Master Electrician Tricks of The Trade When Troubleshooting or on Estimates

I thought I might add more comments regarding the Whitefish Bay job I was on Friday.
Pictured above is the burned up pull out. One picture is the front side, the other picture is the back side, slightly out of focus.

As I had mentioned yesterday, the other electrical contractor and electrician that came out last month had removed the pull out. When the electrician tried to pull out the burning up pull out, he was not able to. The pull out metal pieces and plastic had melted and fused not allowing the pull out portion to be removed. The electrician removed the wires and then removed the pull out block with the pull out fused in the block. Each step the electrician performed was very good.

What I would like to write about is preventive maintenance a homeowner can perform. It is simple; I do it on every job. I call it the sniff test. Our master electricians in Sparks Electric in the city of Milwaukee work all over in the city and the suburbs performing many diagnostics and troubleshooting many electrical problems.

Usually one of the first things I do before going into an electrical box or fuse panel or circuit breaker panel is perform a sniff test. (For the 87% of the population that do not smoke, this is an easy test with an undeniable burnt carbon odor. If you are amound the 13% that smoke, you may not be able to smell it.) If anything is badly burning up, you will know right away and be alerted to be more careful when opening up any box because sometime the energized wires snap out at you in such a situation.

Old fused electrical services are three times more like to start a house fire and they usually start burning up slowly, often flickering the lights or connected loads such as the appliance or electronics. In the process of the flickering, surges are often created that can damage the electronics. These are all signs that an electrician needs to be called in for diagnostic or to troubleshoot your electrical system. Ignoring the flickering can lead to severe problems and fires like this panel had.

A second test can also be performed whether or not you smell anything. That is the touch test. I usually always touch the panels, fuses, switches, and receptacles to sense any excess heat building up. Where there is excess heat in a particular area or component, that’s a good signal that something is breaking down, usually the integrity of the components.

There is a third test that can be done and that would be with the use of an IR detector. I love Fluke test equipment. Some will give you a temperature reading, some of the more expensive and larger IR testers other will give you a graphical display, or thermograph or thermal image with the various temperatures indicated by color. These are used in many industrial applications. Fluke also makes the finest and most accurate electrical testers in the industry.

I have been using Fluke for 40 years. It started with my military training and troubleshooting as a missile electronics instrumentation mechanic working in electronics and on the SR-71. I’ve been sold on Fluke ever since. The military is also where I or should I say they developed my systematic troubleshoot techniques and the attitude to do anything electrical with 100% perfection. I will not compromise on electrical safety or my integrity.

I often see this in old equipment when corrosion is present or just beginning to develop and in handyman work. A handyman seldom tightens the connections properly. Loose connections often lead to overheating or intermittent power outages. Handymen creates lots of work for electrical contractors and electricians.

The loose connections can expand and contract as the current passes through the wiring and the components. Any loose connections become excessively hot, the heat causes excessive corrosion, arcing and sparking often starts to develop and the power often starts to flicker during the sparking and arcing. By now, you may be able to smell the carbon burn odor. As a renter, homeowner, maintenance person, professional, or business person, power should be turned off or disconnected before it gets any worse. The last thing anyone wants is a fire, property loss, or life loss. So when you are experiencing electrical issues, do not ignore it but investigate it. Call a licensed electrical contractor who employs trained and experienced electricians. A handyman is neither licensed nor qualified to work on your wiring system. When in doubt, remember safety comes first.

Tags: Troubleshooting Tricks

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