How to Locate an Underground Fence Break

Invisible underground fence transmitters sound an alarm or flash a light when a break occurs along the boundary wire. The location of a break may be obvious, such as when someone has been digging near the wire. But what do you do when the break location isn̵7;t obvious? Short of digging up the fence, which no one wants to do, the most practical method is to use a device called a ̶0;wire break locator.̶1; Most rental supply companies provide them for two hours or longer, and many pet supply companies sell them. They have two main parts: a base unit and a handheld, wireless radio unit.

Things You'll Need

  • Wire break locator
  • Boundary wiring
  • Wire cutters
  • Outside wire connector nuts
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Instructions

    • 1

      Test your transmitter box to be sure it is functioning properly. Turn it off, detach the two outside boundary wires and attach a new 5 or 6 foot long wire to both terminals. Turn the transmitter box back on. If it no longer alarms, it is working properly and a break in the outside fence wire exists. Remove the short wire and reattach the outside wires to the transmitter.

    • 2

      Attach the base unit of the wire break locator to your electronic fence. Some base units have a wire with a fastener on the end that clips onto the invisible fence wire. Others require you to remove the fence wires from the transmitter box and put them into terminals on the base unit. In both cases, ground the locator base by attaching its ground wire to a metal rod and pushing it a short distance into the ground.

    • 3

      Turn on the hand-held portion of the wire break locator. Some of these are actual radios and may pick up a radio station. If so, turn the knob until you reach a silent area. Stand in a spot where you are sure you are over the fence wire. You should hear a sound of some sort--a beep or hum. Turn the sound level down as low as you can while continuing to hear the sound. This keeps the unit ̶0;sensitive.̶1; It must be sensitive for you to know when you find the break. Walk with the hand-held unit over the wire. The sound will continue until you reach the break. At that point, the sound will stop.

    • 4

      Dig down to find the broken wire. Strip the plastic covering from each end of the broken wire to expose about ½ inch of bare wire. Twist the strands of bare wire together and cap them with an outdoor wire nut. Add a piece of new wire if the strands of broken wire are not long enough to twist together.

    • 5

      Reattach the transmitter box to the outside wires and turn on the transmitter. The warning alarm that there is a break in the fence should be gone. If it is not, another break exists somewhere. Repeat steps 2 through 4.