{"id":12151,"date":"2016-05-11T21:36:16","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T21:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/?p=12151"},"modified":"2016-05-13T15:42:37","modified_gmt":"2016-05-13T15:42:37","slug":"locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/","title":{"rendered":"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><a href=\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/PhDreams.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-12152\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-12152 size-full\" title=\"\u00a9 PhDreams \/ Fotolia\" src=\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/PhDreams.jpg\" alt=\"matasse di cavo elettrico\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/PhDreams.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/PhDreams-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<h2>Overview of underground cable faults<\/h2>\n<div>\u00a0Before attempting to<a title=\"How to locate underground faults on cable?\" href=\"http:\/\/electrical-engineering-portal.com\/how-to-locate-underground-faults-on-cable\"> locate underground cable faults<\/a> on direct buried primary cable, it is necessary to know where the cable is located and what route it takes. If the fault is on secondary cable, knowing the exact route is even more critical.<\/div>\n<p>Since it is extremely difficult to find a cable fault without knowing where the cable is, it makes sense to master cable locating and tracing and to do a cable trace before beginning the fault locating process.<\/p>\n<p>Success in locating or tracing the route of electrical cable and metal pipe depends upon knowledge, skill, and perhaps, most of all, experience. Although locating can be a complex job, it will very likely become even more complex as more and more underground plant is installed. It is just as important to understand how the equipment works as it is to be thoroughly familiar with the exact equipment being used.<\/p>\n<p><em>All popular locators\/tracers consist of two basic modules:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>The transmitter<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 an ac generator which supplies the signal current on the<a title=\"Understanding underground electric transmission cables\" href=\"http:\/\/electrical-engineering-portal.com\/understanding-underground-electric-transmission-cables\">underground cable<\/a> or pipe to be traced.<\/li>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li>What type of cable is it?<\/li>\n<li>Is the cable the same type all the\u00a0way along its length?<\/li>\n<li>Is the target cable the only cable\u00a0in the trench?<\/li>\n<li>Are there any taps?<\/li>\n<li>Is the cable run single phase or\u00a0multiphase?<\/li>\n<li>Is the cable shielded or unshielded?<\/li>\n<li>Is the cable direct buried or in conduit?<\/li>\n<li>Are there metal pipes or other underground\u00a0structures under, over or near the target cable?<\/li>\n<li>Is the target cable connected to other cables or\u00a0pipes through grounded neutrals?<em><strong>The receiver<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 detects the electromagnetic field produced by the transmitted ac current flow. <em><strong>See Figure 1<\/strong> at the top<\/em>.<em>Before starting, it will be helpful to obtain the following information:<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This information will help to select the most appropriate locator and to prepare to locate the cable successfully.<\/p>\n<p>Many transmitters are equipped\u00a0with some means of indicating the\u00a0resistance of the circuit that it is\u00a0trying to pump current through\u00a0and can indicate a measurement\u00a0of the current actually being transmitted.<\/p>\n<p>Output current can be\u00a0checked in several ways as follows:<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"highlight2\">1.<\/span> \u2013 By <a title=\"Measurement of insulation resistance (IR) \u2013 Part 2\" href=\"http:\/\/electrical-engineering-portal.com\/measurement-of-insulation-resistance-2\">measuring the resistance<\/a> of\u00a0the circuit with an ohmmeter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When the resistance is less than\u00a0approximately 80,000 \u03a9, there\u00a0will typically be enough current\u00a0flowing in the cable to allow a\u00a0good job of tracing.<\/p>\n<p>This is no\u00a0guarantee that the transmitted\u00a0current is passing through the\u00a0target cable. The measured\u00a0resistance may be affected by\u00a0other circuits or pipes electrically connected to\u00a0the target cable acting as parallel resistances.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"highlight2\">2.<\/span> \u2013 By observing the actual signal strength being\u00a0transmitted by the transmitter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many transmitters\u00a0provide a measurement or some indication\u00a0of output current. A loading indicator on the MEGGER\u2019s\u00a0Portable Locator Model L1070 blinks to indicate\u00a0the approximate circuit resistance. A rate of four\u00a0blinks per second indicates a low resistance,\u00a0almost a short circuit providing a very traceable\u00a0signal.<\/p>\n<p>A rate of one blink every three seconds\u00a0shows a high resistance and a weaker signal.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"highlight2\">3.<\/span> \u2013 By observing the signal power detected by the\u00a0receiver<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Signal level indicator numbers are displayed\u00a0digitally on most receivers and older\u00a0models may display signal power with <a title=\"Moving Iron Instruments \u2013 Voltmeter and Ammeter\" href=\"http:\/\/electrical-engineering-portal.com\/moving-iron-instruments-voltmeter-and-ammeter\">analog\u00a0meters<\/a>. The L1070 has both an analog style signal\u00a0strength bargraph plus a digital numeric\u00a0readout. Tracing experience gives the operator\u00a0the ability to judge whether or not the numbers\u00a0are high enough.