Panel swap at a retirement home went sideways

Tuesday I was swapping an old DSC panel at a retirement complex in Concord. Got everything wired and powered up. Hit the test button and the whole system went dark. Took me 45 minutes of tracing wires before I found a corroded ground lead hidden behind the transformer. Had to run a new ground wire from the panel to a copper pipe. Customer was watching me the whole time asking if it was almost done. Has anyone else dealt with a panel that just died on first power up?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron42628d ago

Nah I gotta disagree here. A good ground check is part of the setup, not some hidden mystery. Sounds like you skipped the basics and blamed it on the building.

hernandez.morgan28d ago

oh man I feel you on this one. Ive had that exact panic where you hit test and the whole thing just flatlines. First thing I do now is always check the ground before anything else. That corroded ground is a classic, especially in retirement homes where theres old plumbing and who knows what kinda wiring was done before. Make it a habit to run a fresh ground from the panel to a copper pipe or the main ground rod before you even start wiring the panel. Saves you that 45 minute headache when the customer is breathing down your neck. Also check the transformer screws sometimes theyre loose from the factory and will kill the system on power up. But yeah that ground issue is the number one gotcha on those old panels.