Troubleshooting
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 Patriot Digital 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.
