Can EMI or similar affect the flickering of a neon indicator?

OK, bit of an odd question for the new year...

I was in a relative's attached garage when the LED batten light started flickering/flashing/going off for several seconds - I've got to go back and work out why and fix it (for the moment I'm presuming either a faulty electronic ballast/PSU or a local loose connection - it's on the same lighting circuit as half the house and no problems have been reported elsewhere). What I noticed that seemed very odd though was the neon indicator on the boiler FCU (also in the garage) seemed to flicker and turn off/on exactly in time with the light - boiler is on a quite separate circuit all the way back to the CU and the boiler itself didn't seem to be at all upset. No reported flickering anywhere else in the house either. I'm reasonably convinced that the neon itself was illuminating/staying dark, and I wasn't just seeing light reflected from the main light.

I'm pretty sure it's a traditional neon, not some LED substitute - in normal conditions it does that kind of slight wandering rolling flicker I associate with old neon lamps.

So can anyone think of any mechanism by which the switching on/off of the LED batten might encourage or discourage the neon on a separate circuit to strike? (or should I start worrying about a common fault and so some very odd interconnections between the two circuits?)

   - Andy.

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  • Not sure how to comment, so I will try a question and see what comments others make:

    Have you ever been on the old London Underground trains and seen the black rings moving along the fluorescent light tubes in unison, creating a strobing effect?

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  • Not sure how to comment, so I will try a question and see what comments others make:

    Have you ever been on the old London Underground trains and seen the black rings moving along the fluorescent light tubes in unison, creating a strobing effect?

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