Ideal SureTrace™ 955 Circuit Tracer Open/Closed Operating instructions

#61-955

#61-957

#61-959

SureTrace™ Circuit Tracers

Instruction Manual

Register your product and access more information at www.idealindustries.com

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Table of Contents

• SafetyInformation ..................................................................................3

• Introduction ............................................................................................4

• CalloutsofFeatures

 • Transmitter ............................................................................................................5

 • Receiver ................................................................................................................6

 • TestLeadKit ........................................................................................................ 8

 • InductiveClampwithBatteryPack ........................................................................ 9

• TheoryofOperation

 • SignalGenerationandDetection ..........................................................................9

 • OpenversusClosedCircuits ................................................................................9

 • RemoteReturnPath ............................................................................................10

• Applications

 • Pre-testOperation ............................................................................................... 11

 • LocatingCircuitBreakers/Fuses .........................................................................12

 • TracingWires .....................................................................................................13

 • TracingLowVoltageandDataCables ................................................................13

 • FindingOpens ....................................................................................................14

 • FindingShorts ....................................................................................................15

 • SortingBundledWires ........................................................................................16

 • TracingUnderground .......................................................................................... 17

 • InductiveClampUses ......................................................................................... 18

• BatteryReplacement ............................................................................. 20

• FuseReplacement ................................................................................ 21

• Maintenance ......................................................................................... 22

• ServiceandReplacementParts ............................................................ 22

• Specifications ...................................................................................... 22

• WarrantyStatement .............................................................................. 24

Page 3

Read first: Safety Information

Understandandfollowoperatinginstructionscarefully.Usethetraceronlyasspecifiedin

thismanual;otherwise,theprotectionprovidedbythetracermaybeimpaired.

WARNING

Toavoidelectricshock,personalinjury,ordeath,followtheseinstructions:

• Beforeusingorconnectingthetracer,visuallyinspecttoensurethecasesarenot

crackedandbackcaseissecurelyinplace.Donotuseiftracerappearsdamaged.

• Beforeusingthetestleads,inspectcarefullyfordamagedinsulation,exposedmetalor

crackedprobes.Donotuseleadsiftheyappeardamaged.

• Thisproductisonlytobeusedbypersonstrainedandexperiencedinworkingwithhigh

voltages,andwhoareawareofthedangersandprecautionstobetakenwhenworking

insuchenvironments.Observelockoutandtagoutprotocolswhereappropriate.

• Neverusethetracerwitharemotegroundinpatientcareareas.Groundcurrents

generatedbythetracermaycreateashockhazardforelectricallysusceptiblepatients.

• Alwaystesttheremotegroundsystemtoconfirmthatitsresistanceislessthan100

ohmsfromremotegroundtocircuitneutral.

• Alwayscheckcircuitstoverifythatthehot,neutralandgroundarewiredcorrectly.

• Donotusetracerifitoperatesabnormallyasprotectionmaybeimpaired.

• Donotuseduringelectricalstormsorinwetweather.

• Donotusearoundexplosivegas,dust,orvapor.

• Donotapplymorethantheratedvoltagetothetracer.

• Donotusewithoutthebatteriesandthebackcaseproperlyinstalled.

• Removethetestleadsfromthecircuitpriortoremovingthebatterycover.

• Donotattempttorepairthisunitasithasnouser-serviceableparts.

• Useonlyapprovedconnectingleads.Donotuseimprovisedconnectionsthatcould

presentasafetyhazard.

• Alwaysensurethattestleadsaresecuredsothattheycannotbeaccidentallysnagged

ortrippedover.

• Whenswitchingonthetransmitter,alwaysverifythatthethreeindicatorLEDs

illuminatebrieflyonpowerup.

• TheLineEnergizedfeatureprovidesanadditionalsafetyalert.Iftheindicatorisnot

illuminated,alwaysindependentlyconfirmthestatusofthelinetobeabsolutelysure.

CAUTION

Toprotectyourself,think“SafetyFirst”:

• Voltagesexceeding30VACor60VDCposeashockhazardsousecaution.

