Dropped $130 on a cable toner and it found a staple short in 4 minutes

I picked up a Fluke tone and probe kit for around $130 after a rough week chasing a dead zone on a 16-zone panel, and it paid off on the next job when I found a staple shot through a wire behind a baseboard in under 5 minutes. Before that I was cutting open drywall and guessing, which ate a whole afternoon on a Tuesday install. What is your go to trick for finding a break when the toner is not giving you a clear signal?

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eric_ramirez6720d ago

A $130 tool is great until the wire runs behind a baseboard you can't pull or through a ceiling packed with insulation, and plenty of techs go years without one. A $20 circuit tracer or even a cheap fox and hound from Harbor Freight does the same job on most residential calls, so the fancy kit isn't what saved your afternoon, the staple just happened to be in a spot you could reach. Learning to read a TDR or just mapping the run from the panel will teach you more than a probe ever will, but hey, whatever gets you home by dinner.

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