User manual

11
Frequently asked
questions/
Troubleshooting
How do I increase fence voltage?
Sometimes recent extensions to your
fence, a poor fence layout, or soil
conditions may be causing inadequate
voltage.
To check the energizer, disconnect it
from the fence and the ground system.
Measure the voltage across the
energizer terminals with a digital
voltmeter. If the voltage is less than
6 kV your energizer may be faulty. Go
to www.patriotglobal.com for more
details.
How do I locate faults?
The most common cause of low
voltage is faults on the fence line.
Faults can be arcing faults that often
make a clicking sound that can be
heard when walking along a fence line.
These are most often caused by faulty
insulators or poor connections (loose
clamps, tied wires or faulty cutout
switches) and are normally fixed by
replacing the faulty insulator or
repairing the faulty connections. Note:
Always use specially made joining
clamps or crimps to secure wire to wire
connections on the fence line.
Another fault type is a short circuit
fault. This fault occurs when a live
fence wire becomes connected in some
way to the ground. A short circuit fault
wastes the power of the energizer by
drawing energy away from where it is
needed, the fence line. A common
cause of short circuit faults is
vegetation touching the live wires.
Regular clearing of vegetation from the
fence line will enhance your energizer’s
performance. The best method to
locate a short circuit fault is to use a
special fault finder. These products
save considerable time by directing you
straight to the fault. Go to
www.patriotglobal.com for more
details.
Another tool used to locate faults is a
digital voltmeter. When using a digital
voltmeter, simply isolate sections of
your fence by opening cut-out switches
or otherwise disconnecting sections of
the fence from the main lead out
wire/s. Measure the voltage and
determine whether the voltage has
improved. If after disconnecting a
section of the fence you record a
significant improvement in fence
voltage, it is likely that the fault is
located in the section of fence that you
have just isolated. Often a visual
inspection of the faulty section will
reveal the problem.
By carrying your voltmeter or fault
finder when you move around the farm
you can regularly test your fence
system and fix faults before they lead
to or result in a larger problem.
There are no lights flashing on the
energizer
Check the power supply. If the
energizer is connected to the 110 V
power adapter, ensure that the power
is switched on. Disconnect the power
then reconnect the power 30 seconds
later.
If the energizer is connected to a 12 V
battery, ensure that the positive (red)
clip is connected to the positive
terminal on the battery and the
negative (black) clip is connected to
the negative terminal on the battery.