Well Pump Troubleshooting! Diagnosing the Electric Line to the Well. Repair a Broken Wire in ground.

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We were called out to this "no water" job after 2 other individuals couldn't figure out the issue. On day 1, I decided that the electric line was faulty. We ran out of daylight & had to return when the customer was also going to be there. Fast forward 4 weeks and here we are! Troubleshooting this Well Pump System was definitely a head scratcher.
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[@glossyfpv1155]

Honestly the underground connection in the box while running the wires up seems like the best of both worlds to me. Keeps the destruction of property down while also doing a great job waterproofing. Good job

[@rilab2676]

I live in England when we splice underground cables we encase the wires in a two part epoxy to form a water right connection

[@ianbutler1983]

Yeah, we are supposed to use an underground splice kit here as well. It has set screw sleeve splices that are then encases in shrink tubing that has some type of sealant in it. They work fine. There are cowboys everywhere, and God knows who worked on this system.

[@azpcox]

Last summery dad said his stove kept tripping his circuit breaker. He replaced it, still popped. Unplugged the stove, we still saw the circuit breaker pop. Looking at it closer, the wire feed going to the stove plug was aluminum. But the wire on the circuit breaker was copper. When previous owner had remodeled kitchen, they put a Cu/Al junction somewhere. Only pops on hot days. Similar to yours. Hard to find unless you really do keep digging, literally. Love the videos!

[@johannesels5288]

Insulation resistance test will tell you within minutes if the cable is bad. Old copper/ally connections often leads to hot joints or short circuits, especially if they weren’t done with the right compound or none.

[@BWIL2515]

My experience is when you've found you got a problem with electrical runs pull new wire the time spent not every time but sometimes is better for the customers money no paying me for something that ain't fixed. I learned a long time ago sometimes you have to walk away but with the customer understanding why. I also felt terrible when spending to much time I had to bill a customer usually only paying for my guy's labor and I don't like working for free very often

[@jonathandelano121]

A meager should buy a megohmmeter or megger. They sell a hand crank one for a few hundred. You could of tested each half of the break to ensure where the issue is. The issue could still be on the house side. The megger would have proved it with 1000volts at low current. You can also use it to test a bad well pump that has a short to ground.

[@earlestes8649]

I buried a 10-2 wg 34 years ago and fed my barn with it by using a chainsaw with the chain reversed about 4 inches deep. Used a yardstick to push it down with and put in a gfci in the barn to feed plugs and lights. I’m amazed that it still works it’s on the second gfci. It mainly was to protect my livestock etc. I always recommend putting wire in conduit to my customers

What a dog’s dinner of a plumbing job by someone who should know better, bet they were cheap, you should be proud of yourselves as the customer had an inkling about the fault and said nothing, you are a honest company , not many around today.

[@timfiggins7764]

Tip when i join wires like this is to stagger the joints so they dont all meet at the same point if that makes sense.

[@111000100101001]

Absolutely on using staggering when joining wires. Then you have a much lower chance of future short occurrence and don’t have a big bulge at the splice:)

[@Bris650]

Underground splice kit from Home Depot. Done. That’s what it’s made for!!!

[@davekreidenweis3126]

You did a great job finding the problem. Don't feel bad that he doesn't want you to fix it the right way

[@jamesretired5979]

Divide and concur, Split and check.

[@DouglasYoung-tx8xf]

Hello, just to let you know I have buried a lot of wires connections in the ground doing just like you did here and it’ll last quite a long time. I’m just amazed of how you get your connections down there by the well pump to last as long as you do because they’re in water all the time 24 seven so anyway, I think you did a great job. Keep it up.

[@scottkrise1867]

Is it possible that you have a hidden junction box in behind the drywall where it transitions from 10 gauge to 8 gauge?

[@h2omechanic]

That junction was in the bottom of the panel box, it tested ok.

[@markbernier8434]

@@h2omechanic I know you saw that junction but I would have opened the drywall anyway, or at least put a 3/8 hole to poke my borescope in and have a look. I still think there is likely a second connection in there.

