Diagnosing and Fixing a Damaged Electrical Circuit

Things don't always go as planned. Sometimes we screw up and need to know how to fix it after.
‪@SouthMainAuto‬ Where I learned that mini tape roll trick. Thanks Eric O!
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[@SouthMainAuto]

Ohhhhh thanks for the mention 😁 The classic mini roll for the win!

[@anthonycmiller]

Hey good to see this channel learn this same trick from you as I did.

[@ddallison99]

Thank you for your time in making your KZbin.

[@johnblake3863]

Good to finally meet Jennifer. She has to have a really good sense of humor...living with you.

[@dale5898]

Finally we get to meet Mrs.Jennifer Farmcraft101. Nice to meet you Jennifer. You have a nice family,and a beautiful farm.

[@dadgarage7966]

That's why I like armored BX cable and everything surfaced mounted for a shop or a workspace. Tubing or conduit looks better but requires more time and skill. BX is literally and figuratively more flexible.

[@morgansword]

The last clip reminded me of our old cow chewing on grass, had a mouthful of grass an then moved its head towards the electric fence.. grass in its mouth touched that fence and it scared it so bad that she ran straight through the fence tearing everything up... I was laughing too hard to even care about the fence.. had I not seen it though might of had me scratching my noggin

[@PmanProductions100]

That check between known ground and the screw put a huge smile on my face. Ingenious idea haha!

[@pyromen321]

17:39: I’ve traced out outlets before using a space heater and a multimeter. Plug your space heater in somewhere and check the voltages at different outlets. Due to losses in the wires, you’ll see that voltage is decreasing as you get farther from the panel toward your space heater. After the space heater, the voltage will be steady.

[@queeg6473]

I'm rebuilding a house that was built around 1890s. It was rewired around 1970s but they left all the old wires in. Gee thanks for that....Every wire I find I have to treat it as live. Joy...

[@donaldpeterson9521]

Great video as per usual. You are very clear, very informative, and very interesting. Thanks for the great work.

[@sjv6598]

12:40 As an electrician, I always leave a little length on cables (especially at outlets) so they can be repaired if anything like this happens without having to do any rewiring.

[@timderks5960]

As a non-electrician, I do this as well. Learned it the hard way, and from KZbin of course.

[@ionstorm66]

Yeah luckily in a shop you could just add another box a bit higher up with a splice, but I always install the deepest possible box for the wall/insulation and use extra wire. Also in a shop it would be good idea to run 3 strand wire with either 2 gang or split the outlets to prevent overload. The extra stand dosent add much cost, but doubles the capacity of the branch.

[@craigmooney696]

I do the the same. As growing up in an electrical family.nothing is more disappointing the someone running no extra :( good job catching the short! . Glad to see

[@mikepettengill2706]

@@ionstorm66 How does that work? You use two black wires? One for the first set of outlets and one for the second set? Connecting them to different breakers and sharing a common and a ground? Is that up to code?

[@ionstorm66]

@@mikepettengill2706 in the US we have 110v split phase. So each phase is 110v to neutral, 220v hot to hot. You can install a double pole breaker, and run 12/3. You share the neutral, and run black to one outlet and red to the other for hot. Because you share the ground and neutral, you can double the power for 33% more cooper. On most outlets you can pop off a little tab between the top and bottom outlet and run one phase to each. Then you could draw 20a from both outlets at the same time.

[@guy_b]

we call the "receptacle" a "socket" in my part of the world. thanks for the vid, always enjoy the troubleshooting

[@DieselRamcharger]

sockets are for lightbulbs.

[@daveb8598]

Thanks for filiming it! It was interesting. Tip for finding breakers, plug in a radio and turn it up so you can hear it in the room with the breaker, you'll know when you have the right breaker off

[@michaelboyle1983]

That's a good idea! God bless you! Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3 KJV But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:8 KJV Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:1‭-‬4 KJV For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Romans 3:23‭-‬26 KJV But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Romans 5:8‭-‬11 KJV For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 KJV Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1‭-‬2 KJV That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9‭-‬10 KJV

[@jftureson]

The old Eric O Mini roll! Love it.

[@SouthMainAuto]

😁

[@johnbourgeois1414]

I have used liquid electric tape for similar things when access to tape normally is limited it works well and is actually tougher than tape. Great job tracking down the short

[@Sadenshard]

Make sure with the liquid electrical tape you allow it to fully dry prior to using the circuit. It is flammable until fully cures.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@9:13 - If I remember from my sparky days, if you're working on a building that has been wired with a sub-panel following the codes, then the grounding bar and the neutral bar would be separate as a sub-panel needs 4 conductors run from the disconnect to the sub-panel. That would make the ground cause continuity, but not necessarily the neutral. The neutrals are not bonded to the load center housing in this case.

