Application Note

3 Fluke Corporation A million and one uses for voltage detectors
Fluke Corporation
PO Box 9090, Everett, WA USA 98206
Fluke Europe B.V.
PO Box 1186, 5602 BD
Eindhoven, The N
etherlands
For more information call:
In the U.S.A. [phone] or
F
ax (425) 446-5
1
1
6
In Europe/M-East/Africa (31 40) 2 675 200 or
F
ax (3
1 40) 2 675 222
In Canada (8
00) 36-
F
LU
K
E or
Fax [phone]
From other countries [phone] or
F
ax [phone]
Web access: http://www.fluke.com
©2005 Fluke Corporation
. All rights reser
ved
.
Printed in U.S.A. 7/2005 2519667 A-EN-N Rev A
Fluke. Keeping your world
up and running.
The Fluke showed that the
power was still on. That little
tool saved us from possible
shock. I also use the tester to
make sure receptacles aren’t
wired backwards—I’ve found
that a lot just by using the 1AC.
By Eric Lewis
My company services profes-
sional lighting, audio and video
equipment. That means dark
night clubs and back stages with
minimal work light. The Fluke
LVD1 and the 1AC get used
every day when working on site.
The LVD1 is perfect for clipping
to a piece of equipment, allow-
ing us to actually see what we
are doing, and its voltage detec-
tor capability has paid for itself
by finding breaks in ac power
cables and letting us know if the
power is getting to a component
or not. Many of the things I fix
have internal fuses, and the 1AC
detector can quickly tell me if I
need to disassemble a piece or
just replace the ac cord. They
are also indispensable in live
‘rock and roll’ shows for finding
if a stage drop (extension cord,
or ‘stinger’) is hot. If I’m on a
show, the 1AC is in my tool
pouch!
By Scott Cleveland
I was getting ready to perform a
repair on a major machine at the
plant and used a Fluke 1AC to
spot check. I found a breaker
someone had rewired without
updating the drawings and
bypassing the lock-out point. I
started checking with my multi-
meter and it did have live 480
volts on a breaker that should
have been dead. We now give
1ACs to all of our trouble shoot-
ers and PM crew. It’s so easy to
check with, and we have also
used it to trace circuits. In once
case, we isolated the circuit,
powered it, and used the 1AC to
follow the circuit through several
cabinets until we found the trou-
ble. It saved a lot of downtime.
By Nathan Kane
I was working on 277 volt over-
head lighting with another elec-
trician. We needed to make sure
the power was off. So he used
his voltage detector to check if
there was power. He had just
put new batteries in his detec-
tor, and it showed no sign of life
in the wires. So, he was going
to start working. But I have a
fluke 1AC voltage detector and I
climbed up the ladder and
tested the wires with my tester.
By James Turba
Normally the individual bulbs on
a new Christmas light strings
have internal shorting fuses that
maintain circuit continuity when
the filament opens. But every so
often, the wire leads break or
lose contact. When that hap-
pens, all the lights in that series
go out and you have to check
each bulb to find the problem.
Instead, put your 1AC voltage
detector near the bulb socket
wires at each end of the string
to identify the “Hot” wire. Then
go to the mid point and check
the socket wires for voltage. If
voltage is present, go half way
back and check again. Keep nar-
rowing down until you have a
target area and then check those
bulbs until you find the bad one.
This won’t work if the string has
a third “hot” wire, or if it has the
older kind of bulbs.