pen testers

[rcwilson]

If you use it to test Xmas lights, run it along the dead set of 50 lights until the detector goes off or on. Hold it at the tip of the lights so the hot lead doesn't fool you. If you make it to the end without finding the problem, turn the plug over in the receptacle. Many light string plugs are not polarized and flipping it over puts the series string of lights on the hot lead, which you need.

For icicle lights, just check the bottom bulbs of the dead sections and you narrow down the search. On all strings, I'll jump about 10 lights at a time to zero in quickly on the problem area.

I have a ground fault receptacle that I use when testing indoors. All outdoor strings are on GFCI. The broken bulbs can be dangerous.

 

[glene77is]

I call 'em Idiot Sticks. But they do have their uses. Finding open noodles, for one.

480,
IF my 'Ticker' ticks (100MOhn load, almost no Amps) ,
THEN I pull out the Wiggy thing (3KOhm load, 40mA).

Alive since 1955 !

 

[glene77is]

They almost never give a false positive, they often give false negatives.
They are good for detecting voltage, they are not so good for detecting no voltage.

Jim,
Agreed.
This post is intended to support your comment
about "No Voltage Detection", in the sense that it is tough and 'iffy' to do.

About 'No Voltage' detection I have this little blurb from my experience.

Alive since 1959 !

Historical note: In 1959, we used neon bulbs with a series resistor.

So, the comment starts:

(1) In 1996, I used one in an attic full of K&T, with carbon soot coating everthing, causing leakage currents everywhere,
and (of course) K&T has no ground (EGC) line for a ready reference. Wiring passes into and out of walls with no markings or clue.

(2) My 'Ticker' responded on both the hot and the neutral lines.

(3) The Neon Bulb Testor referenced the hot wire against my presence in the electric field,
showing much brighter glow on touching the hot wire compared to touching the neutral wire.

(4) That was not a guaranteed check, but by being careful I was able to keep all the circuits traced and correct,
until the replacement romex was pulled in.