I work on heavy tractor trailers a lot, and I have a few circuits that I have to diagnose frequently that the circuit is open. The wire which is a twisted pair breaks at some point in a 15 foot section of harness. It is a loomed harness with about 20 wires inside. I am going to purchase a signal generator/open finder if they actually work. Any experience with any of the different models out there? Thanks for any help.
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Electrical open finder
- Thread starter Damage
- Start date
I work on heavy tractor trailers a lot, and I have a few circuits that I have to diagnose frequently that the circuit is open. The wire which is a twisted pair breaks at some point in a 15 foot section of harness. It is a loomed harness with about 20 wires inside. I am going to purchase a signal generator/open finder if they actually work. Any experience with any of the different models out there? Thanks for any help.
Cabletool from www.psiber.com is the one I use.
http://www.psiber.com/en/home/products/cable-tester/cable-tool.html
Shows distance to Open or Short and voltage present.
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That looks like a nice tool. Would it work in my application? How accurate is it and does it tell you down to the inch or down to the foot where the break is? Thanks
readout to 0.1 meter which is about 4 inches, feet measure selectable
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
That tool is designed to work on computer network cables or coax (cable TV). Twisted pair wiring is very similar (CAT5 cable is actually 4 twisted pairs).
I don't think it will work on other wiring.
I don't think it will work on other wiring.
This used to be done with Time Domain Reflectometry. I recall that my meters that worked well for Type 1 Token Ring MOSTLY worked well for CAT3, etc.
The old Type 1 was larger gauge wire. I'm guessing that a unit designed for twisted pair would be worth trying.
I would build a little test wire bundle and take into a store that sold said meters. Down South we have Frye's (but not in OK). The idea being that you KNOW one of your wires (pulled out of an old trailer) terms at 22ft and the other (maybe a different gauge) terms at 17ft - and see what the meter does.
One of my summer jobs in school was maintenance on the trailer fleet for the family trucking business. I was always amazed and what the flying steel belts from a blown tire could do to a wire.
The old Type 1 was larger gauge wire. I'm guessing that a unit designed for twisted pair would be worth trying.
I would build a little test wire bundle and take into a store that sold said meters. Down South we have Frye's (but not in OK). The idea being that you KNOW one of your wires (pulled out of an old trailer) terms at 22ft and the other (maybe a different gauge) terms at 17ft - and see what the meter does.
One of my summer jobs in school was maintenance on the trailer fleet for the family trucking business. I was always amazed and what the flying steel belts from a blown tire could do to a wire.