Continuity on circuit conductors but not tripping breaker

J

JoeNorm

Senior Member
Location
WA
troubleshoot. One outdoor panel fed from another within site. Feeder breaker ON but getting no voltage at load panel. Breaker is good. I get continuity hot to hot with wiring disconnected. 120/240. Residential setting. Why is this breaker not instantly tripping? I only have basic meter at the moment. No meggar or underground locater. Thanks
 
There’s no load, wiring was disconnected. But still true that my tools are lacking sophistication. Can a standard ohm meter confirm a ground fault or is a Meggar or other tool needed for certainty?
 
JoeNorm said:
There’s no load, wiring was disconnected. But still true that my tools are lacking sophistication. Can a standard ohm meter confirm a ground fault or is a Meggar or other tool needed for certainty?
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But were the conductors disconnected at both the feeder and the subpanel?
 
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hbiss said:
Sounds to me like the cable is bad somewhere in the ground. You don't need more "sophisticated" equipment. Just more sophisticated thinking.

-Hal
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Yup. Sometimes looking for that new water line or fence installation will tell what’s needed.

OP: The equipment comes into play if you want to locate the fault precisely.

A good meter with capabilities beyond continuity will generally tell you of a ground fault.
 
Well this was a bit of embarrassing false alarm. I only had my Wiggy with me and I thought it was getting continuity but was not. Sorry about that. I brought out a proper meter and does not show the same result. Still have some mysterious troubleshooting to work through but I think the original post has become moot. Thanks anyway
 
ptonsparky said:
I didn't think a wiggy could show continuity.
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I remember the original Wiggy design solenoid tester from back in the 70's.
But, today it seems the slang term wiggy can mean just about any contact style voltage tester even high impedance ones. I never cared for the practice of calling meters by their manufacturer name rather than their purpose. One testing company I worked with called their megohmeter a Biddle and their transformer tester a Megger. The new employees would often bring the wrong item because our slang names did not match our present vendor.

So what type of tester do most of today's electricians think of when they hear wiggy?
 
jim dungar said:
I remember the original Wiggy design solenoid tester from back in the 70's.
But, today it seems the slang term wiggy can mean just about any contact style voltage tester even high impedance ones. I never cared for the practice of calling meters by their manufacturer name rather than their purpose. One testing company I worked with called their megohmeter a Biddle and their transformer tester a Megger. The new employees would often bring the wrong item because our slang names did not match our present vendor.

So what type of tester do most of today's electricians think of when they hear wiggy?
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As you can tell, for me, the vibrating solenoid type. Was Sq D the original?
 
JoeNorm said:
troubleshoot. One outdoor panel fed from another within site. Feeder breaker ON but getting no voltage at load panel. Breaker is good. I get continuity hot to hot with wiring disconnected. 120/240. Residential setting. Why is this breaker not instantly tripping? I only have basic meter at the moment. No meggar or underground locater. Thanks
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you should have continuity hot to hot becasue the meter is reading DC continuity back through the transformer.
 
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