Shoutout to the sparky who showed me how to use a toner on live circuits

I used to just trace wires by eye and hope I was right. A guy in Tucson showed me how to clip the toner onto a live circuit without shorting it out last month. Has anyone else found a trick that cut down their troubleshooting time?

2 comments

2 Comments

ruby_grant20d ago

That bit about clipping onto live circuits without shorting it out is gold. I used to be so paranoid about touching the wrong wire that I'd waste half a day labeling things. A coworker showed me a trick with a wiggy voltage tester first to see which wires are actually hot, then you can tone them with confidence. It sounds obvious now but it cut my troubleshooting time by like 30 percent. I also started using a pair of those slim alligator clips with the rubber boots on them, way easier to get into tight spots without bridging lugs.

price.alice20d ago

That wiggy trick works but honestly live testing still sketches me out too much to try it.