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My homemade circuit breaker finder kit, consisting of an ammeter, flasher buttons, pigtail light bulb sockets, and incandescent light bulbs

Find The Circuit Breaker

Dear Mr. Electrician: How do you find the circuit breaker in an electrical panel? Answer:  I have used a few methods in my career to find a circuit breaker.  When I started working in the electrical contracting profession, circuit breaker finders and wire tracers were not readily available.  So we improvised.  A photo of my homemade circuit breaker finding accessories is at the top of this article. NOTE: Some text links below go to applicable products on Amazon.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  Using my links helps to keep this website FREE. TABLE OF CONTENTS: GOOD HEARING METHOD FLASHER TECHNIQUE HOMEMADE WIRE TRACER STORE-BOUGHT TRACERS Top Of Page FIND A CIRCUIT BREAKER WITH GOOD HEARING Plugging in an electric radio is a simple and inexpensive method for identifying which circuit breaker controls a live circuit. An electric radio with the sound turned up is a quick easy way to find the circuit breaker to an electrical receptacle outlet.  Plug the radio in, turn the volume up, and go to the electrical panel. Just flip each breaker off slowly one at a time until you no longer hear the radio.  Turn the breaker back on and listen to confirm. If I can get it to stay in place, I sometimes use my Fluke Non-Contact-1AC-A1-II Voltage Tester like the radio to find the circuit breaker.  However, the Fluke doesn't have a volume adjustment. Top Of Page AMMETER AND FLASHER A trick I read about in the 1960s was using an ammeter to find the circuit breaker for 120-volt circuits.  I tried it myself many times because it is very accurate. A flasher button was inserted into a rubber pigtail socket and a 100-watt or larger incandescent light bulb was screwed in.  Note that the Flasher Buttons were only rated for sixty watts, but that wasn't always enough to be obvious on the Amprobe if the circuit had other loads. I put a plug on the end of the pigtail socket.  When plugged into an energized electrical outlet, it would blink consistently. To find the circuit breaker, I would use my analog ammeter and clamp over every wire inside the electrical panel until I found the blinking amperage. The needle on the Amprobe Model RS-3 Analog Ammeter would fluctuate as the lights blinked on and off.  This also works on ceiling lights by connecting a pigtail socket directly to the ceiling electrical box wires to find the circuit breaker as in the image below. I sometimes used the Winker plug-in blinker pictured above, to create the same blinking light effect as a flasher button. Two pigtail sockets joined in series and one flasher button was used for 240 volt circuits. I still have my flasher buttons, but I have not been able to find them anywhere online to purchase except eBay.  They may still be found in some old local stores with inventory from the previous century. Top Of Page HOMEMADE WIRE TRACER In the 1980s I was working on a very unique house.  All stone and brick construction, inside and out.  The house was built in...