How to Locate Damaged Electrical Wiring in a Wall

Damaged electrical wiring in your home can be hard to spot. Wiring runs behind your walls, so you can't usually gain access to inspect the wiring physically and determine where any frayed, short-circuited or loose wires may be -- you could, of course, take a hammer to your wall, but you'd be looking at an expensive drywall repair job. Also, should you hit a live wire, you could end up seriously injured or dead. You need to have another method for inspecting your wiring.

Multimeter
Infrared camera

Instructions

- 1
  Inspect your wall outlets for signs of excess heat, such as melted plastic or a burning scent.
- 2
  Unplug appliances from the outlet with wiring you want to check, and turn off power at the circuit breaker. Leaving appliances plugged into this outlet can cause damage from power fluctuations.
- 3
  Set the multimeter to measure resistance, indicated by the symbol "Ω." Connect the leads and insert them into the outlet prongs. If the meter reads "OL" or "1" on the left side of the display, you have an open circuit. If there is zero resistance, you have a short and can determine this wire has damage somewhere along the circuit.
- 4
  Restore power to the circuit, but plug nothing into the outlet.
- 5
  Turn on the infrared camera per its user instructions and aim it at the wall near the outlet. Trace the wires toward their source. Pay attention to the image; it is a visual representation of heat sources behind the wall. Because live electric currents produce heat, you can determine the approximate locations of your wiring. Hotter spots, often represented as yellow or white, indicate potential fire hazards or damage in the wiring.

How to Change a Fuse on an Exterior Electrical Panel

How to Remove Standard Vanity Lights From the Wall

Electrical Repairs