Electric fence troubleshooting | Patriot fencing
Posted by Patriot Chargers on
Faults (shorts) in the fence can reduce its effectiveness and may also cause other problems, such as interference on telephone lines or internal connections. Causes for faults may include: vegetation touching the live wires, broken wires or insulators, poor grounding, corroded metals in the fence line, poor connections, poor insulation, etc. Checking your fence regularly using a voltmeter is important in order to maintain an effective, problem-free electric fence installation.
Tips: When using the digital voltmeter to find faults, isolate sections of the fence line with Patriot cut-out switches.
Finding a Fault Using the Patriot Digital Voltmeter
Electrical current flows toward a fault (short) in the same way that water flows towards the plug-hole in a bath tub. A digital voltmeter allows you to follow the direction of the current towards the fault.
- Check the energizer (charger) and the ground system.
- At the first cut-out switch, disconnect the rest of the fence and take a voltage reading. The voltage should be normal.
- Move along the fence line stopping at each cut-out switch. Take a voltage reading with the cut-out switch closed and again with the cut-out switch open. A spike in the voltage reading with the cutout switch open indicates a fault in the section of the fence which has been diconnected.
- If you are still having trouble, follow the troubleshooting flow chart below.