How to find a break in a Husqvarna robot mower boundary cable
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- This is a short video on using a cable detection tool to locate breaks on robot mower boundary cables. Quick steps to get you started:
1. Disconnect both side of the loop cable from the base station
2. Connect one side to the red croc clip of the cable locator emitter unit
3. Turn on the receiver to max and trace the cable round so you can hear the beeps. When the beeps stop, break out your trowel and start tracing the break.
This method helped me find three cable breaks in my 850+ metres of cable for my boundary wire, but bear in mind the cable gets harder to detect the further you get from the base station.
Thanks Barry. You have saved me calling someone out that would have cost much more!
Glad it helped mate 👍🏻
Possibly the most valuable video ive watched on UA-cam - thank you!
Ahh cheers buddy. I'm glad it helped!!
Legend! Love the video. I have just had my first line break and trying to find anything in AUS to detect it is difficult. I have been looking at the KLEIN TOOLS Tone and Probe Pro Kit, but I think that I will go with the NF-820. Thanks again mate.
Thanks for posting this - have just ordered one. Also ideal for finding retic solenoid locations and broken retic wires.
Lifesaver, this also works for landroid!
Thanks for sharing! Tried it out but could not get it to work without connecting the black wire to a spade in the ground. Detection range without ground connection was 30 cm from the transmitter regardless of settings.
you sir are a life saver. Thank you
Really helpful so have placed order for one
👏 brilliant video, thank you
Thanks David 🙂
Do you have a link for the cable detection kit you used there? Looks exactly what I need
@@FinnieFinnster13 Noyafa NF-820 Upgraded Underground Cable Wire Locator with Anti-Interference to Locate Pet Fence Wires, Metal Pipes amzn.eu/d/9x1QHkt
Deciding between this and MS6818 / NF-826 for locating boundary cable breaks. Any reccomendations?
Thank you!
Thanks for a great demo Barry. I bought a NF-820 a couple of years ago for tracking broken boundary wires. But the problem was that when I used it, it always gave signals everywhere. It was so sensitive and hard to adjust. So I bought the Mastech MS-6818 instead that worked much better. But after watching your video I noticed that you didn't ground the black ground clip. So I went out for a try with my NF-820 again. What a difference :-) Now it seems to work as it should. It still needs some minor adjustments but its great and much stronger than the MS-6812. When I look for faults I also use a smart wire-tester that check all wires individualy and comes out with a solution of which cable that needs to be tracked. See link ua-cam.com/video/sdxZq-znpYU/v-deo.html
Thanks Barry
Is it posoble to use this tool with the cabel power ON 220volts?
Thank you.
No worries - I hope it helped! :)
I've had to replace mine so many times I'm fed up now I bypassed the wire and not it cuts up everything. 😂
You can mow without a boundary wire?
@@jday1986 yes... Unlock press menu hold 7 and 9 go to loop signal select no and then start it. If you don't have anything to stop it will cut everything but you have to do it manually everytime. I'm just fed up of the wire breaking somewhere so I do this instead
Thank you so much for that tip!! Now I just have to keep it from mowing over a cliff into the river😅
@@jday1986 I don't have to worry about a cliff, but plants and everything else I just place bins and things in strategic places.
Does one need to unplug the charging station from the power before doing this test?
Shoukd you also disconnect the Guide wire as well?
You don't have to, but it's a bit like anything in that if you power it down, you give yourself the best chance of success as there are no other factors interfering. I've tested before whilst the station was on and it made no difference in my case. I'd say with the guide wire question: yes. The idea is you want to trace to find breaks so if you have fewer cables connected to your test loop, you're isolating everything and it's easier to find the break(s).
Quick question
So, i have a 430x mower with a large area to cover, between 2 properties. I think i may have nicked guide wire 2 with the shovel, which goes out to my part of the lawn.
To firstly confirm this, would i plug out Boundary left and but guide wire 2 into its slot and confirm that is indeed the issue, which should lead to turning the light blue in the charge station
If the above is correct, do i then plug out all the boundary cables and guide 1, to only leave guide 2 operating and track the wire from there, or what is the best approach. Thanks
The wire detection device doesn't need a closed circuit to work so if you're looking for a break in a specific guide wire, my advice would be to disconnect all the cables (make sure you label them first!) then connect the red Croc clip to the guide wire you want to detect the break in and start tracing. Unless you've got a very large cable (hundreds of metres) then you should be able to detect where the guide cable break is. To do it from the other end, you'd need to know where the guide connected into the boundary wire and then start from that end instead. If you've got multiple properties, I'd recommend considering the 550X EPOS. I have one and will maybe do a video on it if you're interested in what that's like?
I'm facing the same problem. A link to that device would have been helpful right now.
@@Crazy_Dave Kolsol Underground Cable Locator NF-820 Wire Locator Network Tester High & Low Voltage Cable Wire Locator with Anti-Interference to Locate Pet Fence Wires, Metal Pipes Electrical & Telephone Cable amzn.eu/d/6Gy7S1I
@@barryjohnson9626 Thanks but I've already found the break using a 12v battery and light probe. Thanks anyway.
Thanks for making this video! Looks like this detection system is far better than with the Mastech system (which is barely audible from above ground). I couldn't get the AM radio approach to work. I'll try ordering on the NF-820 units.