• Useappropriatepersonalprotectiveequipmentsuchassafetyglasses,faceshields,

insulatinggloves,insulatingboots,and/orinsulatingmats.

• Nevergroundyourselfwhenworkingonanelectricalcircuit.

• Alwaysmakethegroundorneutralconnectionfirst,andremovelastwhenusingclip

leads or adaptor cord.

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Introduction

TheSureTrace™CircuitTracersarepowerful,versatile,easy-to-usetroubleshootingtest

toolsforfindingbreakersandhiddenwireproblemsinresidential/commercial/industrial

environments.Thesetracersworkonclosed(energized)andopen(de-energized)circuits.

Theyidentifycircuitbreakers,findopensandshorts,andtracewiresbehindwalls.

Thetracersareavailableinthreeconfigurations.Eachkitcontainsthesametransmitter

(TR-955)andtestleadkit(TL-956).The955kithasaReceiver(RC-955)withanLED

display,andaHardCase(C-955).The957kithasaReceiver(RC-959)withasuper-bright

OLEDdisplayandaHardCase(C-955).The959kitalsohasthehigh-endReceiver

(RC-959),addsanInductiveClamp(IC-958)withBatteryPack(BP-958),andalarger

HardCase(C-959).

Key Features

• Numericvalueandvariableaudibletoneforeasy-to-understandtracing

• Super-brightdisplayforeasy-viewing

• Peakdetectingbargraphforinstantaneoussignalstrengthindication

• Identifiesbreakersandfuses

• Pinpointsopensandshorts

• Traceswiresbehindwalls

• Canbeusedonde-energized/energizedcircuitsfrom0-600VAC/DC

• WillnotaffectGFCIsorothersensitiveequipmentontheline

• Lowbatteryindication

• CatIII-600Vsafetyrating

#61-955 #61-957 #61-959

Transmitter Callout Features

1. Output Jacks

 Non-polarized,standardbananaplugtype.

2. Power Indicator

 WhenthetransmitterisOn,theLEDilluminates

 indicatingthatasignalisbeingproduced.

3. Line Energized Indicator

 Thetransmittercontinuouslymonitorsthevoltage

 acrossitsoutputterminals.Ifgreaterthan30volts

 ACor40voltsDCispresent,theLEDindicator

 illuminates.Thetransmitteralsocommunicatesthe

 linevoltagestatetothereceiver.

4. Low Battery Indicator

 Whenthebatteriesapproachthe10%discharge

 point,theLEDlights.Oncethebatteries

 aredepleted,theLEDflashes.Atthispoint,the

 batteriesarefullyexhausted,andtheunitforces

power down.

5. Power Button

 Depressthebuttontoswitchpoweronandenable

 thetransmitfunction.Depressagaintoconservebattery

 powerwhennotinuse.

6. Operating Voltage Range

 Operatesonenergized/de-energizedcircuitsfrom0to600VAC/DC.

7. Battery Compartment

 Holds(4)AAbatteries.

8. Safety

 RatedforuseinCatIII-600Venvironments.Incorporatesahigh-energy,fast-acting

protection fuse.

AdditionalNotes

• Thetransmitter’ssignaldoesnotaffectsensitive,electronicequipmentonthecircuit.

• Inaclosedcircuit,becausethetransmittergeneratesasmalltestcurrent,itssignal

canbedetectedupstreamthroughthefeederpanelandthedistributiontransformer.

Thestrengthofthesignalisreducedasitpassesthroughthetransformerininverse

proportiontotheturnsratioofthetransformer.

• CanbeusedonGFCIprotectedcircuits.

TR-959

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RC-955

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Receiver Callout Features

1. Super Bright Display

 Seenextpageforfeatures.

2. Sensitivity Mode:

Depressthisbuttontoselectthemodeofsensitivity*:

Mode RC-955 RC-959 AntennaStrength

 4   highestsensitivity

     (defaultmode)

 3    high-medium

     sensitivity

 2    medium-low

     sensitivity

 1   lowestsensitivity

     forbreakers

* See Additional Notes on next page for guidelines on

mode selection.

