circuit seeker misreads

[Stevenfyeager]

about 40 % of the jobs, my 20 yr old Green Lee circuit seeker can't find a breaker in the panel. It beeps really fast, not the rythmic beeps like it does when its working. Even if I make it have an isolated ground. That 40% could be a house or office, Do I need to ask the owner to turn off all computers, etc ? What causes this interference ?? Thanks

 

[Buck Parrish]

I've not had that problem with my Klein. Perhaps you should consider getting a new one. 20 Years is along time. In fact that may be a record.

 

[hillbilly1]

^{I have found with the cheaper tracers, use the ground as the return path, not the neutral. Computers do cause interference with my Amprobe tracer, but it is a steady noise, not pulsed, so it can be distinguished.}

 

[Stevenfyeager]

Thank you. My 20 year old one works great usually, even locating wires up to 3 feet underground, etc. but maybe it is time to buy new or a Klein. I was wanting to buy one for my helper last year but instead of going down (as I thought all electronics do) from $400, a new one was $700. So we are still passing it and sharing it. Our cheap $40 breaker seeker from Home Depot works ok only if the circuit is still live. Working in a busy dentist office this week was nerve racking, needing to turn off breakers. We decided to do our rough ins during business hours and came back at closing times to turn off circuits to play it safe. The interference fast beeping, almost a constant tone, keeps us from hearing the rythmic tracer. Thanks for the advice.