Do you have to clip the negative lead of the emitter on to anything?
No, just the red/positive one. I think the negative is for power cable tracing
A completely different question I have for you, do you have two guide wires connected? Do you have them connected separately to G1 and G2? There is only a G1 connector in my automower 305, does that mean I can only connect one guide wire ?? thank you in advance for your help.
I did, but one was broken quite early on. The 305 has a much smaller area so it probably doesn't need more than one guide. The max for the 305 is 600m2, whereas the 450X has a 5000m2 +/- 20%. It's therefore unlikely you'd need more than one guide but nothing to worry about 👍🏻
Would this with a flymo easilife 800?
If it has a radio boundary wire, then yes mate it should do.
Barry, will this tool detect wire that has been buried? I've trenched my cable appx 4-6 inches. Also, what is the make/model of this tool? Thanks! (Actually looks like the Noyafa NF-820 and says it can find wire underground! Thanks!)
It is the NF-820 John. I don't know why they say it won't find wires underground since the principle is only around pushing an RF signal down the wire and then the receiver picking it up. Ours is between 1-3 inches buried, but when the strength is turned up high, it will pick up the signal from the wire even when I'm metres away from it. Admittedly struggles with distances over 300m of typical boundary wire, but does still work. We got ours from Amazon and it's been fine.
@@barryjohnson9626 I read several reviews on it and it seems like unless the wire has a clean break it won't work. With my boundary wire, I often find that the wire has gotten a nick or something and then it corrodes and stops working. It has enough continuity to tone all the way through, but not enough for the Automower to see the signal. :(
Your cable is on the ground not underground, that make a big difference finding a break.
Jog on mate. I'd found the break using the method in the video and exposed the wire to show this. It's helped loads of people already and I've got a boundary cable which is hundreds of metres long. This method works. If it doesn't for you, the problem is in the mirror.
@@barryjohnson9626 : Sorry I have not see you are using a NF 820 which is correct for underground cable. I use a NF 826.
@@barryjohnson9626 no need to be ignorant is there
How far from your base station was the break?
I had three. One was around 75m away, one was about 150m away, and the other was around 250m away (all approximate perimeter wires distances, not 'as the crow flies'). The further away you get, the harder it is to find the guideline signal and I ended up literally brushing the antenna against the ground to find the signal. My garden is approx 8000m2 though quite a bit bigger than the 450X is rated for, but it manages fine.
Barry Johnson Thanks for the reply. I tried using an AM radio to find a wire break for our 450X base but it was difficult to pinpoint the cut. I’ll try this device.
@@skyserf I had the same problem. I think if you live in a Faraday cage or somewhere no with fewer AM interference, maybe it works better but I really struggled to differentiate the interference from the boundary wire signal vs the ambient radio noise. Good luck!
You just saved me a lot of time. Used a cheapo detector from Amazon. Found the issue after watching this. I stuck the black wire in the ground then it worked well 😊
Did you stick it in the ground to 'ground' it? Is that a necessity to make it work?
Yep I’ve given up with the radio too, and have just been 1/2 way splitting the cable using a cable reel, 13a plug with spade connector and multimeter. I hate it worst job ever. I will order one of these gizmos and try that, why are husqvarna supplying cable that rots in the ground?!
It's a good question... I think that sometimes ground shift might create a small split in the insulation and that has a knock on effect to moisture getting to the cable, causing corrosion, etc. Handily, since having this now, I'm breaking the cable into multiple sections to enable an easier length for troubleshooting but this definitely is better than the radio method which, frankly, is a weak hack at best. Good luck!
@@barryjohnson9626 thanks I’ll need it… I keep my thinking I might change the wire for copper wire a section at a time… thanks again
@@barryjohnson9626 well what a waste of money that was. Bleeped all the way round both ways and I still have a blue light! Did I mention I hate this job. Back to my method this Saturday then…..
@chrisjones6542 I did the test as well and it beeped the entire time, yet I still have the blue blinking light.
I'm curious:
1. Should the power to the charging station be disconnected first?
2. Should all the cables be disconnected e.g. Guide and Boundary?
3. Does the black gator clip need to be 'grounded' to insure better testing outcome?
I confirm that's a good device. Just found damaged but not broken cable spot with this. The key is to have a device with intensity control on both signal and receiver.
Or you can connect a 220V (110V) AC live wire on the boundary cable (after disconnecting it from the base, obviously) and probing with a voltage pen tester. every few meters I did that and it worked quite well ;) I would assume a voltage pen tester is much cheaper than the device you are presenting.
That is very dangerous as you don't know why your cable is broken! Please do not follow this advice if you have happened across this video as you may end up causing damage or injury to someone. Stick with tools designed for the job.
Dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, obviously. But if you do, I see no harm. I always take proper precautions. Inspect the entire boundary wire first, etc.
Surely that would just trip the RCD?
@@steverichardson6405 you only connect the 'live' wire, not both :) but you MUST understand what you are doing...
@@sorinpopa but the rcd is designed to activate when more than 30mA current imbalance is detected between phase and neutral or in other words an earth fault occurs. So if you connect 'live' to the perimeter wire which has a break then current will flow to ground and trip the rcd immediately (assuming that the break is buried) and disconnect the supply