3. Audible Indication

 DepressthisbuttontoturnthesoundOn/Off.IfOn

 isselected,avariablepitch/toneisproduced-

 directlyproportionaltothesignalstrength.

4. Battery Power

 OnRC-955,depressthisbuttonatanytimetodisplaytheusefulbatterylife

 remainingontheLEDsegments.OnRC-959,batterylifeiscontinuouslydisplayed

 onthemainscreen.Batteriesmustbereplacedwhendisplaysonmainscreenof

 RC-955andappearsonRC-959.

5. Power Button

 Depresstoswitchpoweronandenableoperation.Depressagaintoconservebattery

 powerwhennotinuse.

6. Battery Compartment

 Holds(3)AAbatteries.

7. Safety

 RatedforuseinCatIII-600Venvironments.

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RC-955Display

1. Bright,2-digitLEDdisplay.(180°Rotating)

2. Displaysthepoweredlinestatusreceived

 fromthetransmitter.

3. “0-99”numericindicationof

 signalstrength.

4. Indicatorlightswhenaudibletone

 isdisabled.

5. Peakdetectorshowsinstantaneous

 changesinsignalstrength.

RC-959Display

1. Super-brightOLEDdisplay(90°rotating).

2. Displaysthepoweredlinestatusreceived

 fromthetransmitter.

3. IndicatesOn/Offstatusofthe

 audibletone.

4. LowBatteryIndicator.Flashes

 when10%batteryliferemains.

5. “0-99”numericindicationofsignalstrength.

6. Displaysthesensitivitysetting.

7. Peakdetectorshowsinstantaneouschangesinsignalstrength.

AdditionalNotes

• Sensitivitymodeselection–generalguidelines:

 • Startoutatmaximumsensitivity()untilthereceiverfindsthecircuitunder

test.Ifthereceiveristoosensitive,thenreducethesensitivityusingthe

  buttonuntilthereceiver’sdisplaydoesnotpegat“99”continuously.

 • Usemodefortracing:(a)inclosedcircuitswhileusingtheoutletplug

adapter(ratherthanthe25’leadandaremotereturnpathsetup),(b)inopen

circuits,(c)underground,(d)andanywhereelsemoresignaldetectionisneeded.

 • Usemodetoreducethelevelofsensitivityifthehighestsensitivityrange

hassignalsaturation(displayispeggingat“99”continuously).

 • Usemodefortracing(a)inclosedcircuitswhileusingthe25’leadanda

remotereturnpath,(b)andwhenpreviousmodehassignalsaturationof“99.”

 • UseBreakermodefor(a)identifyingcircuitbreakersandfuses,(b)

pinpointingindividualwiresfromabundle,(c)andwhenpreviousmodehas

signal saturation.

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• ReceiverOrientation

 • Theindicationofreceivedsignalintensitydependsonhowthereceiverispointed

inrelationtothesourceofthesignal.Ifthereceiverispointedawayfromthe

signalsourcethentherewillbealowvalueindicatedonthereceiver.Ifthe

receiverisrotatedabouttheaxisofmainantennasensitivity,thesignalvariesin

strengthastheantennaispointedatandthenawayfromthecircuitbeingtraced.

 • Therefore,rotatethereceiveroverthewirebeingtraceduntilthehighestreading

isdisplayed.Ifduringtracing,thesignalisreduced,thewiremayhavechanged

directions(e.g.fromhorizontaltravelacrossawalltoverticaltravelupawall).

Rotatethereceivertofindthestrongestsignalagain.

 • Usethebackofthereceivertosweepthewallorflooranddeterminethecircuit’s

generallocation.Usethenoseofthereceivertopinpointitslocation.

 • Steelconduitattenuates(weakens)thesignalradiatingfromthewiresinsidethe

conduit.Aluminumconduitsignificantlyattenuatesthesignal.So,thereceiver

shouldbesetatahighersensitivityandmayneedtobeplacedclosertothe

circuittoobtainastrongersignaldetection.

Test Lead Kit(TL-956)

Acompletetestleadkitissuppliedforusewiththetransmitter:

1. TLOP-956OutletPlugAdapter

for plugging into standard

 120VACoutlets.