[@h2omechanic]

@markbernier8434 the customer was too "clean" to allow that. #8 was in a 2" grey conduit in the wall, sweeping into the bottom of panel box. I want to pull it out, but he said stop. After 9 hours, I could have had a new line installed

[@Kevin-db1wb]

I also put in septic tanks and it's got a dozer tank in it we had a problem it was back feeding through the ground

[@mykalmcb]

You did everything you could to solve the problem and the customer had a different need. It happens all the time. Actually, you did everything right, and your legwork gave the customer options. You deserve to be paid for the time and effort to help the customer. Mike needs to be paid, and you were not available to do something else because you were working on this job. So you get 5 minutes to bitch, complain, and feel bad, and then it's done. You have better things to do than rework a past that you cannot change. Good work young man.

[@tomgroenbeck7620]

There are electrical splice kits for under water available. Its been 30 years the my dad installed our pump, the place where he go the pump from sold him the splice kit as well. The wires are crimped and then the whole thing gets filled with some epoxy. And since in Germany most houses have 400V 3 phases we didn't use a #8 wire for our pump, #16 is fully sufficient.

[@timeisirelevnt]

Nice shot man.

[@Kevin-db1wb]

I've been doing both of them for about 25 years

[@wizardgmb]

For future reference, if you have to make another underground splice there are a couple of good alternatives to the hardening basement cement. Some big box stores & all electric supply hoses have liquid electrical tape. It's black, gooey & comes in a can similar to a small PVC cement can. It makes an extra watertight seal when brushed over the shrink seals. The other substance is known as "coax seal", another black gooey substance that comes in a roll for sealing radio coax outside connections. There is also a black gooey weatherstriping that comes in 4" wide rolls for sealing around windows & doors during construction. I usually wrap the shrink wrapped connections with tape before applying any of these substances & wrap it with tape again for underground splices. This makes opening up the splice easier if future problems arise.

[@Failure_Is_An_Option]

You clearly have never done this.

[@wizardgmb]

@@Failure_Is_An_Option I didn't say at any point that I had repaired an underground well cable. I did extrapolate from my. past experience waterproofing splices of coax & other types of cable above & below ground. So what is the (your) problem?

[@barfy4751]

Scotchkote

[@jeanmarcforcier383]

I bet that the wire running through the outside wall has the same connection, all taped up to.

[@2nickles647]

They do make a splice kit. Comes with 4 connectors, 4 heat shrink. I went to my local electrical store and bought 4 heat shrink that has a waterproof inner liner that will ooze out when heated. I bought a bigger heat shrink that will cover the whole shibang. My brother in law is a Electrician. He gave me further instructions on how to properly splice each leg. He told me to cut back the cover carefully. And space the splices apart. He told me if you splice them all together. It will look like a pregnant pig and you will never get the big heat shrink on the entire repair. I followed his instructions and my splice is waterproof. The big heat shrink worked perfect and not electrical tape over the repairs.

[@glenmiller8888]

Something you might find handy-Pasar Amprobe Current Tracer Kit - P23 Probe T23 , find what breaker is feeding the pump. Locate where in the ground is the break, down to 6 feet using a regular extension cord for supply power. Find were the brake is. Your pipe tracer may work the same way-

[@lukasandrysik3666]

One idea how to locate the short - I would try to find the fault using thermal camera. If you run 30amps through, the heat must be significant to be "visible" after some time... If you don't want full 30Amps running through, I would try to connect only 120V to the wire to keep the current in some safe margins...OR connect some load (space heaters...) in series of the cable to limit the current and let it run overnight. And in the morning (before the sun hits the ground) walk with thermal camera and the short should be visible as heat spot

[@afd33]

Pretty sure I have a break in an underground wire to my septic holding tank. The alarm that's supposed to go off when it's getting full doesn't go off anymore, and thinking back it worked before they buried my cable for internet and not after. This video reminds me I should really get someone to locate it for me so I can fix it.

[@earlestes8649]

Check the wiring coming in the main wire coming in is shorting together

[@nonsquid]

Could you isolate the power line to the well head and feed it with a buzz box welder between an installed ground and each phase. Watch which phase has the volt drop then listen for the "thump" when the voltage is made then broken. If the dirt is wet, you will hear a tiny pop until the water is boiled off the break to ground. The other option is a time domain reflectometer on the bad phase and look for the impedance noise between you and the dummy load.

