My foreman told me to never trust a toner without verifying with a light

Last Thursday I was tracing a circuit on a panel swap in an old building downtown and my toner said it was dead. Turns out the toner just couldn't get past the 60-year-old oxidized connections. Verified with a test light and found it live in 2 seconds. Has anyone else had an old toner fail on corroded wiring?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin8962d ago

Had an old Fluke toner crap out on me last year in a similar situation, corrosion on a 50-year-old junction box. Light probe on the same circuit lit up instantly, made me feel like I wasted an hour. Old wiring just laughs at electronic toners sometimes.

david_palmer1d ago

Always keep a basic toner and probe in the bag for exactly this reason. Those electronic toners are great until they hit a layer of corrosion or mixed metals. Had a job last month where a cheap little probe found a line in about ten seconds that a $200 Fluke couldn't touch. The trick is to scrape a small spot of clean metal on the box or wire first, then hit it with the probe. Saves an hour of frustration.

joseph482d ago

Makes you wonder if old wiring has a sense of humor, doesn't it? I've got a similar story with a toner that just refused to cooperate on a house from the 60s. Found out later the previous owner had used aluminum wiring in some spots mixed with copper, which drove me crazy for half a day. My old Fox and Hound probe finally saved me, but not before I felt like a real fool waving that electronic toner around like a magic wand. Guess old houses just don't take kindly to modern gadgets sometimes.