5 Ways to Diagnose Electric Fence Failures

When the electronic fence fails, we need to find the fault point in time to carry out effective maintenance. The following steps can help you diagnose the fault of the electronic fence in the fastest time.

If your fence has completely depowered, your battery or power source may be at fault. Here is how to determine whether power is being delivered from your power sources.

Your fence tester can't be used on an outlet, but a simple test is to plug in another electrical device (such as a light) into the outlet and check if that works. If that item doesn't power up properly, consult an electrician. The outlet should be delivering between 105 to 125 volts to the charger.

Use your voltage tester to measure your battery voltage. If it is underperforming, you may need to replace it. The batteries inside solar chargers are meant to last about 1,000 days (3 years), and after that point, it's advised that you obtain a new one.

Further, a solar battery could lose its charge after an extended time without sunlight or minimal sunlight. A 12-volt battery should test at 12 volts to properly energize a charger. A 6-volt or 6/12-volt battery should show a minimum of 6 volts in a test.

If you have a battery-operated, non-solar, DC fence charger, you should check your DC battery to see if it is delivering the appropriate charge. Your battery may have been drained by a short somewhere along the fence or if animals are frequently testing the fence, so check for shorts before reconnecting this battery.

The terminals are the posts used to attach the hook-up wires to the energizer. Testing these posts can help determine if the energizer is properly outputting energy.

1. Power: Turn off the power to the energizer.

2. Disconnect: Disconnect both hook-up wires from the charger.

3. Power on: Turn the power back on.

4. Test: Check the voltage output with your voltage tester.

A lot of poor-performing fence systems can be blamed on inadequate ground systems. Every system should have at least three ground rods to perform properly. More ground rods should be installed if your electric fence is installed in sandy, dry or rocky soil. Frozen soil will also hinder the operation of your fence.

To test your ground rod system:

1. Power: Connect your fence and ground hook-up wires, then turn the power on.

2. Check voltage: Read the voltage on the ground wire.

3. Over 400 Volts: If over 400 volts, your ground rod is leaking too much voltage. Add extra ground rods or make them deeper. Test again after making these adjustments.

4. Under 400 Volts: The system is sufficiently grounded. Move on to the test.

Your electric fence's hook-up wire is the line that leads from your energizers positive terminal to your fence. A second hook-up wire runs from the negative terminal to your first ground rod. Both of these need to be securely connected to the charger and their final destination. Likewise, conductivity must be fully established.

To test these wires, follow these steps:

1. Power: Turn off your power to your charger.

2. Secure: Check both connections (positive-to-fence and negative-to-ground rod) and make sure they are securely attached. If one or more has come loose, reattach, turn your power back on and see if this resolves your issue. If not, continue to Step 3.

3. Disconnect: Keep the hook-up line connected to the terminal and disconnect it from the fence (leave the ground rod hook-up completely attached).

4. Test: Turn the power on. Then, using your voltage tester, check the output of the hook-up wire that is normally attached to the fence.

5. Less than 1,500 volts: If the reading is less than 1,500 volts, your hook-up wire is accidentally grounding itself in some way. You should ensure that you are using a 20 VK insulated wire. Turn the power off, replace this wire and recheck your reading.

6. More than 1,500 volts: If the voltage on the hook-up wire reads more than 1,500 volts, the hook-up wire is fine. Reconnect this line to the fence and move to test five.

When you have eliminated all other options, it's time to take a good look at the length of your fence.

1. Power: Turn the power on.

2. Walk and test: Every 100 feet or so, test your line. If you get no reading or low reading, back up 50 feet test again and try to find where the drop begins.

3. Be aware that the longer your fence, the more voltage drop you should expect at the most-distant portions of your fence. If the voltage drop along a lengthy fence is too much, you may want to buy a more powerful charger or set up a second fence fueled by another charger.

Choosing high-quality electronic fence components can effectively reduce the probability of failure. HPS Fence can provide you with a variety of electronic fence products according to your needs.

As an experienced manufacturer of electric fence products, HPS Fence focuses on providing professional technical solutions for small electric farms and home backyards. We can provide customers with sufficient product inventory to ensure customers' order requirements and timely delivery. We have established a comprehensive quality inspection system to control the quality of our products. If you are interested in our electric fence energizer, please contact us immediately!