[@mikesalm5053]

I just ran into this exact same problem with a pole lamp in a customer's front yard. The wire was buried just a couple inches in the ground and landscapers hit it in 2 spots

[@coltsjason]

As a 3rd generation journeyman electrician HVAC tech people breakers are made for certain amps as is wire it will kill you or set your house on fire

[@ryanmcananey6245]

Check in the AC disconnect under that eve you were pointing to in the beginning. May find something crazy going on in there

[@davecolvin310]

Floating splice in the wall with no junction box a no no.but I would locate that.and underground splice kits not reliable.but should at least heat shrink.i like your solution.

[@reese8752]

I thought it interesting how much extra wire there was on the first repair

[@imjabroni1]

Hey, can you fix my well pump? I don't know why it's blowing the breaker. But don't do a better job than I would do myself.

[@MartyMacgyver]

We work in different fields, but one common thread is weird bugs like this that are sometimes not worth digging up (figuratively or literally). I'll be very curious if you hear more about this particular situation once they've put a new line in the ground. Also curious if there's any way to protect a long line like that from lightning striking nearby (e.g., a tree or even direct to the ground above it)? I'm guessing not really...

[@stevecurry5785]

When we needed to splice an underground cable all we used is the same rubber tape you use on the wells and the waterproof marrettes or brass sleeves with 2 screws to secure the wires then wrap the crap out of them with the rubber or hematite tape We also used to run a marker on electrical wires to locate them But were talking the 70s and 80s before we had the scanners we have now All that bin will do is make a home for underground creatures and create moisture through condensation

[@kitchentablecommonsense.5290]

I"m not an electrician but if the lines are shorted,i think you could have ohmed the wires out an the resistance level would tell you how many feet away the short is. There is a formula for wire gage, temp and the length of wire. Just a thought.

[@rob4334]

Are these low voltage or 240 in aus some of these pump are 12 volt and run off solar thanks love the videos

[@Nidkidful]

Bit of an unrelated question, but where do you source your mock-rocks from, and are there any brands to avoid? Also, as an industrial electrician, I'd say you did the best you could with that repair, and that the customer getting a new wire run is indeed his best bet. There's no way to tell if, especially with some sections being so shallow, anything else in the yard has compromised the wire over time.

[@joebufford2972]

Boy every piece of that copper is precious. I would hoard it away and replace it all with PEX, you never know when you need copper fittings.

[@drob5664]

It would have been good to ohm the wires both directions before the repair. I feel you on this, it is truly an aggravating situation. But on another note, I am going to have nightmares thinking about that tank.

[@waltradcliffe4482]

That is what I do, I have been in auto collision repair for over 4o years found hundreds of shorts I know this is an older video separate wires on both ends then look for continuity on each wire it won’t tell you where the short is but it will tell if it is shorted

[@joopterwijn]

Don’t know the code in the USA for underground cables, but here in the Netherlands you have to make the connection in a special joint, and fill it with a kind of epoxy. Groundwater can and will penetrate. Good luck with this one.

[@scottjones7279]

Open the LB and check the amp draw there then you will know which direction to start checking.

[@joebufford2972]

I wonder if it could be back feeding somewhere like a generator.?

[@Danimal100]

Hey , 3M makes an excellent direct burial splice kit for any size cables (armored or not), i would megger( at cable rating 300 volts i'm guessing) the existing cable after you find the other fault (probably where you think it is) , using the proper sized butt splice and crimper is the most important part of this repair , do not twist your wire , do not apply silicone to copper area of splice , do not use the next size smaller crimp dies in crimper set (every connection does expand/contract a little bit so some give is a part of the manufacturer's hardware) , the cable from panel to last short HAS been stressed more than the rest of cable ,that is what you wanna test with megger (insulation test in MegaOhm's, higher better) and you can use about .6 to .8 ohm's/1000ft for copper resistance (less is better), exact values are googlable easily . that is my 2 cents , i'm thinking i just opened a huge can of worms here , good luck

[@mrbmp09]

What is "shaking in " a cable mean?

[@cincybeck]

My best guess is that one splice failed, and the wires got hot enough to cause the other splice to fail.

