[SEL] OT! Electrical troubleshoting

[Elden]

Curt:

What I'd do would be to either connect all three conductors
together at the load end or ground all three (whichever works
best).

When the signal generator is connected between the white (the
good wire) and the black (the bad one) and a relatively low
frequency signal is injected, the signal level should decrease
sharply at the point of the break.

In my experience, what I've found in such situations is that
either the cable got nicked and corrosion has made the conductor
fail -OR- some "scientist" spliced the cable using wire nuts!

I would, however, suggest that you simply uproot the entire old
cable and replace it with something more substantial.

Take care - Elden
http://www.oldengine.org/members/durand

> -----Original Message-----
> From: sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com
> [mailto:sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com]On Behalf Of
> curt at rustyiron.com
> Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2010 8:19 AM
> To: The SEL email discussion list
> Subject: [SEL] OT! Electrical troubleshoting
>
>
> Hey guys and gals,
> Since the SEL is a vast pool of knowledge to draw
> from, I need help with
> troubleshooting an underground wire at the new place.
> From the house is a
> 12 ga wire that goes underground a couple of hundred
> feet to feed a couple
> of pole lights. This is that gray outdoor wire.
> The lights quit working and after some troubleshooting
> was surprised to
> learn the wire itself is bad.
.................snip................