked an internet modem, 4 DirecTV receivers, 3 TVs, a garage door opener, and a wireless home phone set. It also caused a gfi breaker in the electrical panel to trip and no longer be able to be reset.

I replaced the breaker with a new gfi breaker and it seems to be working fine.

Here is my question. Both of the lights in my kids rooms that are on the circuit that had a blown out breaker now have issues. When you turn them on, they stay on for about three seconds and then shut off. They are both ceiling fans with lights. The fans still work fine. Are the lights in the fans shot or is there something else that I could be missing? Thanks for any help you can give me.
[automerge]1567650600[/automerge]
I'm guessing that the surge did something to a voltage regulator in the light. I tried taking two of the three bulbs out to see if that would make a difference, but it still shut off after 2 seconds. Time for a new fan or can the regulator be replaced?

Fetzeriiif that ceiling fan is damaged and you need to call a qualified electrician and have a surge installed in your panel, plus change out all receptacles that are damaged. Your house could have caught on fire so it could have been worse. I’ve seen receptacles blow out of the wall