sams25•10d ago

Got burned by a cheap voltage tester that gave a false reading

I bought a $15 non-contact voltage tester from a discount store for a quick job. It said a line was dead, but when I went to work on it, I got a nasty shock. Turned out the tester was faulty and missed about 40 volts still on the line. I had to redo the whole connection and lost nearly two hours of billable time, which is about $200 for me. Some guys say a basic tester is fine for quick checks, but others swear you should only use a trusted brand and always double-check with a meter. What's your go-to method to make sure a circuit is really dead before you touch it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hugo9d ago

Honestly, that cheap tester story is exactly why I never trust them alone anymore. My go-to is always testing with a proper multimeter after the non-contact beeps. Ngl, I'll even check the same wire at a couple different spots just to be sure.

taragrant9d ago

Oh man, @the_hugo, you're basically doing a full detective investigation on every wire. At this point you're gonna start asking the electricity for its ID and a second form of proof. Honestly, I respect the paranoia though, because those little testers lie like a rug.