Any electricians on board tonite, wierd elect. problem
Preface: It has been very windy today here in NC. I was home most of the day, and noticed no electrical problems while home. Left for several hours on errands and upon return, noticed first the motion detector light in my drive that comes on as i drive in was very, very dim. I walked up and was looking at it wondering if the flood light was burning out, it barely illuminated the ground, almost with a brownish tint. Then i noticed the porch light that should have been on was out. I got in and first checked the switch for the porch light where i have installed a dimmer so i can dim and brighten the porch light. It was on, and i turned it up and at its highest setting it too was very dim, brownish like the flood light.
So, i came on in and went to put away some groceries and upon opening the fridge, noticed the fridge light was dim also, very yellowish. Hmmm, now i was starting to get intrigued. Went around checking other appliances, lights, etc. Couldn't tell anymore problems immediately. Went to the bedroom and flicked on a tv that is plugged into a socket that is on the same wall as the fridge in the kit, the porch lite, flood lite, etc. It came on fine, checked some overhead lights, other items plugged in, and they appeared fine, but then noticed a ceiling fan and light were not coming on strong either, running slowly, and lit dimly. I was back in the bedroom when the tv blinked off, and went and sure enough the fridge is out. Ceiling fan/light has quit, and several sockets are also off.
Checked the breaker panel, nothing tripped. Checked by turning off and back on all breakers. Still no power to half the lower wall breakers, and then remembered the ceiling fan/light is run from a wall outlet, so it's out too.
Weird part, i have sockets on the same wall in the same room that both work and don't work, for example, one to the right of the kitchen sink does run, to the left (fridge plug) does not, but to the left of the fridge plug, does work. Next in line on the wall is the porch light, out, next and all other sockets on that side out, but any sockets on the perpendicular walls in the house are fine. Not all exterior wall sockets are out, just some, and all interior perpendicular walls (as far as i can tell) sockets are on.
So, my question: what caused this dimming/browning out of lights before total loss? A breaker going out? A wire coming loose somewhere to interrupt the circuitry in the rest of the sockets in line? Perhaps something outside my home entirely due to the wind blowing something on a power line somewhere? It's too dark to tell outside anything, and can't tell if neighbors are having similar problems as it's late, and many aren't home for the holidays.
any advice you could lend would help, and i am going to start looking at things closer tomorrow. In the meantime, fridge is running from an extension cord to a working plug and i'm stumped.
thanks in advance,
dp
= new reply since forum marked as read
if we had something plugged into one socket, no problem but when we unplugged the lamp all the lights and sockets went out on that leg
turns out the socket had a bad ground, hubby replaced the socket, no problems...
don't know if that helps 
so it's on my side, part underground, or inside.
the quest continues...
dp
sometimes the breakers will deteriorate where they plug into the buss bar in the electrical panel. All I know is that refrigerator will give up the ghost if you leave it on a low voltage feed like it is, indicated by the low light output.
Your problem can and will cause a fire if not corrected.
To check the wires at the breakers, first turn the breaker off then take a screwdriver and check for tightness. Pulling the breakers is best left to someone who knows what they're doing if you don't. Just remember that electricity can and does kill people grave yard dead so if in doubt call an expert. Its better to have a bill to pay to an electrician than your loved ones having a bill to pay at the funeral home. 
Remember when it comes to electricity you can't be too careful
