How to Trace House Wiring
When you own your home, you learn that there is a never-ending list of jobs that need to be done. Some are expected and others aren't. One of the jobs that comes up that many people aren't prepared for is tracing the house wiring. There are a number of ways this can be accomplished, and this article describes two methods to trace house wiring. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
How to Trace House Wiring Using a Circuit Tracer
-
1
Purchase a circuit tracer from your local hardware store or from a reputable online seller. Prices in 2009 can range anywhere from $40 to over $300. The average homeowner can stick with the less-expensive models.
-
2
Insert the plug component into one of your home's receptacles. It has a red light on it that will begin blinking. This is a pulse signal that it is sending along the wires back to the panel.
-
-
3
Take the hand-held meter that comes in your circuit tracing kit and press it against each of the circuit breakers in your electrical panel. When you find the breaker that is delivering power to the receptacle where the plug device is inserted, you will hear a loud audible beep. Because the signal may radiate slightly, it is not uncommon for you to read the signal across a few of the closest nearby breakers, but the loudest beep will identify the source breaker.
How to Trace House Wiring Using a 6-Volt Battery
-
4
During times when there is no power being supplied to the electrical panel, like prior to having your service turned on in a new home, you can use a 6-Volt battery to trace your house wiring.
-
5
Remove the electrical panel cover and set it aside.
-
6
Connect a length of insulated wire from the negative side of the battery to the neutral bar in the electrical panel.
-
7
Remove the black wire from the first circuit breaker and connect it to the positive side of the battery.
-
8
Probe your receptacles with your digital voltage tester. You will receive a reading of 6 volts when you probe either hot to ground or hot to neutral on any outlet powered by circuit breaker number 1.
-
9
Do this for each outlet and keep a record of your results so you know exactly what each circuit breaker feeds. Just be aware that this is a lengthy process, but one that is very informative.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Never try the 6-volt battery tracing solution when your electric panel is energized. Only use this method when the panel is completely dead. Always be sure to reconnect your wires as they were prior to removing them.
