Fluke 1AC II A1, 1AC II A2, 1AC II E1, 2AC Service Guide
A million and one uses
for voltage detectors
Application Note
Voltage detectors are a quick, inexpensive way to check
for the presence of live voltage on ac circuits, switches
and outlets before working on them. Also known as
voltage wands, sticks, “power sniffers” or pens, they
clip into a shirt pocket and “chirp” or glow when they
detect voltage on exposed conducting parts or through
insulation.
These types of voltage detectors are designed for
non-contact, live-not live voltage detection on electrical
circuits found in residential, commercial and industrial
buildings. Incidental contact with live electrical conductors is not an issue as long as the detector is rated
appropriately for the voltage level and the electrical
safety category in which it will be used. In addition, the
user must exercise safe work practices and wear any
appropriate PPE required.
Voltage detector safety
By telling you whether or not a
circuit is live before you work on
it, voltage detectors provide a
critical safety function. However—getting safe, reliable readings requires purchasing the
right kind of voltage detector for
your work environment and then
following these guidelines.
1.
Always verify that the voltage detector is working
properly
Use the detector to test a
known live circuit both before
and after you test an unknown
circuit, and make sure it gives
you the proper response. The
same practice applies to multimeters. If there is any doubt in
your mind about whether the
circuit is truly live or dead, use
an additional method to verify
the test results. You only have
to be right once to make it all
worthwhile.
ote: Some voltage detectors, such as the
N
updated Fluke 1AC II, have a self-test
function built-in that will verify whether
the detector is operational
2. Ensure that the voltage
detector you are using is
appropriately rated
measurement environment
you’re working in and is
within the voltage range
you’re testing. Industrial environments are generally CAT III
or CAT IV. Not all voltage
detectors are safety rated,
however, and they’re not
equally sensitive. Some detec
tors w
voltage that others won
detect at all
the detector you
will perform the same as others you
before you rely on it.
.
for the
ill read small levels of
’t
’t assume that
on
. D
’re using now
’ve used in the past
.
-
From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library
3. Capacitive voltage detectors
have certain limitations.
rect operation depends upon
the capacitance between the
detector’s barrel and ground
(normally through your hand
and body). If this path is bro-
ken for any reason, the detec-
tor probably won’t work. For
example, if you’re standing on
a wooden ladder, the capaci-
tance between your body and
ground will be much less than
if you were standing on a con-
crete floor. To help avoid
incorrect detector readings,
find an installation g
you can touch when using the
voltage detector
a series c
capacitance, the greater the
voltage drop: there might be
too much voltage drop from
you to the floor and too little
across the detector. The detec-
tors will also have a certain
minimum voltage to turn on. In
our wooden ladder scenario,
the detector might not turn on
despite the circuit being hot.
By similar reasoning, the
detector
conductors inside a grounded
metal conduit.
For best results always hold
the detector by the body and
remember to keep your fin-
gers away from the tip of the
detector.
. Remember, in
ircuit, the smaller the
cannot detect live
Cor-
round that
Favorite applications from the field
Most technicians use their voltage detectors daily, to
verify power is off before working in an electrical area
and to quickly map circuits. However, like most such
practical tools, real-life offers many other applications
for a good voltage detector.
By David Welch
I work in an extremely corrosive
atmosphere. On this particular
day our crew was to disconnect
a 480 volt motor. No big deal: we
shut off the breaker and tested
the circuit with a standard volt
tester. It didn’t show any voltage
when the leads touched the
screws on the breaker phase to
phase and phase to ground. I
happened to have my Fluke 1AC
tester in my pocket and decided
to test the load side of the
breaker. The Fluke tester showed
voltage on C phase where the
breaker had failed to open. The
breaker failure was a result of
that phase in the motor grounding. The test leads on my other
tester did not show the voltage,
due to the amount of corrosion
on the screws. The Fluke tester
with its inductive capabilities
might just have saved a life.
From this day forward I always
double check with my Fluke 1AC
tester. Safety is the number priority and we now issue ever
a 1AC tester as standard issued
test equipment.
yone
By Logan Cleek
Well my truck started acting up,
running rough etc. Not being an
auto mechanic I didn’t have any
diagnostic tools for that. So I
grabbed my Fluke 1AC pen, held
it by all four plug wires, and
found one that was flashing different than the rest. So, I pulled
that plug and found that it was
fouled and its plug wire was bad.
By Michael Hays
I’d been helping the plant electrician do the industrial shop
lighting repairs/PM’s. Up until
recently, it was a two, sometimes
three man job—two in our Manlift, and a third on the ground, to
find and switch off power to the
various light banks. Since equipping ourselves with Fluke volt
pens, we’ve reduced the ‘men’ to
two, and on week ends, just one,
as we now can quickly and
safely check the presence of
440 V ac on our lighting, as well
as other basic voltage checks,
throughout the plant.
New and improved: The Fluke 1AC II Voltage Detector
Chuck Hansen of Professional Electric, Inc
the new Series II 1AC voltage detector and liked it - a lot. “Other voltage
detectors I’ve tried haven’t worked reliably. I couldn’t trust them. This
new 1A
primarily for troubleshooting and tracing old work.”
New feature
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•
•
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2 Fluke Corporation A million and one uses for voltage detectors
C works every time. It’s never given me a false reading. I use it
I 1A
s on the Serie
T I
Safety rated to C
Sensitivity as low as 20 V
(model depending)
Chirping noise and red light
alert when live voltage is present
Self test to ensure c
A
orrect operation
s I
II 1000 V
. in Arlington, Wash tried out
C
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