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Cable Tracker Experience?

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Gary Lewis

Cable Tracker Experience?

Administrator

I bought a Harbor Freight Cen-Tech Cable Tracker Model 94181 today and I'm underwhelmed. I thought it would be wonderful to trace wires in the EFI harness going on Big Blue, but so far I've not been able to prove anything with it.

The instructions say to connect the red lead to the wire that you are testing and the black lead to ground. But the harness is on the bench and there really is no "ground". So when I use the receiver I get beeps all over the place. In fact, I know the wire I'm testing is in this group of wires 'cause I can see the right color code, but all of the wires in that bundle cause the receiver to beep.

Anyone have any experience with this tester? Or, for that matter, does anyone have a better suggestion for tracing wires?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

grumpin

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

Never used one. Are you trying to find the wires in a bundle?

If so, hook the red wire of a DVM to the wire you want and ground the black wire of the DVM to a metal bench or vise etc. Then ground the wires on the other end of the bundle till you find it.

Aircraft wires can be long and buried in bundles, my old boss had a 50’ wire he would use to check continuity from the front of airplanes to the back.

A very good avionics tech taught me to do what I explained above. Just check the wire at both ends to make sure it isn’t grounded. If I was alone I would use the diode function in the meter so it would beep.

My boss never liked that, always got his 50’ wire out.

Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona

Gary Lewis

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

Administrator

Thanks, Dane. Yes, I'm trying to trace wires.

On my wooden work table I have the whole set of harnii for the 19986 CA-spec EFI system. I don't seem to have a picture of it snapped, so I'll try to paint one with words

In the middle of the table is the power distribution box (PDB) that will have the various relays and fuses. Coming off to the right are ~65 wires that go towards the ECU but are cut. (I have the ECU connector with ~9" of wire sticking out of it so can, laboriously, match color codes and determine pin #'s.) And to the left are the several harnii, with one to the engine with injector & sensor wires, one to the MAF & IAT sensors, another to the speed control, another into the cab, etc.

While I can clean the insulation on each of the ~65 wires and probably determine the colors, I was hoping to put this gadget on a wire and follow it through the harnii to its end. Not so as I get beeping all over the place.

As for the diode function on my DVM, it isn't loud enough to easily be heard. So what I'm thinking of doing is connecting my 1A bench power supply to the wire, connecting the ground of my test light to the power supply's ground, and poking the probe of the test light into the ends of the wires until one lights up. That should work, but I thought it would be magic if I could wave a wand over the wires and have the beeping get loud on the right wire. Instead I get beeping on all the wires.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

grumpin

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

Sounds like a good idea!

That tool looks good and had some good reviews, but for what you’re doing, I bet it’s frustrating.

Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona

Gary Lewis

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

Administrator

Yes, I think it'll work - much better than the DVM, which is slow to respond.

And yes, the thing is frustrating. It beeps for everything. And, it apparently responds to wavelengths since you get different intensities as you move along a wire.

But I haven't given up on it yet. I am going to play with it a bit more and see if I can figure out a better way to use it.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

taskswap

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

I have not used that HF unit but I've used tracers that look exactly like it very early in my career when I was installing phone and network cables. I suspect the HF unit is a clone of what I used, and thus, designed for the same purpose. They're really good at tracing out wires in punch-down blocks and patch panels on racks racks. In those cases the connectors are both a) fairly well separated at their endpoints (patch panels usually have their jacks an inch or so apart) and b) the ends are exposed. You'd shove the detector probe into the actual jack, and it would be very close to the gold-plated terminals of the jack.

If you're going to be doing this a lot, you might have better luck just with a better quality unit, such as the Klein Tools one.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-Tone-Probe-PRO/dp/B07VYN98QV

It costs more but not SO much more that it's a total blocker, like how cheap crimpers can be $30 but "good" ones can be $400. It's more sensitive and more likely to give you better detection. And it has several frequencies/modes for detection that can help you work with different kinds of wire. It might be a triple whammy for you that gets you over the hump?

If you're looking at other brands Fluke is a really good one. But generally, look for a tracer that has a CAT5 and/or RJ-11 connector (or both) on it. Network cable tracers like those are designed to deal with systems that may not have an earth ground so they're more sensitive.

--
1981 F-250 Custom. 6.6L V8, 4 barrel Holley carb, ARA aftermarket A/C.

Gary Lewis

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

Administrator

So, you know what a 66 block is?

(At one point in my career I was responsible for DuPont's communications across the SW of the US. And yes, we had a few punch-down or 66 blocks, racks, multiplexors, etc.)

Anyway, I like that small (pun intended) tool. I think I'll return this one and if the test light doesn't work order that one.

Thanks!

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

grumpin

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

In reply to this post by taskswap

That Klein looks nice.

I’ve used Fluke meters on aircraft, sometimes you needed the quality, sometimes just checking continuity and voltage I liked analog meters, because the Flukes would automatically change ranges and you would think you had a bad wire or connection.

Interesting, never used one of these tools.

Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona

taskswap

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis wrote

So, you know what a 66 block is? (At one point in my career I was responsible for DuPont's communications across the SW of the US. And yes, we had a few punch-down or 66 blocks, racks, multiplexors, etc.)

Anyway, I like that small (pun intended) tool. I think I'll return this one and if the test light doesn't work order that one.

Thanks!

Yep, did a lot of 66 and 110 too. So then you know what I mean, right? How in those blocks, and even inside RJ-11/RJ-45 jacks, the terminals are pretty exposed and easy to get a probe right up on them. Even a weak one will work there.

Test light is cheap easy and fast. But if you don't sort it out that way it would be interesting to hear your experience if you did have a good tester... Sharing is caring lol

--
1981 F-250 Custom. 6.6L V8, 4 barrel Holley carb, ARA aftermarket A/C.

Gary Lewis

Re: Cable Tracker Experience?

Administrator

I like Fluke and Klein ("small" in German - that was a joke.) But if I don't have to have something for this I'd like to save the money since I've spent a ton getting the EFI on - and I'm not quite done. However, if I do buy something else I'll report back, for sure.

Yes, I know about the terminals in the various jacks and how you get close if not right on them. And I can get close or right on with this guy, but he doesn't have a probe, just an antenna. Given that, it is easy to see how he's fooled since all of these wires run in parallel and there's lots of cross-coupling. A probe would be better. But if I can use a probe I can use a test light.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile