Bought a $200 'universal' wire tracer back in 2015. Thing was useless on anything with power. Lost a whole afternoon and the cash.

Mine saved my butt on a dead circuit last week.

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My old boss at the electrical supply house told me to never trust those things on a live wire. He said they're basically just fancy continuity testers. I keep a cheap one in my bag for tone and probe work on dead lines, but for anything hot I grab my actual voltage detector. It's a lesson you only learn once, lol.

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william_smith6mo ago

Man, those cheap tracers are the worst for live wires! @butler.abby is right though, they're a lifesaver for dead circuits. Gotta have the right tool for the job.

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