[@billthompson9482]

I would have walked off the job when the man asked me to do shoddy work. You leave yourself open to litigation when you do half assed work. Every thing with that install is against NEC elect code.

[@michaelmcdonough7946]

I have a question, where is the junction in the wall that goes from #10 ga. to #8 gage wire, are they just twisted and taped, or wire nuts? if so that can't be good? Did you have the customer sign a release so you can't be held liable?

[@stuarthardy4626]

as a fully qualified industrial sparks in the UK ( not in work now 77 years old ) the only cable I would put in the ground in that location would have been a wire armoured cable at least 600 mm deep with id tape above . that said I would have one jointed UG with a resin filled through joint box . on a personal note that owner would not take your recommendations ( what is the regulations / code for UG non armoured cable ) if the job would not meet that I would refuse to carry out the work , he will only bad mouth you if it goes bad again but I have to say that wire/cable was small fry ( jk) it had to be at least 500amp or above to interest me ,or large scale control panels my last job for a UK bank had 4 500ton chillers and six 16 cylinder cat stand by gen sets.

[@rickpalmer9518]

As an x avionics ame, I have a question.When the house dimming occurred and c/b popped, #1 I did not notice you using the clamp on amp meter to ck the current on each phase when it was popping. #2 You can use the high ohms scale and check each phase to ground and each other with the c/b open and the pump disconnected,should show infinity. Good luck

[@dimbag1]

It's probably the splice in the wall but if not it should still be changed.

[@nspro931]

I think that wrapped tape sticking out from under the heat shrink defeated the whole purpose. The proper (much longer) overall heat shrink would have been much better.

[@robertpeters9438]

You know, the marine industry has splices that are waterproof. I bet they have big shrinkwrap with that waterproof sealant they use on smaller wires.

[@Kevin-db1wb]

From the box you get a 125 from the box to decepticon 120

[@gomerhondo7249]

Why not put in box on each end of the carport?

[@EdChilds-nu6vf]

The under ground wiring should be in conduit. I believe that’s code

[@pinrod1]

Direct burial UF is up to code, but for longevity and damage resistance, I'd definitely run conduit all the way from the house.

[@colossalsky]

What does shaking cables mean?

[@danielswan7320]

900 ft round trip for cable? Better check voltage drop for the cable that is going to be used

[@michaelhull7873]

They have opted for #8 out to the pump for voltage drop but that #8 is connected to #10 from the breaker...defeats the purpose and opens up the possibility of fire! Additionally, if all of these problems started with the power washing in the area of that transition (hidden) I'd be looking there to be sure. Yes, you have found other issues out in the yard...but there is a bigger concern lurking in that wall or attic! With the "particularity" of the homeowner I'd also be concerned that he is forcing tradespeople to compromise in areas or hiring people to do jobs that they shouldn't be - as evidenced by the crazy nonsense of plumbing encasing the bladder tank. Hope you refuse that job when it needs to be replaced.

[@SpaceSailor-tu3vl]

When the original problem started making the breaker trip, and was never corrected the entire wire could be compromised because of the heat (over current ). the two different wire gauge at the house as not been verified where they have a junction? It should be in a junction box with access . I have worked on problems that the owner had installed and when they realized I would not go along with their request, well I politely declined to go any further and bill them for the work done .

[@joecapo8292]

I would like to add to my comment. That cable should have been installed continuously. You can purchase spools of wire, for a continuous run of cable. This situation also proves that direct burial cable is not the way to go. I always run gray plastic pipe, in the ground. The likely hood of failure in the wire run is at a miminal. Unfortunately that installation was bad to begin with. The company that did that install is completely liable, Joe Capo.

[@TheRossz]

In my country we put cables and water lines 60 to 80 cm (23.6 to 31.5 in) deep in the soil, and no problems like that.

[@lv7603]

I’m in the US for my state it’s supposed to be at least 24 inches underground however depending on the state and how rural it is they probably have no inspector to enforce any rule.

[@spelunkerd]

Here in Canada we get away with 18" PROVIDED it is not under a roadway, it is covered with burried 2X6 pressure treated wood, and it has clearly marked danger tape overlying the wood through the entire length. That old installation shown in the video was nowhere near that depth.

