# Do you rely on your tick tracer?



## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

HackWork said:


> I know everyone says not to rely on a tick tracer, but I have a feeling that many people do, I know that I do.



An actual Tic Tracer or one of those shirt pocket voltage sensors.

A Tic Tracer all the time, I WOULD NOT and DO NOT own those "other" devices.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Non contact voltage detector.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

HackWork said:


> I know everyone says not to rely on a tick tracer, but I have a feeling that many people do, I know that I do.
> 
> If I need to work on something and my tick tracer shows that it's hot, I will go shut it off and then come back and test it again with the tick tracer. If the tick tracer shows it to be dead, I will consider it dead and go about my work.
> 
> ...



I'm guilty of this as well. Receptacles, junction boxes, light fixtures, etc, I'll use the tick-tester. I constantly test the thing on known hot circuits though. And if I feel the results are in question (like the light sporadically blinking) I'll use a meter.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

I use live-dead-live with any meter I use, whether it's an expensive fluke or a non-contact detector. Some of the flukes with the hold button have made me lose confidence in the regular meters' reading, so live-dead-live let's me know the meter (whatever it is) is working. (I have accidently hit hold and thought I was reading zero volts and got hit)


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## jwjrw (Jan 14, 2010)

My clamp meter has the NCV function. I have used it once or twice. I usually use my vol-con.


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## tim123 (Feb 15, 2009)

I am guilty.. I try to test the batteries every other day.. a few days ago it must have been picking up some induction and I thought we were good to go. next day I am finding out that the wires never got landed on the breakers


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## Jeff000 (Jun 18, 2008)

I use my non contact all the time. 
Making sure the receptacle actually has power when I plug in a cord to the temp panels, most are so beat up half of it doesn't work. Making sure a cord is actually plugged in without figuring out where its plugged in. See if a work light has a burnt bulb or just not plugged in.... 
there are lots of uses for a tick tester. 
I have NEVER had a false dead reading with mine, and I have had the same one for 4 years now. 
It has told me live a few times when it was actually dead, but who cares, I grab my meter when I turn something that I think should turn it off but doesn't to figure out whats going on.


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

The tick tracer gives me a starting point. Then if I need to investigate further I break out the real tester. It should be said that all the tick tracer does is detect a magnetic field, nothing more.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Those things are for the ACE Hardware guy to keep in his pocket protector.. IMO

It is a "gadget" and I don't trust them.

Why should you have to use (2) instruments to check for voltage when one does it 100% of the time


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Black4Truck said:


> Why should you have to use (2) instruments to check for voltage when one does it 100% of the time


I don't have 2 instruments, usually only 1.

The Fluke tick tracer is right next to my wallet and keys, I put it in my pocket and it stays there all day (along with a marker, Surefire, and knife). I use that most of the time, when I need a meter for something specific I break it out.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

I've used 'em to verify absence of voltage on 600 volt equipment. 

I don't think a NCVS is any different than any other type of tester. It has limitations. It can be used wrong. But if used properly, it's safe. Be aware:
- They don't read through shielded cable, AC, MC, conduit, or NM if the sheath is wet.
- They might not pick up power on twisted cable like 12/3 NM or extension cord.
- They won't pick up DC.
- Always do a live-dead-live test.

I've followed those rules since I started using one, and have never once had a circuit turn out to be energized.

The idea that a multimeter is automatically "safe" is ridiculous. I've heard stories of guys getting shocked because their multimeter was accidentally set on "DC Volts." Or the selector switch was between settings. Or one of the test leads was partially pulled out.

If you're not doing live-dead-live, you have no one but yourself to blame.

-John


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

It's not what meter you're using it's how you're using it.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

I have never owned a Tic Tracer. I have used one but never owned one.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

jza said:


> It's not what meter you're using it's how you're using it.


 That's what I was trying to say! I just can't shut up! :thumbup:

-John


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## sparky105 (Sep 29, 2009)

very useful tool. 1 task that it saves me a lot of time on is checking for power in jbs. Just stick it in and you know right away if something is live or not. no pulling out wires and uncapping or trying to stick tester in to the marrette. I don't however use it on new installs because I like to test things and see the right numbers on the meter.


