Cable Fault
Berwick
On this job the customer (an electrician) attended a property for loss of power and determined there was an underground fault on the main electrical cable. MRLS was engaged to identify the location of the underground fault.
See the images below for a step-by-step insight into the fault-finding process for this job.
Testing the faulty cable.
While both cores of the cable are disconnected at each end, the insulation resistance test shows almost 0Mohm between cores, indicating a fault.
Connecting the locator to the faulty cable to locate the position of the cable.
Marking out the alignment of the cable with ground marking chalk. (yellow)
Taking a reference reading near the temporary earth stake.
Note dB reading. ~96.8dB
Assessing the cable along (or nearby parallel to) its length with specialised fault-finding equipment, taking note of the strength and current direction indicators.
As indicated in the previous group of photos, the signal strength in relation to the reference strength and the current direction arrows lead me to conclude the location of the fault is at the marked x’s.
The following day, the electrician returned to excavate the marked area. Exposed cables that had been pulled from the orange conduit in which they were originally encased were identified.
The following photos are courtesy of the electrician.
