Hey Guys, does any one use a greenlee power finder circuit tracer and have had trouble with it? {mainly false readings} the other week I was tracing a circuit in the main panel and it would light up and beep on the wrong breakers. I would go to the right breaker and it would do nothing. Thanks Ed
That happens with all of them I think. They don't always pinpoint the exact breaker. You just have to try others nearby, when you get the right one the signal will stop.
The greenlee tracer that I have comes with a video tape that says to run the tracer down the breakers on each side of the panel twice and it will take the strongest signal and it will usually be accurate. This assumes that there are fresh batteries in the transmitter and reciever.
I ran the tracer down all the breakers at least 6 times and it will give a max signal on 2 separate breakers on the right side and on the left side where the correct breaker is it does nothing .I can't trust it .
Some times there could be interference on the line, or a bad neutral connection, bad ground conn.
http://www.mygreenlee.com/products/det.cfm?id=3195&upc=00521 this is the tracer I have, and while I have run into the same problems as you have, for the most part it has paid for itself over many times. Sorry I don't have much more info to give, but it is always a good tool to have.
Thanks guys! Rich thats same one I have.
As in a non-contact circuit tracer?.
I would not let my dog use a NC Circuit tracer, let alone a fellow worker or myself.
Reason I say that is because EM fields cause non-contact voltage detectors to go hay-wire.
Use a contact thing like a Wiggy.
O, great and powerful moderator Trumpy:
I must be having a senior moment, or my utter lack of real experience is showing (now, that's a given!). How would a Wiggy stand in for a circuit tracer? Are we talking repeated trips to the breaker box, and back to the test site?
In our house, the dog was not allowed to touch any tools (admittedly, he showed little interest in such).
That greenlee tracer has a lifetime limited warranty, and they will recalabrate it free, although you might have to pay the shipping
UPS Equipment, and even Battery Back-up Emergency Ballasts will cause most Probe-Type Circuit Tracers to react as Airborne-Ed has described (pick up tone + hot signal on several Breakers).
Although similar results were experienced (using the Amprobe 300/900 tracer - circa 1996 and still going strong!), I never experienced the scenario which Ed encountered - Hot Signal on several Breakers, no signal at the Breaker of the traced Circuit.
I always got a Hot - Distorted signal at 3 separate Breakers, along with the Breaker of the traced Circuit.
Careful observations of tone quality + indicator lamp flash rates, while "sweeping" the probe across devices + wires in separate directions, resulted in finding the correct Breakers 100% of the time for me.
I would suggest to probe the wires themselves (at the Breaker's Terminal), when experiencing this type of distorted signal reception.
Trim the sensitivity down, and/or up, while verifying correct circuit.
BTW: Be sure to hold the probe (receiver) away from the Panelboard _BEFORE_ turning it on.
Hold it about 2'-3' away (like right next to your body), press and hold the "On" Button, then begin tracing.
If Settings &/or Sensitivity levels need to be changed, turn off the probe first, make the required setting changes, then begin tracing as described above (away from the Panelboard).
I haven't really used the Greenlee Tracing kits very much - have used the Amprobe / Pascar kits extensively.
With the Greenlee kits I used, they responded very much similar to the way the Amprobes did, when tracing out a distorted signal.
Only major differences were the lack of multiple selection/sensitivity points, and verification was much more subtle, as compared to the Amprobes.
Scott
At least these tracers get you into the right panel. For commercial service work you normally cannot kill power to suit yourself.
If possible I bring an extension cord to the troubled receptacle and attach a plug tester. I drag it to the panel and flick a few breakers. That's a permissive environment... like doping out the circuits at the start of a TI demolition.
Cell phones and a helpful/needy customer usually locate light circuits PDQ.
Non-contact tracers are of such limited utility (Greenlee 2007 or 2011) that I rarely break mine out.
I do like the Greenlee 801K for de-energized circuits in a hot system.