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

I bought a high volt tic tracer for a facility I contract to. Got a call of no power 2 am . called in a sidekick to help me .We chased a bad leg,2400.to a substation .until I saw the tracer didn't t read delta @2400. From now on Meter only for over 480 volts. Was a burned connection,which would have been a good catch If I didn't go hi tech.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

sparky105 said:


> very useful tool. 1 task that it saves me a lot of time on is checking for power in jbs. Just stick it in and you know right away if something is live or not. no pulling out wires and uncapping or trying to stick tester in to the marrette.


This is very true. 

A tick tracer could be safer because you don't have to pull the wires out and remove the wire nuts. Many times you'll find yourself on a ladder, thru a drop ceiling, smooshed against ductwork dealing with a junction box. If the person who spliced the box didn't pre-twist the wires before putting the wirenut on, they can fly all over the place when you take the wirenut off. A tick tracer makes this safer to see if a circuit has power in this situation.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

For troubleshooting, I use it pretty hard- every day. 

To determine whether I live or die- no way. Use a real meter for that. 

There's a reason a met lab won't "calibrate" a tic tracer.


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## sparky105 (Sep 29, 2009)

maybe if it was a sexy female voice saying "there is power present" instead of beeping more guys would learn to trust a very inexpensive tool that is helpful but does have limitations


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

is the fluke really that much more reliable than the the POS from HD?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Magnettica said:


> is the fluke really that much more reliable than the the POS from HD?


Oh my, yes.


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> Oh my, yes.


This thread reminded me I needed a new one so I ordered a fluke. 2 of them actually. :thumbsup:


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

MDShunk said:


> For troubleshooting, I use it pretty hard- every day.
> 
> To determine whether I live or die- no way. Use a real meter for that.


You need to replace a receptacle, you go and shut the circuit off and your tick tracer shows it to be dead at the receptacle. Do you still pull out a real tester, or do you trust the tick tracer?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Magnettica said:


> This thread reminded me I needed a new one so I ordered a fluke. 2 of them actually. :thumbsup:


 *$21.58 *at Amazon and free shipping if you have Prime.

I have found the Fluke to be the most accurate and it takes a beating too.


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## Podagrower (Mar 16, 2008)

The tick tracer is not the be all end all tester, but it has it's place. Why carry it and a meter? The same reason I carry linesman's and strippers. I could get by with one or the other, but sometimes it's easier to have both.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

HackWork said:


> You need to replace a receptacle, you go and shut the circuit off and your tick tracer shows it to be dead at the receptacle. Do you still pull out a real tester, or do you trust the tick tracer?


I'll reiterate:

"For troubleshooting, I use it pretty hard- every day. 

To determine whether I live or die- no way. Use a real meter for that."

You see, if the NCVT "lies" to you when you're troubleshooting, the worst thing that will happen is that you'll be sent on a wild goose chase and you'll waste a little time. If the NCVT "lies" to you when you're going to touch something potentially energized, you could be injured, die, or cause property damage. 

Use it for troubleshooting... not for when you intend to touch something. That said, these things tend to "lie" and say something's energized when it's not. They nearly never say something's dead when it's actually live; but I'm still not betting my life on it.


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## Magnettica (Jan 23, 2007)

I like riding underneath power lines and sticking the tester out the window just to make sure it's working right.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

sparky105 said:


> maybe if it was a sexy female voice saying "there is power present" instead of beeping more guys would learn to trust a very inexpensive tool that is helpful but does have limitations


Then it would "lie" to you and screw your best friend..


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Tic Tracer is a brand name and operates different that the pocket testers that are carried around in the shirt pocket (so I have been told)

http://www.texsoinstruments.com/tic-tracer-300hv

http://www.electriciantalk.com/f12/tic-tracer-recall-12548/


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## 220/221 (Sep 25, 2007)

The tick tester is a great tool and an absolute must have.

Would I trust my life to it? Uhhhhh....no.

I trust the wiggy more than anything else. I like to *feel* the voltage. 
Although, I think I've been surprised by some voltage that didn't wiggle the wiggy. Even after testing, I usually short the wires or touch them lightly just to make sure, especially if I have to get a grip on them.




> Why should you have to use (2) instruments to check for voltage when one does it 100% of the time


Sometimes you want to test a cable thru the sheath.