2. TLBP-956(2)BladeProngs

for inserting into a separate

 outletwitharemoteneutral

 conductorasareturnpath.

3. TLGP-956GroundProngfor

inserting into a separate outlet

 withremotegroundconductor

 asareturnpath.

4. TLAC-956(2)AlligatorClips

 forconnectingdirectlytobare

wires and grounding points.

5. TLA1-956(2)3’LeadAdaptersforusewithaboveclipsandprongstoconnecttobare

wires and grounding points.

6. TLA2-95625’LeadAdapterforusewithaboveclipsandprongstoconnecttoremote

returnpaths.

1

2

3

4

6

5

Page 9

SureTrace™

1

2

4

5

3

6

7

Inductive Clamp (IC-958)with Battery Pack (BP-958) Callout Features

1. 1”(25mm)JawOpening.

2. Powerfulcoilinducesalowvoltage

signal onto a closed circuit.

3. 6’cordattachestothebattery

 packforpower.

4. Protectivecase.

5. (8)C-cellbatteries.

6. Inputjackforclampcord.

7. Hangmountformagneticstrap.

Magnetic Strap (not shown)

• Hooksontothebatterypack.

• Magnetattachestometalcabinets,

 panels,electricalboxes,etc.

• Velcrostrapwrapsaroundandhangs

 fromnon-magneticobjects.

Theory of Operation

Thetracerconsistsofatransmitterandareceiver.Thetransmitterproducesaunique

signalontothecircuittobetraced.Thereceiverdetectsthisuniquesignalwhenplacedin

theproperorientationtothewiresbeingtracedorbreakersbeingidentified.Thereceiver

providesanumericvalueandavariablepitch/tonethatincreaseasthesignalbecomes

stronger.

Thetransmittersendsa32kilohertz,fixed-amplitude,time-modulatedsignalthatinjectsa

voltageontothecircuittobetraced,whichtheninducesanelectromagneticfieldontothe

circuit.

Whether the circuit is open or closed greatly affects the strength of the electromagnetic

field.

Inanopencircuit,nocurrentcanflow,sotheelectromagneticfieldproducedismuch

weaker.However,inaclosedcircuit,theinjectedvoltageinducesacurrentflow,which

producesamuchstrongerelectromagneticfield.Thisistheoptimalmethodfortracingas

thismuchstrongersignalallowsthereceivertodetectitfromagreaterdistanceawayfrom

thecircuitbeingtraced.

HerearesomeexamplesofOpen/ClosedCircuits:

RemoteReturnPath

Electromagneticfieldsradiatecounter-clockwiseinrelationtothecurrentflow.For

example,currentflowsoutonahotconductorandreturnsontheneutral.Thischangein

oppositecurrentflowalsocreatesopposingmagneticfields.So,whenthesetwoopposing

conductorsareclosetogether,thetwomagneticfieldstendtocanceleachotherout.This

cancelingeffectdiminishesthecircuit’sabilitytoradiatethetransmitter’sstrongsignal

makingitmoredifficultforthereceivertodetectthesignal.

Page 10

Breaker

Energized

Breaker

Energized

Breaker

Energized

LightOn

(Load)

Breaker

De-Energized

ClosedLoop

ClosedLoop ClosedLoop

ClosedLoop OpenLoop

OpenLoop OpenLoop

Stronger

Stronger Stronger

Stronger Weaker

Weaker Weaker

Page 11

Toavoidthecancelingeffectoftheopposingmagneticfieldsandoptimizethe

transmittedsignal,theconductortobetracedshouldbeseparatedfromthereturn

conductorbyutilizingaremotereturnpath.

Thesimplestmethodistousethe25’testleadtoconnecttoaremotereturnpath,such

asaneutralorgroundfromanothercircuitorawaterpipe.Whenidentifyingbreakers,

thehotandneutralarealreadyseparatedattheelectricalpanelsotheuseoftheAC

outlet adapter is sufficient.

Ifunsurethattheremotereturnpathchosenisagoodone,useamultimetertomeasure

theresistancebetweenthecircuitneutralandtheremotereturnpath.If>100Ω,a

differentreturnpathshouldbeselected.