[@TexasEngineer]

@@lv7603Unless the line is in conduit. The line is too shallow for direct bury.

[@edpierce8335]

an underground encapsulated splice kit would have been much easier and will last forever.

[@jg6142]

👍 sweet

[@nairbecnerwal2]

Not sure where to actually post this or if I get a response, but I desperately need help. When we went to bed last night everything seemed fine with our water, but this morning we had no running water whatsoever. We have a deep well and the pump was replaced just over 6 months ago. I pray it's not the pump, we are a fairly low-income family and I just do not have the money to replace that. There was a small leak before the pressure switch and tank that I noticed a couple of weeks ago but I did not have the means to repair it so I had to just leave it for the time. I have also had to kill the power to the well pump a few times because of issues with our water heater over the past several days. I don't know if either of those things played a role in the water no longer working or not. I just really need to figure out how to get our water back. We have had a really terrible streak of bad luck over the past couple of weeks. In the span of just under 2 weeks our lawn mower quit on us, our water heater stopped working, our stove went out, my electric smoker bit the dust, and now worse of all we have no running water. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much and God bless.

[@gantmj]

Needs a new run to pressure switch if you can't find where the guage change happens to inspect the splice.

[@guywhatley3219]

The only addition I would have done is mole proofing the box hole. Next time anyone digs that box up it will be packed full of dirt!

[@ShayneHartford]

I understand that electrical code requires connections in homes be in accessible boxes, but does that apply to wires buried in the ground? You already have to dig it up, you already have to use a weatherproof box that could be buried, why not use waterproof connections like solder/glue/heat shrink, tape, and a waterproof box and just bury it? Put detector tape around it so it's findable by line detectors too.

[@ShayneHartford]

If you used crimp connections and soldered them too, used heat shrink with seal/glue inside, wrapped in electrical tape, and put inside a waterproof box it should be safe to bury imo. (You could do all those separately, or an all-in-one crimp/solder/seal/heat shrink product)

[@davidboldt1488]

You have to get educated on the use of electrical products and applications. Repair and splice is easily done .

[@lesterwatson8519]

Patching leads to more patching which leads to more patching. This customer needs to get real and take the bull by the horns and permanently fix the problems from the breaker box to the pump. I guess some people never learn.

[@danielson101]

i like no joints lol and 20 amp if not to far is 20 amp

[@inothome]

Customers like that are an effing pain in the ass. You want water, electric, whatever, there are things that have to be done to get it done. Sorry you don't want holes in your effing grass. Just wait until they hit something pulling in the new cable, which may have been prevented if trenched. Better to just be done with people like that, instead of marrying the job. Anyway.... there is more than likely two splices. It looks like the cable originally ran right under the corner of the car port, so they moved it to go around car port and had to add some cable. So there is two splices. For sure the splice you fixed was bad, but obviously the other one is also causing issues. As others have said, a Megger could help verify the conductors insulation resistance in the future. I doubt it was lightning, with the pressure washer running a long time the pump probably ran longer than normal. Those bad splices got hotter then they normally got from the long run time and lead to them totally failing. Crappy faults like that can come and go, depending on the moisture, temperature, load etc.... They can burn themselves in the clear, then come back as they cool or moisture soaks in again. Would have been interesting to see the current go up and down when the fault was happening. 20A vs 30A does not matter, long run or not. 7A is 7A and current is the same everywhere in a series circuit. Which the run to the pump and back is when no faults on the cable, BUT.... there could have been an issue with the splices causing the 20A to trip and putting in a 30A could have allowed the fault to cook longer and clear itself. Until now...

[@waynemoate9401]

Use self amalgamating tape rather than electrical tape

[@danielswan7320]

The whole underground 220 volt 2 pole cable should have been installed 24 inches below grade; I wonder if the electrical contractor did so which is what electrical code requires, maybe it didn’t get inspected

[@lv7603]

The well line and power are at the same depth I’ll go with no inspection needed in that area.

