Bought a $300 tone generator and probe kit that barely worked indoors

Saw a deal on a Klein kit at Home Depot. Looked good on the shelf. Grabbed it for my next job at an office building downtown. Got there and it kept picking up noise from the fluorescent lights. Couldn't trace a single line past the ceiling grid. Went back to my old Fluke kit after 2 hours of frustration. Anybody else run into tone gear that just fails in commercial settings?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim69315d ago

Did you check if your Klein kit is rated for use around ballasts and LED drivers? I had a similar issue with a cheap Amazon set but found that the weak signal just needed a better ground connection by crimping a separate ground wire to the jacket. Most of the time people blame the tool when it's really the installation picking up weird harmonics from the building power. Maybe give it another shot with a dedicated ground clip instead of just the alligator clamp.

simonh7415d ago

That part about "weird harmonics from the building power" really hit home for me. I had a similar nightmare with a toner on a job last year, thought the whole tester was fried until I realized the building's VFDs were just throwing everything off. Adding that extra ground wire made a night and day difference too, it's crazy how much a solid ground matters even with higher end tools. I was about to toss the thing in the trash until someone told me the same trick you just mentioned, lol. Glad to see someone else preaching the ground clip gospel.

king.wyatt14d ago

Wow that ground clip tip might be the missing piece for me. Did you just strip back the jacket and wrap a wire around the bare shield or actually solder something on?