Applications

Pre-test Operation

Priortofindingabreakerortracingacircuit,itisgoodpracticetotestthereceiverby

holdingitnearthepoweredtransmitterorinductiveclamp.Anumericindicationof“99”

andstrongaudiblesoundensuresthatitisworkingproperly.

WeakSignalSetup

SignalsCancel

StrongSignalSetup

NoSignalCanceling

StrongSignalSetup

NoSignalCanceling

Circuit

under

test

SeparateCircuit

WaterPipe

Page 12

Locating Circuit Breakers and Fuses

Applicationsincludeidentifyingthebreakerthatprotectsthecircuitundertest,findingthe

correctbreakertode-energizethecircuit,andlabelingabreakerpanel.

1) Connectthetransmittertothecircuitthatneedstobeidentifiedandpoweriton.

 Theprocedureisthesamewhetherthecircuitisenergizedorde-energized.But,a

 muchstrongersignalisproducedusinganenergized(closed)circuit.

2) Turnonthereceiverandgotothepanel.

 a) Ifmorethanonepanelexists,setthereceivertomodeandtouchthenose

toeachpanelcoveruntilthepanelwiththestrongestsignalisidentified.

 b) Ifthereceiverisdetectingmorethanonepanelwithastrongsignal,reducethe

sensitivityrangeandrepeatthestepabove.

3) Openthepanelcover,setthereceivertoBreakermode.Thereceivershouldbe

positionedonitssidetoorientatetheantennaproperly.

4) Slidethenoseofthereceiverdowneachbreakerinthepanel.Thebreakerwiththe

highestnumericreadingisthecorrectbreaker.

  Iftwoormorebreakershavethesamenumericvalues,tipthenoseofthe

receiverupandthendownat45ºanglesandnotethenumericvaluesoneach

ofthequestionablebreakers.Onlythecorrectbreakerwillshowastrongsignal

inallpositions.Or,pullthepanelcover,andplacethenoseoneachofthe

individualhotwiresforamorecertaindetermination.

5) Whenthecorrectbreakeristripped(opened),thesignalwilldropsignificantly.And,

thewilldisappearfromthereceiver’sdisplay.TheLEDonthetransmitterwill

also turn off.

Tracing Wires

Applicationsincludefindingthelocationsofcablerunsandidentifyingotherdevicesand

loadsonthecircuit.

1) Connectthetransmittertothecircuittobetracedandpoweriton.

 a) Foroptimaltracing,leavethecircuitenergizedtocreateaclosedloop.

 b) Ifthecircuitisde-energized,thenconnecttransmittertotheneutralandground

conductors to create a closed loop.

2) Turnonthereceiverandusethedefaultmaximumsensitivity().

3) Startingseveralfeetfromthetransmitter,useasweepingmotionandthebackofthe

receivertofindthestrongestsignallocationbehindthewall,abovetheceiling,orunder

thefloor.

 a) Ifthesignalistoostrong,reducethesensitivityrange.

 b) Ifthesignalistooweak,utilizearemotereturnpathforthetransmitter.Then,reduce

thesensitivityrangeonthereceiverandrepeatstep#3.

4) Continuefollowingthehighestreadinguntiltheendofthecircuitisfound.

Tracing Low Voltage and Data Cable

Applicationsincludetracing

coax,twistedpair,Cat5,alarm

andtelephonewire.

Followtheinstructionsfor

TracingWiresbehindwallsusing

thede-energizedmethodanda

remotegroundforareturnpath.

Page 13

StrongerSignal

Connectto

Ground

(ShieldofCoax)

Ifpossible,ground

thefarendofthe

cableshield.

OR

WeakerSignal

Finding Opens

Applicationsincludelocatingdeadcircuits,findingthesourceofanopen(brokenpoint)in

ahot/neutral/groundconductor,anddeterminingtheendofacircuitrun.

1) Connectthetransmittertotheopencircuitandpoweriton.

2) Turnonthereceiverandusethedefaultmaximumsensitivity.