Sometimes you just want to identify the incoming hot wire in a group of hots that you have taken apart. It's easier to use the NC tester because you don't need a ground/neutral.



> You need to replace a receptacle, you go and shut the circuit off and your tick tracer shows it to be dead at the receptacle. Do you still pull out a real tester, or do you trust the tick tracer?


Wiggy, always.




I did a service call last week. Homweowner had little to no hot water. He called his HVAC/plumbing service guy who replaced the elements, then the thermostats, then came back and installed a new water heater. Still no hot water so he called me.

I found the problem in two minutes (burned lug, one leg in the load controller). The homeowner told me that the repair guy used a tick tester :jester:


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I have been zapped one too many times and lost one to many pliers to trust only a NCV tester. I had like 3 instances in the past couple of weeks where trusting a NCV tester could have ended badly for me. Heck I didn't even by my NCV tester it came as part of a pack when I bought my Fluke T5. 

They do come in hand for stuff like checking if a ballast secondary is live and finding switched neutrals, but I ALWAYS confirm with a meter.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

HackWork said:


> The Fluke tick tracer is right next to my wallet and keys, I put it in my pocket and it stays there all day *(along with a marker, Surefire, and knife*).


Aw, man HackWork you and I are more alike than I thought. My fluke NCV rides along with my SureFire U2, my Leatherman, a folder, and a sharpie marker and pen and my cellphone every day, plus my T5 spends a lot of time on my belt in it's holster.


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## Mulder (Sep 11, 2010)

A tick tracer is like a pregnancy test. If it says "yes" (no voltage present) you can be positive it is correct. If it says "no" she still might be pregnant.


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## 220/221 (Sep 25, 2007)

They are also handy when working on old ungrounded systems. Sometimes you can't tell the black from the white wires and sometimes the neutral connections are all taped up.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Big John said:


> I've used 'em to verify absence of voltage on 600 volt equipment.
> 
> I don't think a NCVS is any different than any other type of tester. It has limitations. It can be used wrong. But if used properly, it's safe. Be aware:
> - They don't read through shielded cable, AC, MC, conduit, or NM if the sheath is wet.
> ...


Yep, I have always stressed lead checks before using a DMM or a tester. Turn the thing to continuity and touch the probes together. You ain't going to bankrupt the company by taking a little bit of extra time to do this. I have found a couple of broken leads doing this and an once was right before I was about to check to see if something was dead.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Jlarson said:


> Aw, man HackWork you and I are more alike than I thought. My fluke NCV rides along with my SureFire U2, my Leatherman, a folder, and a sharpie marker and pen and my cellphone every day, plus my T5 spends a lot of time on my belt in it's holster.


Are you one of those guys that walks around all day looking like you strapped on Batman's utility belt? :laughing:


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

MDShunk said:


> Are you one of those guys that walks around all day looking like you strapped on Batman's utility belt? :laughing:


:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Heck no, it's called cargo pants. The flashlight, folder and multitool all have pocket clips, and so does the fluke NCV detector, and the pens. The only thing on the belt is sometimes the T5. 

The T5 is great for deterring HD employees from bothering me when I am getting stuff. One just leaves me alone cause I think he herd me call him a F*ucking Idiot under my breath one time.


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## frenchelectrican (Mar 15, 2007)

I use the tick tracer but not super widespread but just kinda give me a head up the conductor is charged ( live ) but my favour place to use the tick tracer is to check the Spark ingited engines when they are not running right { missfireing } I used them to find the bad sparkplugs and replace it.

But for any other work I deal I just pull out the meter to verify it Do the live knowen source first then test the area you want to read it to make sure they are dead then back to live source in case the meter malfunction.

I not only carry one but I do use the second one in case I have doubt with it.

Merci.
Marc


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## brother (Nov 25, 2008)

I use the GB tester. and I trust it. I do have a fluke multimeter and wiggy as well. But the GB ncv is dependable and has never failed me. 

People need to remember that the Fluke ncv is rated 90 volts to 1000 volts. The 90 is too high, you need a NCV that test 50 and above for most the common work we do in commercial. I know they sell the low voltage ncv's but its not really practicle to have them and an electrician using the fluke ncv (90 to 1000) can get bit off a voltage if its 60 volts. Ive seen this happen where a lineman got bit on a residential and the voltage was only 80 volts. he thought since the main service lines were cut it was dead. the voltage was comming from the phone lines.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Magnettica said:


> is the fluke really that much more reliable than the the POS from HD?


