12
TS100 PRO Cable Fault Finder
Users Guide
If you have an optional, inductive probe (Not included.
See Figure 3), you can use the SmartTone feature to
identify multiple pairs. When using an inductive probe
to ID the wire pair together, then release the short. If
the cadence changes, positive identification is
confirmed. Because the tester beeps when it detects a
short circuit, it also serves as a circuit (for example,
continuity) tester.
Multi-Wire Environment
When testing wires in a multi-wire environment, such
as 4 wire telephone cable, 8 wire CAT-5 cable, 12-2 with
ground AC wire, or several THHN wires inside a
conduit, a short could exist between any number of the
conductors, including a shield or the conduit. To detect
the short, you must connect the tester to the wires that
are shorted. This means that to fully test a multi-wire
cable, you must check every wire against every other
wire including the shields and conduits.
Although a quick way to test many conductors against
conduit or the shield is to connect all the conductors to
one clip lead and the shield to the other lead, this will
reduce the impedance of the cable, and measurements
may fall below the tester’s range. It is more reliable to
test the wires individually.
Conduit
When you test wire in a conduit. you can test a pair of
wires or a single wire.
Testing a Wire Pair in a Conduit
To test a wire pair, connect the two test leads to the
pair. If one wire separates from the other for 1 foot
(30 cm) or more, the tester indicates an open at the
separation. For example, if the wires separate after
exiting the conduit, the tester indicates an open at the
end of the conduit.
Testing a Single Wire in a Conduit
You can test a single wire by clipping one test lead to
the wire and the other to the conduit. The tester shows
the length up to a fault or to the point where the wire
separates from the conduit by at least 1 foot (30 cm).
For example, if there is a 2 foot (30 cm) service loop
outside the conduit, the tester shows the length up to
the service loop. This is true even if the two sections of
conduit are electrically connected.
Inventory Management
The tester is an inventory management tool. It
measures lengths of wire or cable still on the spools.
The ability to measure the length of multi-conductor
cable remaining on its spool is valuable for both job-
site and warehouse personnel. With the TS100 PRO,
you can measure the length from just one end of a pair
of wires, allowing you to take inventory without
unspooling the cable, or even moving the spools.
At the job-site, you can determine if the cable
remaining on your spool or in your box will be
sufficient for the job at hand. This will save you an
unnecessary trip to the warehouse for more cable, and
help you avoid running out of cable in the middle of an
installation.
There are two points to remember when measuring
the length of wire on a spool:
The wire length must be within the range of the
TS100 PRO (see Table 2 on page 13).
The accuracy of the measurement will be optimum
if the VOP is set correctly for the type of wire being
measured. See Table 2 on page 13 for a list of
specifically identified cables and Table 3 on
page 14 for a list of VOP values for other cable
types.
