Helpful guides to diagnose defects in your electric fence.
Maintaining your electric fence could be costly if you call an electrician each time you have a problem. For example, sometimes problems like having low or no charge could be caused from faulty wiring or a damaged charger, requiring professional help. Or, it may be something as simple as a blown fuse or a wrong setting. So here is a guide to use before calling your electrician. Hopefully you’ll be able to save some money.
An electric fence system is composed of the fence charger, the ground wire, the ground system, the lead out wire, lightning diverter (optional) and the fence wire. If you know these parts well, you’ll have a leg up in troubleshooting your own system. We recommend researching exactly how your particular brand of electric fence works and fits together.
There are two main problems that may occur on your electric fence system: either there is no power on your fence wires, or the power is too low to be an effective deterrent.
If the there is no power on your electric fence, you should consider the following causes:
- No power from main source
- Charger not plugged in
- Blown fuse
- Dead batteries
- Corroded terminals
- Defective charger
- Faulty lightning diverters
- Line break
- Short circuits
- Improper/inadequate grounding
Possible reasons for having low power are similar. Examples includE:
- Low voltage from main source
- Corroded fuses
- Low-charged batteries
- Corroded terminals
- Defective charger
- Faulty lightning diverters
- Short circuits
- Improper/inadequate grounding
To pinpoint the actual cause of the problem, you should use the elimination method in checking your electric fence system. Here’s how to do it:
(Note: you probably don’t need to be told, but you’re working with electricity here, which could be dangerous or fatal if you don’t take the proper precautions! If you feel out of your depth, don’t try to do this yourself; call an electrician. Be sure that you only have power running through your systems when you need it. If it’s not neccesary, turn off the power at the breaker box to prevent shocks.)
Step 1: Check the main power source and electric chargers
For AC chargers you should check whether your chargers are plugged into the main power source. If they are, check the main power source for lack of power or low voltage output.
For DC and solar chargers, check the charger batteries. Make sure they are properly charged. As you do so, check the output terminals for corrosion. Do the same of the input terminals of your electric charger.
If no defects are found, check your electric chargers. Use a tester to measure its power output. Check output terminals for corrosion.
If no defects are found, proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Check lead out wire
You should disconnect the lead out wire from the main system. Do the same with the ground system. Turn off the power before you do so. Once isolated, turn the power back on and check the lead out wire for voltage output.
If no defects are found, connect the ground system.
Step 3: Check ground system
Once the ground system is connected, check the voltage. If it’s defective, check the ground system. This may be caused by a wet ground where ground rods are buried, improper spacing of the ground rods, or underground water system or other underground utilities that are affecting the ground system. Further familiarization with the grounding system is recommended to properly carry out this job.
If no defects are found, connect the lightning diverter.
Step 4: Check lightning diverter
After connecting the lightning diverter to the lead out wire, check for voltage output.
If no defects found, connect the fence wires.
Step 5: Check fence wires
If you are maintaining multiple levels of wire fence, you should test each level for power charge. In doing this, always disconnect all other wire levels not being tested to isolate the cause. Once you have found which wire level or levels are faulty, it’s time to make your rounds of the fence.
You should check for the following while making your way around you fence:
- Tree branches touching the wires;
- Weeds touching the wire;
- Damaged insulators;
- Line breaks; and
- Short circuits.
You may check for short circuits by using an AM radio. Short circuits cause interference in radio signal. Once interference occurs, you will know that you are near the part of the fence with a short and it would be easy to locate the damage.
In doing the entire troubleshooting process, don’t forget to always check for corrosion on the wires or any parts of the circuitry. Repair or replace the damaged part of the electric fence system if you think you are capable of doing so. If not, seek the help of an expert.
Protect yourself while doing the troubleshooting by using insulated gloves and being careful in each step. A defective electric fence can always be repaired; injuries or fatalities due to electric shock might not be so easy.
