Having the surge protector should not affect individual circuits. It sounds more like to me you have a bad neutral somewhere. By that I mean a wire is loose. So say the light switch or TV is left on and the bad connection is currently open, neither work. So the wind or gremlins in your house do their work and the next thing you know their on because the circuit is now making through this poor connection. If this is the case, this is a bad deal ok. You should have this looked at by a qualified electrician. Now, there is something else it could be, it's called a switch feeder. It could be that somewhere else one of the kids turned on a light switch and poof, other stuff turns on. If this is the case, it's simply a matter of moving a wire from the switched side of the offending switch to the fed side. You can test this by making sure the light you want to come on is in the on position and then walking around the adjacent rooms and flicking on switches. You know, if the boys loosed some neutrals at your panel board when they were trying to find a spot for their surge protector, that would be the bad neutral I was talking about. If you just recently had it done, call them back and tell them what's going on. It will be as simple as removing the panel cover, re-tightening the screws on all the whites. You can do it yourself if you're brave. Just turn off the main and carefully tighten only the screws on the neutral/white bar. There are still places in a de-energized panel that can beat up on you, becareful and good luck.
Andy
AnswerWe had a similar problem several years ago. When we called an electrician to trouble shoot for us we found out that some of our aged "Aluminum wiring" was loose at the panel box internal connections.Some of the connections were dark with evidence of melting & burning. Very Dangerous !! Apparently when aluminum heats up it will shut-off the power, after it cools the power is restored..therefore some lights an the TV were turning off & on on their own.. A sign that there was trouble brewing. We had the electrical panel upgraded & replaced. Eventually over the past few years, we had all the aluminum removed and replaced with copper wiring. No further problems.no
check your headlight switch or dash dimmer switch to be sure you do not have them turned on.
Yes it can.
Bad bulbs Bad dimmer switch
Because the juju has yet to be established in the new wiring. As soon as the juju takes hold, the light brightens. <<>> Recheck your wiring of the switch. It sounds like you may have wired two lights in series that may have been supplied from the one switch. Two lights from one switch have to be wired in parallel with each other. Use the discussion page if you need help with this problem
I would start with replacing the head light switch
The manual running light switch may be "on". It is located on top of the steering column, near the dashboard guages, in a 1998 Legacy. The switch operates the lights without requiring the ignition switch to be on.
flick the light switch
answer: replace the headlights switch.
There is a second light switch that activates the parking lights without the key being on. It is on top of the steering column behind the steering wheel. If this switch is turned off and the lights remain on when the key is off, there is a malfunction in this circuit.
Brake Light switch works without the ignition on. unplug the brake pedal switch and check to see if the brake lights are still on..switch could be defective
If you have to hold the headlight switch out to keep the lights on, then the switch itself is bad. The switch should be a fairly easy part to replace.
The reverse light switch is stuck or defective.
It sends a power to the starter relay/solenoid to engauge the starter. Know that the ignition switch is not what you put the key in and turn. That is the lock assembly. The ignition switch is located lower down on the steering column.
We mine for coal which produces electricity . Without coal we wouldn't be able to flip the light switch on an have lights.
A "dimmer" switch will change the brightness of lights.
On my 89 there is a ground wire on the body in front of battery. Bad connection will cause problem with headlights. Could be hi/lo dimmer switch under dash. Hard to replace without removing steering column but I unplugged switch, plugged in new switch, set new switch on dim lights, and wired new switch to steering column so I have lights but only dim lights