Chipmunks and electrical cable ??

[Harry]

All of a sudden, every time I turn on my driveway lights, they blow the fuse. I checked and changed the switch (just in case), but the problem persists. We had a chipmunk problem in the yard, and someone told me that it's possible the chipmunks ate though the underground cable, and it is now shorting. (The electric wire goes to the light posts, underground, through the chipmunk infested area). Before I start digging the yard to check the wire, is that possible? Is there an easier way to check, other that digging up the yard? Could it be some other problem?

Thanks

[B]

It is often easier to install a new buried wire than inspect the old one. Same for buried pipes. -B

[Joe Bobst]

Disconnect hot, ground and neutral wires at service panel. Unscrew lamp at fixture. Check resistance between ground, neutral and hot. All should read infinity. If there is a short between the hot and neutral it will be close to zero ohms, same with ground. If that is the case get out the shovel and consider using plastic conduit. HTH

Joe

[Mike Fritz]

Don't worry, a failed light switch would not likely cause a short. If anything, the lights served by that switch would either not come on at all, or stay on either way.

So if the switch is off, the fuse does not blow. What if you remove the light bulb? On second thought, since you are blowing fuses, you should use an electric meter to check for shorts. Learn how to use the meter to check the resistance of the white and black wire leaving the switch box.

Remove the light bulb, if everything is fine, you should get infinite resistance, or something near there. If something is wrong, you'll get low resistance, and the meter may beep.

Remove the wiring from the lamp, below the bulb socket. It is possible the short is there. Work your way back. Could a chipmunk have chewed through the cable? It's possible. But does it really matter? What matters is finding the fault, and possibly taking steps to prevent it in the future. Running conduit might be the solution.

--Mike

[Harry]

True, I hadn't though of it this way.

[Harry]

There is actually a box outside, for those lights. So I can first check for a short from the box to the light post. I'll try that, thanks.

[Harry]

Thanks, Mike. I'll check that and start digging, if needed, before the ground freezes.

[Nick Hull]

Not sure about your problem, but I have had a lot of problems with squirrels or chipmunks chewing the parts & wires of my electric gate opener. Large pieces of plastic are chewed away and wires are often chewed in half.

[Harry]

I was afraid of that :-(

[Nick Hull]

Good news; I mounted a Hav-A-Hart trap on top of my gatepost (without bait) and after a month it caught a squirrel. He is very unhappy, I'm sure he is telling all the other squirrels to stay away.

[Red Neckerson]

"Nick Hull" wrote

Will it work on badgers???

[Nick Hull]

Might need a bigger trap for badgers.

The squirrel died, only lasted 2 days. Maybe I should have fed/watered him?

[Joe Fabeitz]

[Nick Hull]

Beavers are tougher. The last one stuck it out even when lightning struck his lodge like a stick of dynamite. The next day lightning struck again like 4 sticks, haven't seen him since. ;)