3) Startingseveralfeetfromthetransmitter,useasweepingmotionandthebackofthe

receivertofindthestrongestsignallocationbehindthewall,abovetheceilingor

underthefloor.

 a) Ifthesignalistoostrong,reducethesensitivityrange.

 b) Ifthesignalistooweak,connectoneleadofthetransmitterintotheopenconductor

andconnecttheotherleadtoaremotereturnpath.Then,repeatstep#3.

4) Continuefollowingthehighestreadinguntilthesignalstartstofalloff.Thisisthe

locationoftheopen.Reducethesensitivityrangeandusethenoseofthereceiverto

pinpointtheopenonthecircuit.

Iftheopenisnotfoundaftertracingthelengthoftherun,theconductormaybecapacitively

coupled.Thisconditioncausesasignalbleed-offontotheotheradjacentconductors.To

removethiseffect,groundtheadjacentconductorsandminimizethedistancebetweenthe

transmitterconnectionandtheopen.

Page 14

SeparateCircuit

Finding Shorts

Applicationsincludedeterminingcausesofbreakerstripping,fusesblowing,andcurrent

leakingonthegroundconductor.Thetracerlocatestheoriginofthegroundfaultordead-

shortinthesecircuits.

1) Connectthetransmittertotheshortedcircuitandpoweriton.

 a) Oneleadshouldbeconnectedtothefaultedconductorandtheotherleadto

ground.

 b) Ifthegroundfaultisinmetallicconduit,thentheconduitistheground.

 c) Ifpossible,groundtheadjacentconductors.

2) Turnonthereceiverandusethedefaultmaximumsensitivity().

3) Startingseveralfeetfromthetransmitter,useasweepingmotionandthebackofthe

receivertofindthestrongestsignallocationbehindthewall,abovetheceiling,or

underthefloor.

 c) Ifthesignalistoostrong,reducethesensitivityrange.

 d) Ifthesignalistooweak,connectoneleadofthetransmitterintotheopenconductor

andconnecttheotherleadtoaremotereturnpath.Then,repeatstep#3.

4) Continuefollowingthehighestreadinguntilthesignalstartsweakening.Thisisthe

pointofthefaultasthesignalflowstogroundinsteadofcontinuingstronglydown

thehotconductor.Reducethesensitivityrangeandusethenoseofthereceiverto

pinpointthesourceofthefault.

Page 15

Tripped

Circuit

Breaker

StrongerSignal WeakerSignal

Short

toGround

Breaker

Panel

Page 16

Sorting Bundled Wires

Applicationsincludeidentifyingaspecificcircuitamongstseveralcircuitsinafilled

conduit,sortingwiresinawireharness,identifyingcoaxcableandtwistedpaircableina

terminationbox.

1) Connectthetransmittertothecircuittobetracedandpoweriton.

 a) Cliponetestleadtotheknownendofthewiretobetracedoridentified.

 b) Cliptheothertestleadtoaremotereturnpath.

2) Turnonthereceiverandsetittotheleastsensitivity().

3) Gototheotherendofthewirerunandsortouttheindividualwireusingthenoseof

thereceiver.

 a) Ifthesignalistoostrong,separatethewiresmorefromthebundlewhentesting.

 b) Ifthesignalistooweak,thenincreasethesensitivityrangeonthereceiverand

repeatstep#3.

4) Continuesortinguntilthewirewiththehighestreadingisidentified.

Page 17

Tracing Underground

Thesecircuittracersarenotundergroundcablelocators.But,insomeenvironmentsthey

canbeusedtotraceburiedcables,conduit,ormetalpipe.

1) Connectthetransmittertothecircuittobetracedandpoweriton.

 a) Ifpossible,createaclosedcircuitbygroundingtheotherend.

 b) Ifpossible,groundtheadjacentconductorstoeliminatecapacitive-coupling

effectsthatcancausesignalbleed-over.

 c) Utilizearemotereturnpathtomaximizethesignalproduced.

2) Turnonthereceiverandusethemaximumsensitivitydefault().

3) Useasweepingmotionandthebackofthereceivertofindthestrongestsignal

underground.

 a) Ifthesignalistoostrong,reducethesensitivityrange.

 b) Ifthesignalistooweak,thencheckthequalityofthegroundconnections

(<100Ω)andrepeatstep#3.

