Square D wiggy

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don_resqcapt19 said:
And I just see ZERO use for a meter to trouble shoot 120 volt control circuits. It does not give me any additional information that I need.

I guess I am saying that the solenoid tester gets this job done better for me than does a meter.
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I'm not talking about a DMM, I'm talking about a modern, updated version of the "Wiggy".


t-plus-pro-01a-600x402.jpg
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
I might look at that if I ever need a new tester, but for how I use a tool like that, I have no need for the extra things that it does that my solenoid tester can't do.
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Question (Im sure it obvious in the instructions) but is that meter a low impedance high watt device like the solenoid wiggy?
 
I don't get this "solenoid testers don't lie" stuff. I have experienced it myself; sometimes, you get a weird reading that the stoic wiggy will not report with meaningful information, and you wind up grabbing something more accurate to figure out what's going on. If you have a damaged underground, for instance, a wiggy might just vibrate and show voltage. It might show less than 120v, but it doesn't give you accurate information. You wind up trying to figure out how to get a load on the circuit and a DMM to see what's going on; why not just use the tool that does just that?

Open neutrals, same story. It actually does matter that the voltage is increasing when you energize the load. The wiggy is too insensitive to do any good.

You might as well just carry around a trouble light on alligator clips, that will tell you as much as a wiggy and you get the fringe benefit of being able to read the paper while you work. :)
 
George Stolz said:
I don't get this "solenoid testers don't lie" stuff. I have experienced it myself; sometimes, you get a weird reading that the stoic wiggy will not report with meaningful information,
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I don't get that at all.

What do you mean?

You might as well just carry around a trouble light on alligator clips, that will tell you as much as a wiggy and you get the fringe benefit of being able to read the paper while you work. :)
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Nope, the light does not move in your hand.

Having entered the trade troubleshooting with a wiggy type tester I could work fast and quick with it. It also had the benefit of being simple, low cost and pretty much bullet proof.

Now that said due to company rules my primary day to day meter is a Fluke T5-1000

Which has the same issues as a wiggy, it only does so much before I need to move to my Fluke 87.:p
 
iwire said:
I don't get that at all.

What do you mean?
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The two items I mentioned are the most prevalent. Sometimes, it's not a simple go-no go issue; you trying a isolate a gray area that does not fall in the wiggy's parameters. Does this 24V coil have power? This 12V light? I might as well use a wet brick.

Nope, the light does not move in your hand.
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Well, there's another $10 solution for that, if it's a must have, but I'm pretty sure you'd get in trouble parking the van in front of that store to pick it up. :lol:

Having entered the trade troubleshooting with a wiggy type tester I could work fast and quick with it. It also had the benefit of being simple, low cost and pretty much bullet proof.
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Agreed; the wiggy worship on the forum led me to buy one in my formative years as well...

Now that said due to company rules my primary day to day meter is a Fluke T5-1000

Which has the same issues as a wiggy, it only does so much before I need to move to my Fluke 87.:p
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...which leads me on my little mission to counter the wiggy worship now. :D
 
My troubleshooting experience is mostly 120 volt industrial control circuits and I bet I use the solenoid voltage tester a few hundred times to every time I found a need to see a number from a meter. It was and is my tester of choice for that type of work.

(and I am a very stubborn old man and very unlikely to change)
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
My troubleshooting experience is mostly 120 volt industrial control circuits and I bet I use the solenoid voltage tester a few hundred times to every time I found a need to see a number from a meter. It was and is my tester of choice for that type of work.

(and I am a very stubborn old man and very unlikely to change)
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I learn from the best. :lol:
 
One of my favorite 120 volt testers I made myself.

I took a 12 volt test light for automotive use and put a 120v bulb in it.

Not CAT rated, but very quick and isn't prone to 'phantom' voltages.

I really like test equipment. Solenoid testers definitely have their places, so do DMM's and analog multi-meters. Which type is the best depends on the task at hand.
 
K8MHZ said:
One of my favorite 120 volt testers I made myself.

I took a 12 volt test light for automotive use and put a 120v bulb in it.

Not CAT rated, but very quick and isn't prone to 'phantom' voltages.

I really like test equipment. Solenoid testers definitely have their places, so do DMM's and analog multi-meters. Which type is the best depends on the task at hand.
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Don't want to accidentally connect it to 480 volts either;)
 
kwired said:
Don't want to accidentally connect it to 480 volts either;)
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But intentionally it's fun!

Seriously, I mostly use the test light on residential. It's really handy for checking out 3 way switches and related wiring.

I started the practice in a factory where much of our small stuff was 120 volt. The other techs liked the idea, so the modified 120 volt test light was common. What was fun was putting a 12 volt bulb back in when the tech wasn't looking. The make a nice bright pop when used on 120.

:D
 
K8MHZ said:
I think it would be great, for things like checking for voltage drop. Remember, the digital readout isn't just a voltage readout, it's a readout of the voltage under a load.
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Assuming it is a low impedance meter - but very likely is. That low impedance meter is still a small load to the average 120 volt plus power and lighting circuit though, your benefit is ruling out capacitive coupled voltages, which is accomplished with the indicator lights alone.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
My troubleshooting experience is mostly 120 volt industrial control circuits and I bet I use the solenoid voltage tester a few hundred times to every time I found a need to see a number from a meter. It was and is my tester of choice for that type of work.

(and I am a very stubborn old man and very unlikely to change)
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On any given day I might need to check for voltage, continuity, trip a GFCI, test a battery or possibly check resistance. The T+ Pro does all that in one tester. The Ideal Vol Con is a good tester but just too limited. I gave my original Wiggy away in 2007 and my VolCon away a few years later and I have not missed either of them at all.
 
kwired said:
Some guys just lick their finger before touching to test for voltage:D
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True story.
My partner and I were doing work on commissioning some overhead cranes at Boeing. We had some construction electricians from the hall working with us who had little experience in 3 phase, controls etc. but were eager to learn so they could stick in industrial. One day they asked my partner how he knew what the phase rotation was when connecting a crane to the 480V bus rails for the first time. Knowing that I had done a LO/TO on the power feed to the rails over our heads, he licked his fingers on his left hand and touched two bars, then jerked his hand to the right really hard as if he had been shocked. He then told them "See that? If my hand jerks to the right, it's ABC, if it jerks to the left, is CBA. It's called the "Left Hand Rule"."

Needless to say, these guys stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open. My partner then turned around walked away like it was nothing. I made him go back and tell them that it was a goof, I didn't want any of them thinking they could do that.
 
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