[@paulnieuwkamp8067]

Yes, if this is a sub-panel then you need to make sure neutral and ground are NOT connected at this panel. They should be connected at the main disconnect, and at the main disconnect ONLY. That is, if you are in the US and several US-based electrician KZbinrs I follow know what they're talking about :P If you do it at other places, you risk running current (and energizing) the ground wire, and thus anything that is connected to it like housings.

[@johnwiley8417]

4:21 Unwise for me to talk to my wife like that while she's holding a running hose. I'd have been soaked. Great video, as always. The drone crash made me jump. I've got to default to my inductive tone tracer for problems like that, but that's what I used to troubleshoot studio wiring. Nice job with the continuity meter.

[@jontee3437]

Fortunately not all wives are bitches

[@Georgiaboy9009]

A reference to good ol Eric O, love that guy, funny and a great mechanic.

[@SouthMainAuto]

🤫

[@gregcollins3404]

Nice job of pinpointing the problem without a time-domain-reflectometer! Had a similar situation at a friend's house and I was able to show him where to remove the siding to get at the wires. Bingo - dead squirrel with his mouth still around the wires....

[@MichaelMacGyver]

I do something similar to that tape trick with a length of the tube from a pen, wrap duct tape around it to create a mini roll and then I run a loop of paracord down the middle of the tube and tie a knot on the end (or melt it) so I can hang it off of my keys. It's incredibly handy to always have some duct tape with you

[@watermanone7567]

Nice video. Some states require any cut or connection of wires to be put into a box. Also try some liquid electrical tape. Works great. Thanks for the video.

[@jonathanfenne4948]

I was getting ready to mention the SMA tape method! Then you go and name check Eric O! Love this channel!

[@SouthMainAuto]

👀

[@Locane256]

Loved it! Some great tips in there! The troubleshooting method you used is what I call binary troubleshooting; split the problem in half, check. Move to the next half, split that one, check. It's a binary search tree if you're in to computer algorithm lingo. They taught me that when I worked at Comcast to TS cable problems.

[@marcosmota1094]

We had a network storm caused by a looped cabled...many years ago. IT guy was stressed as hell staring at the core switches. *"These are your ISLs right? Here...dump all the aux switches."* Pooft! Problem went away, and he narrowed down which downstream port was looped.

[@MatthewPierce9]

I've been binge watching these for the last 48 hours. This is an amazing channel. You are so good at editing and describing. Thank you

[@mk71]

yeah this guy is the master of explaining things with the perfect amount of detail

[@russrockino-rr0864]

If I were you, I would replace that section of damaged romex cable. Electrical tape will goo up over time and unravel leaving your conductor exposed again. Your just asking for trouble in the future and yes, I am an Electrician. Good job diagnosing the problem.

[@chrisblock8646]

I'm also an electrician, Real Mickey mouse!!! Fix it right

[@OldSneelock]

Tracing out a circuit is easier when you have a helper. I was Dad's helper. He would plug in a radio and I would stand by the panel and pull fuses or if I was lucky and it was a newer house he was wiring flip the breakers. Dad always made a sketch of the house and marked the outlets and ceiling lights on the sketch. Then he would right down the number of the fuse or breaker on the sketch next to the outlet or light it powered. Old houses can be frustrating. Quite often there is at least one line that a "handyman" installed. It can be lamp cord strung through the rafters or dropped down a cold air vent. Lots of stories from the 65 years I have had the pleasure of straightening out messes. Kids are pretty good up until 13 when they find out there are more fun things than helping Dad.

[@larryhicks7558]

You have good sound reasoning. I have done that a few times myself . Nice to meet the boss .

[@davidmunro5577]

We call them a socket. Plugs and sockets go together! You should have replaced the cables for safety. Never use a damaged cable! I liked your excellent diagnosis for the fault location. Well done!

[@robertoduranos5196]

Or tried to pull some slack cable through being so close to the outlet. I would rather sleep at night.

[@sloth0jr]

I'd say the thing I like most about your videos is your process. You think about stuff until you're pretty sure you've got the concept down. I'm always a fan of the good troubleshooter.

[@TarZan49]

This was fun. I used basic "troubleshooting " back in the day (50 years ago) with alarm systems.

[@luisvillalobos6517]

Loved how you explained the trouble shooting, and how u narrowed it down and pinpointed with measurements. Thank you so much for your videos. You and your wife are so cute joking around.

