Always follow safety guidelines as stated in your Patriot energizer user guide.
Finding a fault using a digital voltmeter (fault finder)
Faults (shorts) in the fence can reduce its effectiveness and may also cause other problems, such as interference on telephone lines or internal connections.
Causes of faults may include:
Vegetation touching the live wires
Broken wires or insulators
Poor grounding
Corroded metals in the fence line
Poor connections, poor insulation
Checking your fence regularly using a Patriot Digital Voltmeter is important in order to maintain an effective, problem-free electric fence installation.
Tip: When using the digital voltmeter to find faults, isolate sections of the fence line with Patriot cut-out switches.
Check the energizer and the ground system
Check your energizer and the grounding system is correctly set up to ensure your electric fence is fully functioning.
At the first cut-out switch, disconnect the rest of the fence and take a voltage reading. The voltage should be normal.
Move along the fence line stopping at each cut-out switch. Take a voltage reading with the cut-out switch closed and again with the cut-out switch open. A spike in the voltage reading with the cutout switch open indicates a fault in the section of the fence which has been disconnected.
You can also follow the flow chart below to find issues on your electric fence.
Tip: Open the image in a new tab to enlarge it.
Having trouble?
Download the user guide. for your Patriot energizer
Call our North American Customer Service on 800 433-3112
Curious to learn more? Enroll and do our free introductory electric fencing course on the Datamars Livestock Training Academy.
Ask us a question in the blue messaging tool on the bottom right hand side of your screen.