4)Continuefollowingthehighestreadinguntiltheendofthecircuitisfound.

OR

Service

Panel

Outside

Receptacle

Keeptwo

pathsseparate

fromeachother

25Feet

Distance

Connectto

GroundRod

Page 18

Inductive Clamp Applications

WARNING: Theclampdoesnothaveanyindicatorstosenseifacircuitis

energized.Thelineenergizedfeature()onthereceiveronlyworkswiththetransmitter

(TR-955).

Theinductiveclampispoweredsolelybythebatterypack.Itgeneratesitsownspecific,

timemodulatedsignal,andbytransformeraction,couplesthatsignalontotheenergizedor

de-energizedcircuittobetraced.

Alwaysdisconnectthebatterypackfromtheclampwhennotinusetoconservebattery

power.

Fortheclamptopropagateasignalontothecircuittobetraced,thecircuitmustbeclosed

attheendwheretheclampisapplied,ataminimum.Tomaximizethesignalproduced,

bothendsofthecircuitshouldbeclosedtocreateacompleteloop.Refertothediagrams

for proper setup.

Threetypicalapplicationswheretheinductiveclampmaybeusedinreplaceofthe

transmitter:

• Identifyingdownstreamloadsfromabreaker

• Tracingconduit

• Tracingindustrialcontrolcircuits

Page 19

Identifyingdownstreamloadsfromabreaker.

1) Removethepanelcoverandclamparoundthehotwireoftheenergized(closed)circuit.

 • Tomaximizethesignal,closethefarendofthecircuitbyplugginginandturning

   onaworklightorotherloadintothefurthestoutlet;hence,makingacomplete

loop.

2) Hangthebatterypackontothepanelwiththemagneticstrap.

3) Plugtheclampintothebatterypack.

4) Setthereceivertothehighestsensitivitymode()andtracethecircuittothefurthest

outletwhileidentifyingalloutletsandloadsconnectedtothecircuit.IftheReceiveris

 saturated,reducethesensitivityrange.

TracingConduit.

1) Clamparoundthemetallicconduittobetraced.Ifpossible,groundthefarendofthe

conduittoclosetheloop.Thiscanbecreatedusingthe25’leadandalligatorclipstoclip

ontotheendoftheconduitorelectricalboxwithoneclipandaremoteneutralorwater

pipewiththeotheralligatorclip.

2) Hangthebatterypackontothepanelorconduitwiththemagneticstrap.

WeakerSignal-Open

StrongerSignal-Closed

LightOn

(Load)

Breaker

Energized

Breaker

Energized

Page 20

3) Plugtheclampintothebatterypack.

4) Setthereceivertothehighestsensitivity()modeandtracetheconduit.Ifthe

Receiverissaturated,reducethesensitivityrange.

Tracingindustrialcontrolcircuits.

1) Ensurethatthecircuitisenergized(closedatthepanel)ataminimum.Tomaximizethe

signal,closetheotherendofthecircuitbyturningonaload,suchasamotororpump.

2) Clamparoundthehotwireofthisenergized(closed)circuit.

3) Usethemagneticstraptohangthebatterypackontothepanelor themotorcontrol

cabinet.

4) Plugtheclampintothebatterypack.

5) Setthereceivertothehighestsensitivity()modeandtracethecircuittotheother

end.Ifthereceiverissaturated,reducethesensitivitymode.

Battery Replacement

Note:Useonlygoodqualityalkalinebatteriesformaximimumoperatinglife.

Alwaysreplacewithacompletesetofnewbatteriesofthesametype.

Removebatteriesassoonastheybecomeexhaustedtoavoid

damageduetoleakage.

Transmitter:

Ensurethatthetestleadsareremovedfromtheoutput

jacksandthecircuitundertest.

1) Removethebatterycapbylooseningthescrew.

2) Replacebatterieswith(4)newAAbatteries.

3) Re-fitcapandre-tightenthescrew.

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Ideal SureTrace™ 955 Circuit Tracer Open/Closed Operating instructions

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