How to find a break in hidden wiring in the wall - troubleshooting

Provided that the electrical wires are properly designed and installed, there should not be any particular problems with them. However, if the continuous supply of electricity is interrupted in a certain section of the circuit, the breakdown should be found and repaired as soon as possible. Let's look at the principles for identifying and repairing a faulty area.

In most cases, wire failures occur as a result of improper installation, damage to the insulation, violation of the integrity of the circuit elements or too high load on it, as well as wire breaks.

Incorrect installation can lead to wiring faults later on.

It is possible to determine the breakdown by the following signs:

• absence of zero or phase;
• simultaneous absence of both phase and zero;
• the appearance of sparks;
• short circuits;
• regular operation of protective automatic devices.

Often, breakdowns occur in places where wires are connected to sockets, junction boxes, as well as in areas where wires are connected to the contacts of automatic electrical appliances and light switches. Such breakdowns belong to the first class of faults. Together, they account for more than half of all power grid problems. In such cases, finding faulty wiring in the wall is quite easy, since the faulty area is most likely located near outlets or switches.

The second class of breakdowns includes problems with hidden wiring. They become the results of installation work during repairs, when the craftsmen are forced to violate the integrity of concrete structures. For example, often the wires are damaged when screwing a screw into them or drilling with a drill. All these cases often lead to a short circuit in the wall. Such problems with the electrical network may appear much later, after the repair work is completed. For example, a violation of the integrity of the wire insulation makes itself felt a few months after contact with the device or screw.

The third class of faults includes wire breaks that occur in the wall without the direct intervention of third-party devices or objects. Such phenomena are considered extremely rare and are the result of wear on aluminum wires or excessive loads on the network. In such cases, finding a break in the electrical wire in the wall without the use of special devices is quite problematic.

Short circuits are one of the signs of a malfunction.

Common reasons for a break also include a violation of the wiring technology: installation and connection of wires with the wrong cross section, their connection by twisting.

The most "harmless" consequence of a broken electrical wire is the lack of current in a certain section of the circuit. Sparking and short circuit are much more dangerous. Often this leads to the ignition of interior items and the loss of property by residents.

To find a faulty wire in the wall, you must adhere to a certain algorithm. You will need these tools:

• indicator screwdriver;
• locator;
• multimeter;
• screwdriver;
• pliers;
• knife with insulated handle;
• roll of electrical tape.

Troubleshooting can be done with a tracer

First of all, you need to identify the failed connection group. To do this, you need to use the wiring plan. If the faulty outlet has a phase, then by turning the machines on and off, you will be able to find a hidden wiring failure in the wall. You can find out about the presence of a phase using the indicator. To do this, de-energize the circuit and insert the device into the outlet hole. If the indicator lights up, then there is a phase. The damaged connection group must be completely de-energized by disconnecting it from the machine.

The second step will be to sequentially check the entire line, starting from the outlet and ending with the cable inside the shield. If you have access to distributor boxes, be sure to open and inspect them. If there were no boxes when wiring the circuit, then you will need to dismantle all the sockets on the line and check the wires through their insides. In most cases, faults were found in the first outlet, since it is she who lends herself to the greatest loads. If, after a thorough check, you still have not found a malfunction, then the problem lies outside the wall.

How to Find a Faulty Line Using a Locator and a Radio

With the help of a locator, you can quickly find a faulty section of wiring. The design of the device includes a generator and a receiver. The generator is designed to be connected to a faulty wire: for this, the negative terminal is connected to the whole core and grounded using a portable shield. The positive terminal is connected to the faulty core. After turning on the locator, the generator delivers pulses to the whole vein. To find the faulty area, the receiver must be moved along the route along which the electrical wiring runs.

During operation, the receiver will respond to pulses supplied by the generator. At this time, you will hear a characteristic squeak. If a faulty section is found, the beeps will stop. To search for a break in hidden electrical wiring to give more accurate results, the generator should be connected to the second end of the faulty line and the fault determination procedure should be carried out again. Often the main problem lies in the neutral wire. In such cases, when checking the outlet with an indicator on the device, an extremely weak glow is observed. Inexperienced people explain this as having "two phases". When checking the socket with a multimeter, a voltage is fixed on the contact in the range of 0–220 V.

If you do not have a locator, you can detect a malfunction using a radio receiver. To do this, the device must be tuned to any medium-wave channel and plugged into a faulty outlet with an electric razor or other low-power household appliance. Then move the receiver along the wiring path. The fact that you have found a faulty section will be prompted by interference or crackling emitted by the receiver. As soon as you find a breakdown, the wires need to be inspected. To do this, the strobe must be opened with a hammer or perforator.

After searching for faulty electrical wiring in the wall, you should try to fix the breakdown. If the problem lies in the new wires, then they need to be connected at the break point. To do this, follow this algorithm:

1. 1. disconnect the phase conductor from the current supply;
2. 2. remove the plaster 5 cm to the right and 5 cm to the left of the area where the wiring breaks;
3. 3. spread the ends of the emergency wire apart;
4. 4. drill a hole in the wall for the distribution box;
5. 5. mark the hole with a drill bit;
6. 6. make a hole with a chisel;
7. 7. place the box in the hole, fix it with alabaster and lead the wires to it;
8. 8. if there is a supply of wires, connect their ends together and insulate;
9. 9. check the connection;
10. 10. If everything works, close the distribution box with a lid, plaster the walls and restore the finish.

To repair faulty electrical wiring in the wall, you will have to remove the plaster

In certain cases, the wiring section must be replaced completely. To do this, the wires are pulled using a special pulling device. Repairing a faulty neutral wire is not much different from repairing a problem phase. To do this, the neutral wire is disconnected from the bus and connected to the phase wire. After that, and the wall is restored.

Prevention of electrical failures

To avoid problems with electrical wiring, you need to follow a number of rules. First of all, trust installation work only to qualified specialists, and not to a self-taught neighbor. Second, install . This device is mounted on the input of the home electrical distribution panel. The relay will protect wiring and sockets from voltage surges, which means that your household appliances will be completely safe. For better protection, also install a separate one that will trip every time the load on the electrical system becomes too high.

Special attention deserves preventive maintenance of emergency, but still operating power lines.. In them, the probability of a failure of the alignment wire at the separation point in the house is quite high. As a result, grounding the system in such a house can lead to undesirable and even fatal consequences. In order not to redo the entire electrical system and continue its operation, the owners of apartments on the ground floor must make an individual ground loop. It will be completely independent of the neutral conductor of the electrical network of the whole house.

The next factor is the choice of wires for laying electricity in housing. Aluminum or copper wires are suitable for this purpose. At the same time, the advantages of copper are much greater. So, copper oxidizes longer, which increases the life of such wires. Copper does not break after 2-3 bends, as is the case with aluminum. Aluminum pops out of screw terminals more often. As a result, the contact is lost. To avoid this problem, clamps with aluminum wires need to be checked regularly. With copper wiring, this is not required - it is securely held in the latches, so the contact does not disappear. Among other things, copper has a higher conductivity.