Yes it is.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

If I test something hot with the tick tracer then I secure power to it and test it again with the tick and it's dead I'll work it if it's a 20 amp circuit. If it's over that I'll also test with my wiggy. I can't see why a properly functioning tick is any more prone to failure than a meter.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

brother said:


> I use the GB tester. and I trust it. I do have a fluke multimeter and wiggy as well. But the GB ncv is dependable and has never failed me.
> 
> People need to remember that the Fluke ncv is rated 90 volts to 1000 volts. The 90 is too high, you need a NCV that test 50 and above for most the common work we do in commercial. I know they sell the low voltage ncv's but its not really practicle to have them and an electrician using the fluck ncv (90 to 1000) can get bit off a voltage if its 60 volts.


I had a GB and a Greenlee both stopped working, they both suck quality wise IMPO. I think a 90v threshold is good for most stuff, I would like to see fluke come up with one that can do like 12 to 1000 though cause I could use it to check low volt AC control wire for breaks and stuff like that without carrying a separate tool.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

nitro71 said:


> If I test something hot with the tick tracer then I secure power to it and test it again with the tick and it's dead I'll work it if it's a 20 amp circuit. If it's over that I'll also test with my wiggy. I can't see why a properly functioning tick is any more prone to failure than a meter.


It's not that its more prone to failure it's that a physical voltage reading is more fool resistant. There are situations that will cause false readings with a NCV detector.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Jlarson said:


> It's not that its more prone to failure it's that a physical voltage reading is more fool resistant. There are situations that will cause false readings with a NCV detector.


This is true, but it won't, not read, a hot a conductor if it's working properly. There are things that would cause a meter to not read voltage that is present also; open neutral, open ground..


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

nitro71 said:


> This is true, but it won't, not read, a hot a conductor if it's working properly. There are things that would cause a meter to not read voltage that is present also; open neutral, open ground..


Yep, that's why I said fool resistant not fool proof.


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

I don't trust them.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Amprobe 300hv.

It won't lie to you


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## Mr. Sparkle (Jan 27, 2009)

They are great for identifying which cable "that one" might be, and if "that one" might still be live.

They are not entirely accurate otherwise and should never be trusted as concrete evidence for anything.

Just my .02


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## danickstr (Mar 21, 2010)

about the only time I pull out the meter is when the volt wand is picking up ghost voltages. Other than that, I will trust it, and I also do the live dead live test every day, to make sure it is working right.


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## Sonny1027 (Mar 20, 2009)

mcclary's electrical said:


> Amprobe 300hv.
> 
> It won't lie to you


See below:
http://www.amprobe.com/ticrecall/index.html

Regards,


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## jbfan (Jan 22, 2007)

Like any other test equipment, you just need to understand the limitations.

It works great in cube farms, yes sir, there is power going to the computor, Have you tried to turn it on?


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

Yes I use my Santronics all the time. But I only trust it on building wire. I have not seen any of them that will work on flexible cords in the body of the cable . On the skined ends where you can get to the individual conductors they are accurate. I always to a 3 point test when I am checking a circuit dead. 1 known voltage 2 dead circuit 3 known voltage


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## 220/221 (Sep 25, 2007)

> This is true, but it won't, not read, a hot a conductor if it's working properly


Mine did, just last week.

I read power in a ceiling fan JB.

Took the hots apart and used the tester to see which one of the blacks was hot so I could safe it off and demo the outgoing wires.

Nothing.

Checked again and thought WTF?

Guys were working inside. Maybe someone disconnected the circuit.

Didn't have my bags on so, instead of climbing down for the wiggy, I just pulled the fan bracket down quickly over the wires, knowing that one of them was likely hot. :jester:

It was still hot . Made a slight spark but didn't trip the breaker.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

220/221 said:


> Mine did, just last week.
> 
> I read power in a ceiling fan JB.
> 
> ...


Damn deja voo, I just had almost the same experience. Turned off a switched ceiling fan and pulled it down, a helper was pulled the fan and tic traced it and it went off on both wires, I stopped him before he pulled the splices apart, switched neutral w/ no ground was revealed after I got up there and tested it with my T5.


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