New residential construction electrical wires not labeled at panel

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Skullmesaranch

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Cave Creek
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Electrical Engineer
This is just the first phase of my new construction house electrical system. It went smoothly and the licensed electrician seemed to be fine. A few months later he started contacting me too much and acting erratic. He claimed he couldn't finish the job so I asked him to show me how he left things. As we opened the panel he realized that he hadn't labeled any of the wires.

This guy is going through a difficult situation and I can't have him working on my system. What's the best way to move forward on mapping the circuits? I had an electrician tell me today that he would just finish the job (install the switches, lights, recep, etc) and then energize each circuit with a generator to map the system. This doesn't seem right to me. Is there a passive way to do this (w/o a generator) like check continuity? What is the best way to handle this situation?
 
There are several battery operated devices that can be used to ring out (identify) circuits,
 
A simple circuit tracer can be used to figure out what is on each circuit. If you want any actual map of how each cable were run then that's much more complicated. The prior is required by the NEC the latter is optional.
 
Skullmesaranch said:
As we opened the panel he realized that he hadn't labeled any of the wires.
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Oh my God!! Sue him!! That's 99.99% of what is always done. Only thing the electrician has to do is put a directory inside the panel door when he's finished, that shows what breaker controls what. All one has to do is look at the directory then look at the breaker and the wires on it.

I seen guys slide scrap pieces of NM jacket over each wire and write on it. Hopefully that's only until the panel is finished because it looks like garbage. Not even sure all that extra jacket in a panel is legal.

If you are looking for real wire markers printed up with the destination like a control panel, nobody does that.

As was said, if the panel is unwired and the conductors need to be identified, even a simple bell and battery could be used. For low voltage data and telecom we never label and rely on a tone generator and pickup probe. I've used that countless times to find circuits from a panel also. Any competent electrician who comes in after him should have no problem.

-Hal
 
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Red flag. Red flag #2. Any electrician who suggests energizing circuits with a generator is ... . You use the wire tracer of your preference. I just had to do this in a new commercial kitchen and used tone generator.
 
Is it really that complicated? Start by looking at what circuits are needed and what cables are in place.
The following would require 240V: water heater (2 wire #10), range (3 wire #8) etc.
Two #12 circuits for kitchen etc.
It should be easy to identify most circuits in this manner. They can then be confirmed by a continuity tester.
 
Skullmesaranch said:
This is just the first phase of my new construction house electrical system. It went smoothly and the licensed electrician seemed to be fine. A few months later he started contacting me too much and acting erratic. He claimed he couldn't finish the job so I asked him to show me how he left things. As we opened the panel he realized that he hadn't labeled any of the wires.

This guy is going through a difficult situation and I can't have him working on my system. What's the best way to move forward on mapping the circuits? I had an electrician tell me today that he would just finish the job (install the switches, lights, recep, etc) and then energize each circuit with a generator to map the system. This doesn't seem right to me. Is there a passive way to do this (w/o a generator) like check continuity? What is the best way to handle this situation?
Click to expand...


Identifying circuits is a simple, if somewhat time consuming task.

Multiple ways to do it, including physically tracing the circuits, toning them out, continuity test, and yes, energizing the circuits.

I probably wouldn’t bring a genny just for that, only because I have so many other smaller tools at my disposal. But any competent electrician should find this an easy task.

You should find one you trust, and then stay out of his way and let him do his thing, however he pleases to do it. He’s the professional in this field, and you are not.
 
I took on a job years ago where the electrician didn't finish and not one home run was marked. I used my toner and found all the circuits. Took a few hours, but better than dragging in a generator.
 
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