[@freddifish4179]

Absolutely love the videos, mate. Farmer ingenuity has always impressed me as sometimes you just gotta get it working. I do love how you do not cut corners with projects and how things are built repaired to last. Watched you redo the zinc coated nightmare connecting pump, switch, tank and home and compared to what I've seen over the years (am a plumber that's worked in a small town his whole career) you did an absolutely awesome job. No black pipe or garden hose to be seen, lol. It's truly amazing the look you get when you show ppl the inside of an old galv pipe.

[@walterwhitaker1395]

As Fire Marshall Bill would say "Let me show you something"! Nice video! Breaker saves the day and the shop!

[@Engineerd3d]

Not sure on the code in your area. However I used BX line outside the wall in my old shop. A good steel armored cable in a shop with metal boxes and metal faceplates is a good thing.

[@theundergroundesd]

FYI. Video everything. Keep up the good work.

[@2LateIWon]

Hi Jennifer!!! Thanks for letting your husband buy cool tools!!!

[@johnsmith-xr6qy]

All your videos are so well thought out & explained. EVERY ONE! You take us on a good ride even when repairing something to show us something else. Just like this one. Thank you!

[@JohnL.Roberts-tm9fr]

Your confidence is inspiring. Had I even been able to diagnose and make those repairs, I would have tested the circuit a half dozen times before I buttoned it up. You are a master.

[@Bob_Adkins]

Very good and useful content! Made me feel better about shooting a finishing nail into a wire that left me in the dark. Had to pull it out while using a flashlight.

[@AwosAtis]

I am amazed at, everything from an electrical short from a construction screw to R&R of an 8 inch Hydraulic cylinder on your heavy equipment, your problem solving skills.

[@jasongarland3165]

This is kind of a timely video. I have a fun filled weekend of swapping out worn out receptacles at our new house this weekend as well potentially mapping the various circuits so I'll know which direction they run

[@iainhetherington4608]

Funny bloke, my wife and I were in tears Cheers from Aus

[@IfIHadMoreTime]

I got happy to see that drill press in the background. I've got the exact same model, inherited from my grandpa. Built like a tank, and weighs as much too.

[@neilmarsh1904]

It didn't occur to me to use an extension cord in that way. Brilliant! When I wired my shop (granted, yours is a whole lot bigger) I made a point of putting the outlets and lights on separate circuits. I want to be able so see if tool stops in the middle of what I'm doing.

[@TheMarci201]

This part near the 8 min mark, with checking if the screw was short to ground was brilliant.

[@robertpeters9438]

That mini roll of tape hint is great!

[@MRrwmac]

John, Very glad you didnt wire that shop with the wrong breakers or you would have had to yse that new fire hose. i would have cried at the lose of all those old great machines and tools! Yes, Eric at SMA is one of my favorites. I remember that episode. The newzealander DIY guy (with the bucking goats - dont remember his channel right now) and the apocolyptic inventor are good also. You have become one also so I’ve been bing watching your old stuff. Not quite caught up yet. Thanks

[@mnnconnolly]

I love that short detection with the extension cord. Brilliant.

[@karstent8138]

3:00 Keep it simple - in the UK your receptacle, we call it a socket, easy! Or if you like, you could always call it a plughole.

[@dougmerrill4107]

Testing continuity to the screw was brilliant! You always produce content that everyone can learn something. I kind of think “Johnson” is you favorite word. 😉

[@AnomadAlaska]

You talk about electricity in a way that is easy for me to understand/relate to. Thanks. I'll try not to "screw" myself on future jobs fixing up this old place.

[@bubbatime]

The obligatory drone shot was a game changer. Well done sir. Remarkable footage.

[@WoLpH]

Looking at issues like these I'm really glad that all wiring is in conduits around here. Still not a foolproof solution but at least they offer some protection and they're straight so you know where to expect them. Great troubleshooting in any case!

[@mrxmry3264]

yeah, conduits are definitely a good idea, and so are protective devices like AFCIs and GFCIs. small investments that can prevent serious costs down the line. definitely worth the investment, IMHO.

[@Redsson56]

Especially if an amateur is putting in screws with insufficient forethought.

[@pimpnick4920]

Good man for posting your oops moment then fixing it. You did so much for youtube technicians. They should put something in the tip jar everytime it saves them. I put this in the memory bank for later.

[@scottdavis9442]

Great tip with the tape. That I will use all the time.

[@carsonwashburn1]

That was a brilliant way to find which screw was causing the short. Thanks for the great tips!

