Got stuck on a 3-way switch job in an old house and tried two different testers.

I was working on a 1950s place in Tacoma and my regular non-contact voltage tester kept giving me weird readings on the travelers. Pulled out my old solenoid-style tester and it showed the actual voltage drop clear as day, which let me trace the messed up neutral in about ten minutes. Why do they even sell those fancy non-contact ones for serious troubleshooting?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_laura1mo agoMost Upvoted

Old tools just have a different kind of magic sometimes.

rowanw9123d ago

My grandpa's old Stanley level from the 50s. The bubble is just a bit slower to settle than a new one, but it feels so much more sure when it does. You can't fake that kind of weight and balance. New ones feel like toys in comparison.

anna71729d ago

Trust the needle more than the lights.

drews551mo ago

Man, I used to swear by those non-contact testers for everything. Thought they were the best thing ever. But a job last year with some back-fed wiring showed me they can totally lie to you. Now my old solenoid tester lives in my bag for tricky stuff. That physical needle movement tells a real story the fancy ones just miss.