How to detect a short circuit in the network?

Causes

Short circuit in the electric network arises with a sharp increase in current strength, which in turn increases with a decrease in the wiring resistance. As a result, the increased current creates critical temperature values, resulting in the ignition of all flammable materials, including core insulation.

The reasons why a short-circuit current occurs is primarily:

• Network aging. The insulating layer wears out over time and breaks form in the places of inflection, where the contact is exposed.
• Flooding by neighbors resulting in moisture worsens the sticky side of the electrical tape, which protects the twist.
• Mechanical damage to core insulation. For example, if you drive a nail directly into the place where the cable lies. That is why it is recommended initially find the wire in the wall, and then move on to construction work.
• The negative effect of rats who sacrifice their lives and simply cut the cable. In this case, danger can be avoided by applying measures toprotect rodent wiring.
• Long network overload, which leads to a melting of the insulating layer.
• The failure of the electrical appliance, which in turn "shortens" the electrical circuit.

Simply put, if two exposed veins of different poles come into contact (phase and zero), a sharp increase in temperature and further adverse consequences of a short circuit will arise, which we will talk about later.

Possible consequences

Everything is obvious here and you probably know what threatens the occurrence of a short circuit in the electrical circuit.

Among the main consequences, it is necessary to highlight:

• the melting of cores, which in case of explosion can damage human health including splashes;
• ignition of the insulating layer, which may result in a fire;
• failure of electrical appliances (possibly irrevocable).

Search methods

It is very difficult to determine in advance where a short-circuit current may occur, and no one cares about such an event. Most often come to search after knocking out circuit breaker.

Find a short circuit in the wiring of the house as follows:

Visual inspection. If the insulation in a certain place is damaged and the two exposed wires are in contact, the reason is here. Most often, damage is found in junction boxes, outlets, and switches at the junction points.We saw a burnt shell - most likely this is the place of malfunction.

Using a megaohmmeter (or multimeter) it is necessary to check the resistance of the circuit. Connect one wire of the tester to the phase, the other to zero (then to ground). If the scoreboard is zero, then the wiring is normal, if there is any value, the contacts are in contact. About, how to use a multimeter, we told in the corresponding article!

We draw your attention to the fact that finding a short circuit with a multimeter is not always possible, due to its low voltage. As a rule, this type of tester is used on a chain section of no more than 3 meters.

If the cause of the situation is the appliance itself, and not the network, it can be quickly calculated. If a short circuit occurs in the hidden wiring, the circuit breaker immediately knocks out. First, turn off all equipment from outlets, then turn on the machine and alternately connect each device. Exclusion method You need to find the failed wiring section and repair it.

By the way, there is a popular method for finding a short circuit on a line - by sound. The bottom line is that in the place where the contacts are short, crackling will be heard. A similar way is to determine by smell burnt plastic problem zone in the apartment or house.

We do not recommend relying on old-fashioned methods and we recommend giving preference to testers who will help you to accurately find the place of the malfunction even in the wall.

We also recommend that you watch the video instruction, which demonstrates the search method using the radio:

Remedies and Prevention

First, consider how to fix a network short circuit:

1. The damaged area must be removed and the contacts reconnected, carefully insulating the bonding point.
2. If the socket or switch is burnt, do not try to restore them. It’s cheaper and safer to buy and install a new product.
3. Old wiring must be completely replaced, as even if you solve the problem once, after a while it may occur elsewhere.
4. If the reason is in household appliances do it yourself breakdown.

Regarding preventive measures, you must take the following actions:

1. If the socket began to sparklerepair it or replace it with a new one, as often this product closes.
2. Be sure to revise the lighting network and the power group of the wires every few months, because Short circuit may occur not immediately, but over time. The beginning of the process can be detected by the color of the instrument housing - it will turn yellow and melt if a short circuit flows along the line.
3. Be sure to install the circuit breaker and residual current device. These devices effectively cope with problems such as short circuit and prevent deplorable consequences.
4. When installing electrical wiring, correctly calculate the cross-section of the cable so that there are no overloads from powerful devices.
5. All cable groups do not need to be closely stacked next to each other during installation work, so as not to damage the protective sheaths.
6. Check the wall before drilling homemade metal detectorso as not to accidentally stumble on a cable under the plaster.

In the end, we recommend watching another useful video on the topic:

That's all the information on how to find a short circuit in the wiring of the house and fix it without calling a specialist. We hope that this instruction was useful for you and helped in solving the problem. We also recommend finding out how to make grounding in the house!