[@flowerstone]

When wiring receptacles in series it’s better to wire nut a pigtail out to each receptacle. If you use the receptacle as the pass through it relies on that little brass piece between the screws to handle the load. We do this on any industrial circuit. Just an idea. 🙂

[@jwagnermail]

Yes, using a pigtail to connect a receptacle is code, if you had to pass inspection your method of chaining a circuit would fail. That little brass bar is not rated for 20 amps, which is what you need in a shop. Also, those receptacles are not 20A, you will burn them up on a large motor in the shop.

[@Watchyn_Yarwood]

Not an electrician and don't know NEC codes but I always wire receptacles like you suggest. Less wire, less work, neater appearance. Also, thinking of that little brass piece, the very first one in the circuit carries the load for the entire circuit!

[@mikepettengill2706]

@@Watchyn_Yarwood You have to figure though, that in a shop like this, with mostly one person at work it is pretty unlikely that there will be multiple stations at work at a time, Maybe a saw AND a dust collector max?

[@John-ye4nv]

The receptacles are listed by UL (UL 498) and tabs are rated for full current. The tabs will not overheat as you suggest.

[@flowerstone]

@@John-ye4nv I know they are rated for the load. I just like to add a little assurance. Just me. You’re doing great. I like your videos. 🙂

[@RA-sz5tu]

Well there's your problem lady !!!!!!! lol Eric is by far the best car tech I have ever seen.

[@stew6338]

Well done, I like the tape around the socket trick. I will use that. Thanks.

[@morsecodereviews1553]

Just found a new channel to binge and this feller watches SMA! That's a 2for1 special.

[@judegraham463]

great, yeah, I did learn a bit, though my starting point, my knowledge of electrical works is nil, which actually made this video all the more worthwhile. And the logic you demonstrated regarding working out which way the wiring runs was even for a knucklehead like me, understandable. So thumbs up from Australia, and thanks.

[@tweaker1968]

I like the trick with the extension cord... Stay safe!

[@JamesBrown-dp8ko]

Like your vids, great stuff. Here in the UK we use "socket" rather than "receptacle", try it for yourself, much nicer and easier to spell. Bit of a shocker with the drone trick, I nearly swore!

[@soothcoder]

I'd recommend checking the circuit with a meter before you touch it :) I watched my dad once cleaning the contacts on an old style hot water jug. The steam would corrode the pins and the socket the pins went into was part of the cord. So he would connect it, turn on the power see it was still heating slowly, turn off the power pull off the cable and use a round file to clean the contacts on the cable. Then repeat. At some point he got out of sequence and put the file (with no handle I might add) into the cable and quickly through it as he got zapped. We had a GFCI so no permanent harm but here we have 240v mains so it still bites.

[@pyropenguin]

the editing for the drone run was fantastic. that music was a jam.

[@evanwilliams2419]

I love the troubleshooting method of finding the short to ground using the screw

[@anthonyvincent9990]

It help if your panel is labeled properly. Our how was build in 1901 and when the previous owners remodels they never updated the panel. as you suggested. It actually took 2 weeks to get everything labeled right. This was all because 4 days after we moved in the Wife tripped the bathroom outlet which i had to rewire with a gfic.

[@pierQRzt180]

I was thinking about the continuity early before you tested the plugs. Nice that it wasn't a bad idea.

[@IcecalGamer]

I laughed so spontaneously and hefty at that "drone shot". Great inclusion in the video !

[@robertpainter3880]

Here in the UK we call your receptacles "sockets" and the other part "plugs" which makes sense of plug and socket. We also have a green/yellow sheathing for the earth/ground wire and I am surprised you don't seem to have any which would stop the earth part touching the live(hot)

[@ftownroe]

Fantastic and informative analysis used to trace the fault including the continuity between the screw and the ground.

[@uther10]

Great troubleshooting skills to find the area. Also you pretty much got me with that 1st Drone

[@patspencer1925]

Thanks!

[@FarmCraft101]

Thanks for the support!

[@notsoserious0944]

Shockingly good video. Unless you super trust cheap Chicom receptacles, it never hurts to pigtail the wire so you are not feeding full current through the device and on down the line. It is a little more work but a lot of peace of mind.

[@davidlecottage]

That mini roll is a great idea - thanks!

[@chiplittlefield6188]

Nice way to handle new house to you. Make a map of the house, at each outlet plug in a light and have some one turn off breakers until light goes out. Mark breaker # on map. Great for any building with poorly marked breaker box.

[@mattbalik2585]

Just had to sneak in another Johnson joke at the end there didn't ya? Great video!

