Golf Irrigation Consultants offers a variety of wire troubleshooting services to address the many types of electrical problems which may occur in the field. Having a systematic approach, the proper equipment, and understanding the myriad of issues which can be found in the field are key factors in identifying and fixing the source of the problem.
WIRE TROUBLESHOOTING SERVICES INCLUDE
- Wire Path Tracing (Wire Tracking)
- Ground Fault Locating
- Central Communication
- 110v Satellite Power
- Satellite Components
- Radio Communication
- Network Diagnosis
WIRE TRACING SERVICES
We have all heard of "Call before you Dig", or "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", well both these sayings if acted upon can save you a lot of hassle, time, and money. We have seen many incidences where maintenance staff (with all good intentions) have grabbed a backhoe to dig for drainage, or to address a mainline break. In the process they accidentally go through a bundle of both 14 gauge irrigation wires, along with communication and power wires which power the satellites and commicate with the central computer. This can quickly lead towards excessive down time, and a lot of money in repairing the damaged wires and components.
Wire tracing can be tricky in large turf areas because of common wire is often used as the return wire which may be tied to many different valves and or sprinklers (Valve in Heads) in the field. Unless you segragrate circuits, the signal from wiring tracking could send you all over the place when tracking various circuits.
GROUND FAULT LOCATING
The first thing to understand is what a ground fault is and how it interupts electrical current. Ground faults are either knicked or cut wires caused from gopher activity, shovel knicks, improper splicing, decaying wire, or connections which have degraded over time from sitting in water. When wires are damaged and the circuit is interupted, the power can 'ground out' directly into the groud and the subsequent power is lost to either the satellite, valve, or sprinkler.
Wire troubleshooting and Ground Fault locating goes well beyond simply tracing the wire path with standard wire tracking equipment. Unless there is a complete clean cut in the wire path where no power or communication completes the circuit, then using ground fault locating services are a must. Ground fault locating equipment sends out a pulse of DC current through a transmitter where the power will go through the wire path and ground out. Along with the transmitter, a highly sensitve receiver detects where the electrical ground is grounding out, even through small knicks in the wire. There are often times where there may be multiple problems along the same wire path due to wire degregradation, or a high level of gopher activity.
Golf Irrigation Consultants specialize in all aspects of wire troubleshooting including: Wire Tracing, Ground Fault Locating, Satellite Repair, Central Computer Communication, Radio communication, and System Diagnosis and Repair.
For learning more about Wire Troubleshooting read the Blog Post: Basics in Wire Troubleshooting