[@christastic100]

I can’t get over the lax attitude towards electrical insulation work in some places. In the Uk This would breach our regulations on so many levels. 1: not a steel wire armoured or cable protected in conduit . 2: cables buried way too shallow in depth 3: no warning tape above buried cables to warn of its presence 4: inappropriate cable joint methods ( Uk is gel or resin underground joints ) Have to say though your repair was a way better method but it is trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear

[@72chargerse72]

a MEGGER WOULD TELL YOU IF THERE IS A HIGH (OR LOW) RESISTANCE CONNECTION. a HIGH RESISTANCE WOULD BE A WET CONNECTION. Sorry about the caps.

[@JERRY-xb6vy]

I'm not sure about the electrical terminology you use please , what does sketch in a wire mean did you mean snake in or trench in a new underground wire????

[@canadiansnowplowguy2852]

There is a time where you walk away.

[@danielson101]

number 8 is 40 amp

[@hey_youtubeim_back2159]

Im no plumber but 90% of that pipe routing is not necessary

[@Dale-qn5tb]

Give them your bill and hope he pays you.

[@bobbyclegg2065]

You don your best. People don’t understand the best way to fix a problem . They look for the cheapest solution. And get bitten again .

[@bobaldred6322]

Repairs are cheap, diagnostics are expensive. Ask any automotive repair person.

[@tonyconrad9357]

They upsized the wire to account for voltage drop over the long distance. There are rated in-ground boxes for electrical use to address issues like this

[@trainmasterpat]

Great video again. Thanks for sharing this. This is the kind of situation where a cable fault tester comes handy.

[@richardblincoe9027]

I was always taught not to twist the strands together when using a crimp as the twisting increases the diameter of the "bundle" of strands, meaning after crimping any untwisting can loosen the hold of the crimp. but Love your videos

[@DavidSellars-b8l]

The entire setup looks ultra sketchy. All that copper had multiple leaks. And the landowner didn't want to do it right. Thinking that I would have run, not walked, away from that mess. Way too much chance of getting snakebit.

[@FjHenderson]

Good job, but personally I would have soldered them after crimping them, but tjats just me. I seen the crimps corrode to many times, where solder eliminates that.

[@matthewmiller6068]

Soldering, especially on large gauge wire, massively increases the risk of damaging the insulation and creating other problems though. A properly done crimp won't have any issues.

[@michiganengineer8621]

Something to keep in mind for the future. There is a wonderful device called a TDR (Time Domain Reflectometer), it can be used to find breaks and shorts (even PARTIALS!) in long cable runs. You could get a new one for about $6k from Mitchell Instruments. You MAY be able to rent from an equipment supply house in your area. They will tell you how far from your connection the fault is. In the past it has been damned near a lifesaver for me when trying to figure out WHERE a conductor was broken (in my case it was a coaxial network connection).

[@wizardgmb]

I share your frustration with underground cable failure, the line underneath my wife's garden & a gravel driveway circle to a shallow well failed over a month ago. Water started sputtering out of the faucets & I feared the 14+ year old pump was failing. After some troubleshooting the black wire was found to be shorted to ground at the well & open at the pressure switch on the tank under the house. I did some quick testing with my metal detector & a telecom test signal fed from either end but couldn't find the break, probably because the guy that built the house himself buried everything in 4+ foot trenches. I hate UF cable; 5 of my 12 or so buried UF installations over 5 decades have come back to bite me so I prefer conduit. I laid 130 feet of conduit above ground between the house & well to get water flowing again with the intension of renting a trencher in a couple of days to bury it. However, after getting the temporary wiring connected, I dropped the 250# well cover on two fingers of my hand. I think the broken bones will be sufficiently healed to run the trencher & backfill the trench next week. Hopefully, I can horizontally bore a 3" PVC pipe under the garden using a pressure washer to keep my wife happy. I also decided it's worth the extra $130 to purchase a new 1" poly pipe given the $300/day trencher rental & the difficult route.

[@paulcarlsen4088]

Heaven forbid you have to go back and replace the bladder tank😂😂😂

[@thomaspoeta6308]

Amen!

[@stuarthardy4626]

@@thomaspoeta6308 or better still mark the property as not to be worked on as not serviceable and call it a day

[@ianbutler1983]

Helicopter?

