Electric fence issues

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wyattdvm

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Shelbyville, KY
I have an electric fence that was working well until recently. It is mainly to keep dogs in, but there are a few mini donkeys also. There I one energizer (I forget the number of joules, but I think it is 1 joule), 4 acres enclosed and one grounding bar (6' galvanized rod, I think).

When the box is plugged in, it does click, but the light on the box does not light up. When I remove the hot wire and ground wire from the terminals on the enigizer and test the terminals directly, it shows a good signal. Just not when the wires are reconnected. Also, Ill try to make this clear. When
1) The hot wire is connected properly
2) The ground wire is disconnected from the enigizer, but still connected to the grounding bar
3) I then touch the ground wire (the part of the wire that should be connected to the enegizer) to my fence tester ground and the fence works.

All this his is to say, I think my grounding bar is the issue, but not sure why it would suddenly stop working. Any thoughts? Questions to clarify? Suggestions?

Thanks for for any help.
 
The main reason for a fence charger to stop working when the fence is connected is a short or low impedance path from fence to ground.
Use a Megger to test the hot wires and correct the short.
Breaking the wire at the center point is a good way to start localizing the problem. (If a simple walk around is not good enough.)
On the other hand, you must either use a grounded wire connected to the charger or connect the charger ground to earth.
Do you want a shock when only one wire is touched or do you want to require touching two?

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Thanks. When you say a short, do you mean the hot wire is either touching the ground or something I lying on it? Also, I am not familiar with a Megger. There is only one line of hot wire and they are shocked when thy touch it. The energizer pulses.


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I have done that and there was one area where the ground had mounded enough to contact the wire, but freeing the wire didn't solve the issue. I'll look again.


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Check insulators also, especially if supporting from steel posts.

And make sure you do have the ground terminal of the output connected to a grounding electrode.

1) The hot wire is connected properly
2) The ground wire is disconnected from the enigizer, but still connected to the grounding bar
3) I then touch the ground wire (the part of the wire that should be connected to the enegizer) to my fence tester ground and the fence works.
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If I understand that correctly you did disconnect the output terminal from the grounding electrode while testing and got something to work. But you removed the ground reference from the normally grounded side of the output, this eliminated the short circuit you haven't yet found, is why it started to work but I bet it don't work quite like it should this way.
 
wyattdvm said:
From what I am reading here, it sounds like this is most likely a short issue, not a grounding bar issue. Correct?


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Yes, grounding bar would have to be in very bad condition to be a problem as these things have an output of at least 5000 and up to 15000 volts which the higher end especially will jump a gap and still function if you have poor connections.
 
One way to tell if an electric fence is working correctly is to urinate on it. You can usually tell within a few seconds if it is working or not.
 
petersonra said:
One way to tell if an electric fence is working correctly is to urinate on it. You can usually tell within a few seconds if it is working or not.
Click to expand...

Not unless you're really close to it. Mythbusters looked at this one in relation to electrocution via a transit 3rd rail. I don't recall the exact distance, but the stream starts to breakup not too far from its source so the path is no longer continuous.
 
petersonra said:
One way to tell if an electric fence is working correctly is to urinate on it. You can usually tell within a few seconds if it is working or not.
Click to expand...
Somewhat related - mods be kind.

I grew up on a farm in Scotland and we had a green that sometimes got fenced off with an electric fence to contain one cattle beast that needed to be isolated from the herd.
I was walking home one afternoon, in my early teens at the time, and the macho thing was to see how long you could hold on to it.
It was OK until my do stuck his nose into my other hand. I had rubber boots. He was barefooted........
 
Besoeker said:
Somewhat related - mods be kind.

I grew up on a farm in Scotland and we had a green that sometimes got fenced off with an electric fence to contain one cattle beast that needed to be isolated from the herd.
I was walking home one afternoon, in my early teens at the time, and the macho thing was to see how long you could hold on to it.
It was OK until my do stuck his nose into my other hand. I had rubber boots. He was barefooted........
Click to expand...

LOL! How long before he'd nuzzle up to your hand again?
 
I can't imagine using an electric fence to keep dogs in. That's just not what they are made for.

I would think you would have to keep the bottom so close to the ground that grounding out from weeds and grass and snow would always be a problem.
 
steve66 said:
I can't imagine using an electric fence to keep dogs in. That's just not what they are made for.

I would think you would have to keep the bottom so close to the ground that grounding out from weeds and grass and snow would always be a problem.
Click to expand...

Maybe there's a kick-plate or two at the bottom?
 
A lot of times I can find a partial short on my electric fence by just walking around it in the dark, listening for the popping of the sparks and seeing the flashing.

You really should get an electric fence voltmeter. Typically they have a series of small neon lamps that light up at the max. voltage. Not very expensive, less than $20.

Bird dropping on the insulators, when wet, can also short out a fence.
 
Barbqranch said:
A lot of times I can find a partial short on my electric fence by just walking around it in the dark, listening for the popping of the sparks and seeing the flashing.

You really should get an electric fence voltmeter. Typically they have a series of small neon lamps that light up at the max. voltage. Not very expensive, less than $20.

Bird dropping on the insulators, when wet, can also short out a fence.
Click to expand...
A good idea in general, but in the OP's case where the charger does not tick or flash its light while connected there is probably no spark to see or hear (too solid a short.)

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Mythbusters myth

Mythbusters myth

gadfly56 said:
Not unless you're really close to it. Mythbusters looked at this one in relation to electrocution via a transit 3rd rail. I don't recall the exact distance, but the stream starts to breakup not too far from its source so the path is no longer continuous.
Click to expand...

They tested third rail high voltage DC. This is 10,volts AC. It will get you!! I know two people that did it. One drunk kid on a dare years ago. And anouther friend on his way home from bar, pulled over to side of road to go, wire was in the weeds he never saw it ,but felt it bad.


OP you need to hook up the ground and disconnect the hot half way like someone said. Check for light, move either way depending on if it clears or not.

Even without a flashing light you may see or hear it at night. I had one the other week I could hear it at the insulator and see a spark at a knot in the rope. It was 20ft from the end and was a dead end run. It was a new charger 50 mile 4 joule and it was jumping the 1/2" on the old white wrap around type.
 
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