<\/p>\n<p>This is the most practical way\u00a0to check signal current flow.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, the more current flow through the\u00a0conductor the stronger the electromagnetic field\u00a0being detected by the receiver and the further\u00a0from the conductor being traced the less field is\u00a0being detected.<\/li>\n<li>For more information about locating underground cable faults, please click <a href=\"http:\/\/electrical-engineering-portal.com\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\">here<\/a>!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>B W Electric has been serving the Southern Illinois area for over 10 years. Our reliable technicians strive to provide the best experience possible for our customers on every service call weither it be electrical or underground locating needs. B W Electric is Southern Illinois Electrician of choice. Please contact us with any electrical needs you may have. Reach out to us at 618-534-5221 or email us at team@bwelectric.co.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview of underground cable faults \u00a0Before attempting to locate underground cable faults on direct buried primary cable, it is necessary to know where the cable is located and what route it takes. If the fault is on secondary cable, knowing the exact route is even more critical. Since it is extremely difficult to find a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults - B W Electric &amp; Locating<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults - B W Electric &amp; Locating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Overview of underground cable faults \u00a0Before attempting to locate underground cable faults on direct buried primary cable, it is necessary to know where the cable is located and what route it takes. If the fault is on secondary cable, knowing the exact route is even more critical. Since it is extremely difficult to find a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"B W Electric &amp; Locating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-11T21:36:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-13T15:42:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/PhDreams.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"hladmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"hladmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/\",\"name\":\"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults - B W Electric &amp; Locating\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-11T21:36:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-13T15:42:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#\/schema\/person\/0cbee14d8fef3f2863c05382373d563c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/\",\"name\":\"B W Electric &amp; Locating\",\"description\":\"Carbondale, IL\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#\/schema\/person\/0cbee14d8fef3f2863c05382373d563c\",\"name\":\"hladmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f153d11b0f93d6970158c81d3017020f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f153d11b0f93d6970158c81d3017020f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"hladmin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/author\/hladmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults - B W Electric &amp; Locating","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults - B W Electric &amp; Locating","og_description":"Overview of underground cable faults \u00a0Before attempting to locate underground cable faults on direct buried primary cable, it is necessary to know where the cable is located and what route it takes. If the fault is on secondary cable, knowing the exact route is even more critical. Since it is extremely difficult to find a [&hellip;]","og_url":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/","og_site_name":"B W Electric &amp; Locating","article_published_time":"2016-05-11T21:36:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-05-13T15:42:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":200,"url":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/PhDreams.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"hladmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"hladmin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/","url":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/","name":"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults - B W Electric &amp; Locating","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-05-11T21:36:16+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-13T15:42:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#\/schema\/person\/0cbee14d8fef3f2863c05382373d563c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/2016\/05\/11\/locating-underground-electrical-cable-faults\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Locating Underground Electrical Cable Faults"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/","name":"B W Electric &amp; Locating","description":"Carbondale, IL","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#\/schema\/person\/0cbee14d8fef3f2863c05382373d563c","name":"hladmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f153d11b0f93d6970158c81d3017020f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f153d11b0f93d6970158c81d3017020f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"hladmin"},"url":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/author\/hladmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12151"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12151"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12157,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12151\/revisions\/12157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bwelectric.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}