[@paull.drownjr.5477]

You did a great job making the repair. I beleive that you analyzed the situation correctly. There is another break un the #8 wire. The best way to fix that problrm is to replace the #8 wire going all the way to the well pump. You are an excellent mechanic and you do everything popssible to satify the customer. The home owner is going to find out the hard way that it would be cheaper to replace the wire. I really enjoyed this video. I am an electrician and I followed everything you did. Dojn't let this job get to you. You did not not do anything wrong. Keep Up your great work. God Bless You!!!

[@timothyobrien1850]

Great diagnostic approach. Your logic agrees with mine so either great minds think alike or maybe we have a case where idiots rarely differ. None the less I would have simply put in a new run to the pump based on my desires.

[@arthurr8670]

We don't know the situation. It's possible they are cheap and won't be in the house long, they don't have the money, they don't understand what is going on, or even the well is old, no since in all that work when it can be done with the well replacement.

[@williamjbivens1956]

Philip, an easy way to check for a broken conductor (wire) is to disconnect your device (motor) and then jumper (connect together) the power leads (wires). Then disconnect the switch/breaker and check the power leads (wires) for continuity or resistance. Good continuity or resistance conductor (wire) is not broken, no continuity or resistance, broken conductor (wire)

[@SLOCLMBR]

Hey!! I like that! I really only mess with 12v in cars, but I have worked on the well system at the ol house I bought. This would have helped me out

[@glennschlorf1285]

Our well pump had a double 30 amp breaker... water heater also should not be on a 60a pull switch

[@talkshow5100]

I've used an underground splice kit with heat shrink over the splice. I pull a used bicycle inner tube over the wire before splicing and after the above steps, pull the tube over the entire splicing. I then wrap both ends with gorilla tape.

[@robertpeters9438]

Use marine waterproof splices.

[@johannesels5288]

Mate I love what you do and are still very confused about how you are allowed to change breakers or work in a panel not being an electrician. Down under here you will be crucified and fined just for doing that and only allowed to work on the load side of the disconnect with restricted licence. As soon as you walked out of the house at 3:22 and said the pump wasn’t even connected I knew the wire was bad. Get a good insulation tester and next time anything weird like this happen, disconnect the circuit completely from the panel. Test at the recommended voltage for your standards over there between A-E and N-E. Don’t shock yourself, we use 500V here. Don’t test A-N or only test A-N on pump supply voltage or risk frying shit. If you see resistance values above 200 mega ohm cable is mint, anything below 1 mega ohms, start digging for shitty cowboy joints or just replacing is often faster when direct buried like that. Here we always run conduit so we just megger the cable straight up and pull in a new one if it fails the insulation test. A fault loop tester will tell you if the total circuit maximum resistance is breached which will lead to increase amp draw, heat and nuisance tripping. Sparky signing out.

[@Kevin-db1wb]

My boss he couldn't figure it out he used his meter on all the wires my hand was touching the ground and touch the ground 48 volts he couldn't figure it out I took the ground probe and stuck it in the ground and touch the ground and it showed up be aware

[@davida1hiwaaynet]

I can respect your frustration!

[@trailhiker8063]

What a wild service call.

[@tonyhunt9674]

Good job Rayn it takes lot of effort to try and find an electric short underground 😮😂😂

[@henryhayashi764]

Probably wire was hit when car port was installed. Wire was too short to repair so a short section of wire was installed so there would be two splices.

[@j.2036]

Phil, your knowledge and experience is priceless along with your work ethic. This combination is so hard to find today in just about any trade or profession. I would imagine in your Dad’s earlier years my statement wasn’t so. I am retired but still enjoy learning and I have learned a great deal from you. Thank you. What I enjoy most about your videos is your love and enthusiasm for what you do. It’s infectious and seem to be shared and enjoyed by everyone. Great team. It’s not often, unfortunately, that I get to say nice things and mean every word. So thank you again. I have enjoyed a large number of your videos, always a 👍 of course, but I finally reached a point where I couldn’t watch another minute without making a comment. So keep spreading your knowledge, experience, joy and enthusiasm 🍻 cheers. PS. It would be nice to see more of Mandy and Ginger😊

[@bahopik]

That wire should have been buried at least two feet down in the first place