[@Sadenshard]

If your curiosity aren't labeled using a fox and hound works good. You can get some cheap ones on Amazon. They work ok for residential work. You can get really good ones that can indicate how far in distance a problem is, approximately. The breaker technique is good for people without a meter but I'd suggest ringing out the circuits instead of switching the breaker on and off

[@jordans5218]

Loved that drone shot 👌😆

[@andrewfreeborn]

Great tip on South Main Auto! Thank you so much!

[@garymucher4082]

I was actually surprised you had so many receptacles wires on the same circuit breaker. When I wired my shop, I only wired one receptacle per wall to one circuit and than daisy chair one receptacle on the next wall with it and so on. That way if you blow a circuit breaker, you can simply move to the next receptacle and carry on. Takes a lot more wire, but a much nicer way to wire a shop. And than no two pieces of power equipment are using the same circuit breaker at the same time. A fan and a table saw or chop saw can be on and use two different circuit breakers...

[@robertmccully2792]

Most people do not run two or three machines at the same time, so knowing that you can have many receptacles on one circuit.,

[@waynewayne9693]

@@robertmccully2792 it still makes sense to do at least 2 for a couple of reasons. 1)(it helps future proof adding new equipment. 2( if something fails you at least still have half the shop with power so it doesn’t hinder work to chase shorts down. In this case the breakers were in the shop so it’s a matter of a 15 dollar breaker since more than likely one already has the romex. Not to mention your area is already opened up to run wire. That’s 15 dollars well spent in my opinion.

[@brettt1064]

Recent subscriber, this week. You just me mentioned South Main Auto, now I probably know why I subscribed! Thanks for the troubleshooting video! :)

[@ianmarsden8568]

Thanks for another educational and interest video. About your extension cord, I also have one with that curl as well - but I carry on using it. Although I have had a few of these in the past, its only this one that curls like that - no idea what it is. Oh yes, and instead of 'receptacle', you could say 'socket'.

[@scootergem]

The more i watch the more i enjoy your channel

[@berthongo8531]

Divide and conquer works every time! I love it when everything works as designed. I already subscribe to SMAR so I've got that going for me. Great video!

[@xorfive]

That drone bit was pretty funny. :)

[@tracybowling1156]

Hi John. You know, I never really gave any thought to your channel name. But it is perfect! You teach me things that I should have learned from my Dad. But he is a terrible teacher. (Don't tell him I said so.) 😜 And you teach things so I get it. I am ALWAYS excited when you make a new episode! ☺️ Excellent done shot. Your jokes are always great! I bet your a handful at home!

[@adanfranchi578]

Very interesting and thank you for sharing. I look forward to your next video.

[@SciFiMind]

Great demonstration of the trouble shooting thought process. Just as a note for others the continutity trick doesn't work with all multimeters at that length unfortunately. I've tried with my fluke and it couldn't detect continuity on a known good extension cord

[@ve6jy]

Nonsense. If the Fluke can't detect continuity then you don't have any. If you mean there is no tone, then the resistance is higher than the value at which the tone is set to come on. But you still have continuity.

[@mikepettengill2706]

Educational, thank you. Wiring is one of those things that books just seem to have a hard time teaching to me anyway.

[@kennethunderwood7767]

Just came across your channel. Great stuff. Right up my alley. Not sure, but thinking I'm not really that far from you. Again, great channel. Thanks

[@mcorrade]

Brilliant detective work man. It really made sense the way you explained it so thanks.

[@AlexanderRM2010]

Great example of troubleshooting Sir, well done.

[@gduncan3739]

This is awesome! humour and practicality , he really is a farmer!

[@jccorder1]

In Alabama, we call them plugs also. You have some great content on your channel.

[@dans_Learning_Curve]

SMA! Great channel! I've learned a lot from him! Including the tape on the socket! Great detective work finding the short!

[@paulris9868]

What I noticed as a carpenter is that you missed the stud. So how many studs did you miss while attaching the ledger board ?

[@marcosmota1094]

Always drill pilot holes, since the wood will retain greater strength if excess fibers aren't torn. Hitting near the center of the studs will better support the plate, even with thinner timber screws. The best exploratory bit is one made from thin iron rod, say less than 3/16ths, just grind an angled/notched tip that chews wood good enough. It will grind through the plywood, but linger without much progress when striking studs. Go left a little, then right again and get to within a 3/8ths of the stud core.

[@slimwantedman6694]

Good morning from Southeast South Dakota

[@N0d4chi]

Breathtaking Drone Footage