CABLE FAULT

LOCALISATION

GENERAL TYPES OF CABLE FAULTS

Earth fault:: When the insulation between

the earth and the conductor in the cable
becomes very low.

Low insulation fault:: When the insulation

between conductors in the cable or
between the pairs or between pair and
earth falls below a prescribed limit
(normally 0.5 meg ohm) This may be due to
entry of moisture or due to failure of wire
insulation.

Disconnection Fault :: When the Conductor

is cut then the fault is called break fault or
is called High Resistance fault.

Contd..
Short Circuit Fault: When the resistance
between the wires or between the
conductors becomes very low, even without
any loop in the circuit on the pairs. This is
also called contact fault.
Foreign potential: The existence of
potential, even when the circuit is idle or
isolated from the potential of exchange and
subscriber premises equipment is foreign
potential or contact of the conductor with
other circuit having potential.

FAULTS OCCUR DUE TO

Corrosion :- Chemical and electro chemical action, which damages the

outer sheath and the conductor of the cable.

Inter-crystalline fracture :- Sheath is effected due to mechanical

stresses, longitudinal, transverse, tensional oscillation or periodical
variation of temperature or repeated overheating of the sheath.

Faulty materials in manufacturing of the Cable

Bad constructional practices like in-efficient, nonstandard and careless

work-man ship, specially during the time of laying & jointing of cable.

Natural causes and accidents :- Due to termites, rodents borers etc., &
due to earth quack, floods, penetration by tree roots, contact with power
lines etc.

Digging operation by other public utility authorities and individual public.

DETECTION AND LOCALISATION OF

CABLE FAULT

The detection and localization of cable fault is a

major time consuming factor in the regular
maintenance aspect.

Detection is the first step in reaching a developing

cable fault early.

Timely detection & localization of c/f will help to

avoid and lessen the interruption period, which
ultimately gives better satisfaction to the customer.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR DETECTION

AND LOCALIASATION OF CABLE FAULTS
Thorough idea about the cable network.
Availability of up-dated cable records viz.,
cable diagram, cable plans, DP cards and
cable route and joint indicators etc.
Availability of proper type of testing
instruments in good working condition and
skilled staff.

Localization of Fault by instruments

Multimeter or A.V.O. meter: used
for finding out(a)Resistance of wire or of a pair (loop)
(b)
continuity of a wire between
two points
(c)Numbering of the pairs, if there is
reversal at any intermediate point.

BRIDGE MEGGAR
This works on Wheatstone Bridge principle and is
used generally for the following purposes.
(a) Accurate measurement of loop and wire
resistances
(b) Measurement of cross insulation between the
wires of the same pair or between the pairs of a
cable.
(c) Earth insulation between a wire or pair and
earth.
(d) Localization of dead-earth fault (when resistance
between the faulty wire and earth is very low).

PULSE ECHO TESTER OR ECHO METER

Modern and reliable method for measurement of cables
of any type.
Provides reasonably an accurate distance measurement.
Works on the pulse reflection principle.
Pulses created by a generator & which are suitable for
the location of places of error are transmitted through
cable, the part of the pulse power is reflected at the
fault according to magnitude of power. This is observed
on the CRT screen.
It makes use of characteristic impedance of the
conductor pair whose deviation from the nominal
characteristic impedance, determines the intensity of
reflection or the reflection co-efficient.

 Pre-requisite: while using this instrument for

localization of fault, the gauge of the conductor
& type of insulation of the cable under test must
be known.
Echometer can detect and localize various types
of faults in open wire and under Ground cable,
provided the impedance irregularity on the pair
at the fault-point is large enough to cause a
distinctly visible reflection of the screen.
It can be efficiently used for checking up the
length of the cable in the drum before laying .

 The type of the faults that can be

localized by this instrument are: Open circuit/disc
Short circuits
High resistance point
Partial contacts
Low insulation fault
Split pairs

APLAB cable fault locator -3039

facility of direct digital display of the
distance.
The localization of disc and loop fault is
simple with the help of the above meter.

APLAB cable fault locator- 3039

PROCEDURE TO TEST
Check Battery level before taking to the place of
testing. Battery charge LED should be off on the
panel.
There should be no voltage on the pair to be tested.
Set the V/2 value for the cable using velocity selector
switch (one half the velocity of propagation value for
the cable under test).
Adjust the vertical gain sensitivity control to obtain
pulse height of two divisions height.
Adjust the horizontal position control so that the foot
of pulse is aligned with vertical line.

Contd
Connect the meter to the pair to be tested at L1
and reference pair at L2.
Adjust the horizontal expansion control to show
the reflected pulse on the right side of the screen.
Depress the alternate trace selector switch.
Adjust the trace shift control, so that the foot of
the transmitted pulse is observed.
Depress the SET / READ switch. Read the
distance in display. Subtract the length of the test
leads to obtain the actual distance.

OPERATING CONSIDERATIONS
A good cable with a matched termination displays a flat
trace with no reflection.
If the measured fault location is near a splice, or if near a
construction site where recent digging has been done, it is
quite probable, the fault is located there.
Water existing in a splice case or in a jelly filled cable may
produce a very small reflection due to the confined area of
water.

A cable pair may have more than one fault, so the first
fault can easily mask a more remote fault. Then locate
the closest fault then locate and repair the more distant
faults.

INDICATION OF TYPICAL FAULTS

When the fault is with in few meters from the testing point it is
difficult to get an accurate reading.
This can be overcome by connecting a dummy 50 to 100 meter
length of cable between meter and pair to be tested.
The final actual measurement is got by subtracting the length from
reading shown in the meter.

Open circuit :: Open circuit gives a positive reflection at the point of

break. If both conductors are open, reflection amplitude is greater
and reflection at open far end of cable is not seen.

Short circuit ::The contact or short gives a negative reflection and

far end reflection is not seen.

Cable Measurements if V/2 is known ::

It is recommended that voltage not to be present
on the cable.
If far end of cable is terminated, temporarily
remove the termination.
Connect the instrument to the cable and measure
the length.
To find V/2 if cable length is known ::
Connect the instrument to a cable pair of good
insulation but with out far end termination.
Measure the cable in the normal manner by aligning
the reflected pulse with the transmitted pulse.
Adjust the value on the V/2 velocity selector
switches until the distance readout shows the
actual cable length.

Comparison of faulty cable or pair with one known to

good cable or pair
Connect the instrument to a cable pair of good
insulation to the L2 jacks, and faulty one to the L1
jack.
With the line select pushbutton in the out position,
measure the fault location in the normal manner.
Press the line select pushbutton. Note that the
screen provides a simultaneous display of the two
cables and shows the fault location relative to the
far end of the good cable.