Electrical advice

PaulieD · Apr 24, 2014

During my first 60 minutes in the seat of my new backhoe I managed to cut the line between my house and flood lamp post located on the far side of my driveway. I have identified one end of an underground cable (the one leading from the house), but no breakers have been tripped and my non-contact circuit checker is not registering any flow of electricity. Is it possible that this is the live line going to the lamp post and my circuit checker is not responding because the line has been cleanly severed? Related issues are: 1) I didn't bury the line, and 2) my breaker box is grossly mislabeled (and I never made the effort to correct it). Is there a way for me to identify the line without digging up any more lawn? Thanks for any advice you may be able to offer.

Paul

rjwassink67 · Apr 24, 2014

If it is direct bury cable, it has a specific look to it. You may be able to see the cable coming into the electrical panel. It should have each wire encased with the plastic sheathing separately.

MossRoad · Apr 24, 2014

Maybe it never shorted to ground, so the breaker never tripped.
And maybe it is broken somewhere between the hole you dug and the house, with the backhoe pulling it out, and that's why your circuit checker isn't working.
Just some thoughts. Good luck hunting it down.

CobyRupert · Apr 24, 2014

MossRoad said:
Maybe it never shorted to ground, so the breaker never tripped.
And maybe it is broken somewhere between the hole you dug and the house, with the backhoe pulling it out, and that's why your circuit checker isn't working.
Just some thoughts. Good luck hunting it down.

...and maybe the switch for the light wasn't on.

grsthegreat · Apr 24, 2014

first off, sometimes a breaker trips but the handle on the breaker doesnt physically shift. if you wiggle all the breakers you may find one thats tripped. Or you can physically turn them all off and back on. Next,is there a switch at the house that turns the said light off and on?

They do make an underground wire locator. I have one that can locate live or dead wires up to 4 feet underground. Your local rental shops may carry one you can rent. there are also companies that specialize in locating buried wires...for a price.

also, test your non contact tester on a known live circuit somewhere else.

welcome to the world of backhoe operations......

MossRoad · Apr 24, 2014

CobyRupert said:
...and maybe the switch for the light wasn't on.

Well that's just too simple!:laughing:

jaotguy · Apr 24, 2014

turn off the main breakers for the house ...

dig back a bit towards the house and get the wire end "from the house" and strip back the insulation and expose bare wires ...

make a couple of jumpers about 3 feet each , one black, one white, one bare .....

connect the wires ... black to black , white to white ... bare wire to bare wire ... tape up all the wires so you can't touch anything .... then throw the main breakers back on and turn on the "light " switch ...

the outside light should be by now ( put black tape over any post light sensors ) ..... turn off each breaker till the light goes out stops ... label the breaker...

try it a few more times to verify you got it right .... turn the rest of the breakers back on ... leave the offending one OFF ... and turn the light switch off for good measure ...

now do a PROPER "splice" with boxes and seal the **** out it ...

PaulieD · Apr 24, 2014

I hate to admit it, but CobyRupert from nearby Washington County, figured out how obtuse I can be and came up with the solution. Once I had the breaker identified and turned off, I followed the directions on the underground splice kit that I picked up at the local hardware store. I'm happy to say that power has been restored to my lamppost and I didn't get fried in the process!

Thanks for all the help and advice guys, I appreciate it.

Paul