[SEL] OT! Electrical troubleshoting

[Peter Lowe]

Hi Curt

As an Electrical Contractor I would just replace the whole cable otherwise 
it is just like patching leaks in a hose.
Cable is best placed in conduit for protection. Some cables here in Oz years 
ago were buried direct only to be eaten by grubs/worms etc.
Signal tracing is not good as it will go through the wet soil or high 
resistance breaks as act as if cable was OK.
It is obviously not blowing fuses.

Get the shovel out mate and start digging.
Peter, Oz




> 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. That's highly unusual as wire rarely goes
> bad. After disconnecting at each end and using jumpers and a ohm meter, I
> have determined the black wire is the one bad. The white (neutral) and
> ground wires are both good.
> Yesterday I had a fellow come over with a signal generator and tracer. We
> hooked the signal to the black wire and the other to a grounding rod.
> Strangely the signal went all the way to the pole light. This wire will
> conduct the trace signal, but not a bit of current will pass. Perhaps the
> wet dirt is creating a bridge for the break in the wire allowing the
> signal to continue on past the break. We've had several inches of rain the
> last days.
> So, how do I identify where the break is w/o digging up the whole yard?
> Is there a way to completely "burn" this wire at the bad place, so the
> tracer signal can no longer pass across the bad place?
>
> Looking forward to your creative ideas.
> Curt Holland
>
>
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