# Need help with electric fencing connection!



## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

To make a long story short I purchased the Zareba yellow jacket 10 mile fence charger and the zareba 6 strand poly wire to run a strand of electric along my fence because my horses keep leaning on it and snapping the posts. 

This fence charger can run off of a 6 or 12V battery or D cell battery's. For now they are running off of D cells. 

So, the fence WAS working. There is no cut in the wire. There's a complete connection. Although the polywire is running through a pine tree and branches may be touching the wire. 

I'm at a loss on how to fix this. There IS a connection but the zap is more of a buzz. You barely feel anything. It's like it's not getting enough power. I am going to go out and buy a 12 V but I think there's more to the problem then that. 

The area fenced in is less then an acre so it's not a huge pasture and this fence charger says it works in high weeded areas. 

We have the ground rod 4-5 feet in the ground. The charger is mounted to the rod and the poly wire is wrapped around a screw that is on the charger and ran through the rest of the fence. (This was one of the suggested ways to hook up the fence according to directions)

I have no clue what the heck to do. Does anyone who has expierence with electric fences mind giving me a helping suggestion!?

Could the pine tree be effecting the electric connection? There is a connection but it's like it has absolutely no power to it. 

It was working when we put it up and we even changed the batteries and it's still not working.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Has the dampness of the ground changed? That can make a lot of difference in how effective the ground is. Try dumping a couple of buckets of water around the ground rod and see if it makes a difference.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I don't think the dampness has changed at all but I will try doing that. I mean I have power, everything works but the initial shock is nothing. It can barely be felt and I know it's supposed to be a fairly large shock on the higher setting. I can grab the wire now and just feel a small pulse but nothing like it should be.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Cowgirls Boots said:


> I don't think the dampness has changed at all but I will try doing that. I mean I have power, everything works but the initial shock is nothing. It can barely be felt and I know it's supposed to be a fairly large shock on the higher setting. I can grab the wire now and just feel a small pulse but nothing like it should be.


If you don't mind testing it with your body, disconnect the polyrope from the charger and touch the post on the charger to see what kind of zap you get. That will narrow it down to the charger or the fence ;-)


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Instead of testing the zap with your body, take a green leaf or blade of grass and touch it to the post on the charger. You'll feel a pretty good jolt if it's working right, but won't get the ZOMG I'M GOING TO DIE feeling.


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

Start by removing the charger from the ground rod and mounting it on a separate post. Clear away ANYthing that may be touching your polyrope. Battery operated chargers are very quickly drained of zap if shorted that way. And D batteries need to be replaced VERY frequently to keep a good charge.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

It was working for a good few days and just recently stopped. We even changed the batteries and it still did it. I am going to cut the tree down that's in the way just in case and because it's an eye sore anyway but I'm borrowing a tester to try an narrow down the issue. I do plan on buying a marine grade battery to hook up to my fence charger. Batteries were only a temporary thing


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Glad mine is supplied by AC power instead of batteries. That has to be a pain. I can't imagine trying to run a 25 miler like mine on batteries. I'd be constantly changing them out!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I would trim the tree so limbs did not touch the wire, you need to check the insulators as well.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Check the perimeter to see if grass has grown up as well. I have a 12 volt and it had plenty of snap but the battery loses it's oomph in the winter.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Yesterday I cut down the bush that the line ran through. I have a fence tester but all it tells me is if the fence has power going to it. Which all the fencing does. I ended up being the test dummy and touched the fence. It does shock but it's more of a pinch then an actual OMG IM GOING TO DIE. Lack of a better term there. Lol. 

I know it has to be more powerful then that because that's barely enough for a horse to even feel. I can feel it definitely but it's not a strong jolt at all. My friend said that the bush could have drained the battery's and I may just need to go buy a car battery and hook that up. 

So the issue now is that I have electric that's working, but it's not as powerful as it should be. It's on the highest setting on the charger and the wires are not touching anything foreign. 

The wires are double wrapped around each insulator though and have a million knots tied to each end on the gates handles and stuff. Could that be another issue why it's not powerful?


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Unless the knots are to splice pieces of rope together, you don't need to worry about them.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Instead of just running the wire through the insulators I kinda wrapped them a few times at each insulator to prevent it from comin out of the insulator and my friend said that may be draining power too. And anywhere I tied off the rope was where I had to put a gate handle. So I cut it, tied it to the gate handle super well. About a million knots, lol. Then I tied it to the gate connector I have for the fence and kept going.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

It's been very dry in New England. Pour a bucket of water on the ground post.

What are you using for a ground and how deep is it? I drive a copper pipe 3 ft, more if I can.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I have an 8 foot copper ground rod and it's in the ground 3-4 feet if not more. I'm going to pour a bucket of water on it and I also bought a car battery today too!


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

The car batteries last pretty good as long as you keep the fence clear of debris. Easier to charge the battery too. Just hook it up to your vehicle with a set of jumpers unless you have a charger.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Some of those fence chargers will drop you to your knees when they are working right.

Sounds terrible but I used to have this drug burnout (harmless but toast) that lived in the woods down the road. I actually had him grab the fence a few times when I needed it tested.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

What boots/shoes are you wearing when you touch the fence? If they're rubber soled, you could have enough insulation with them from getting a good shock. 

Our mares weren't drinking from their water trough. I was wearing rubber muck boots and had my hand in the water cleaning it out thinking that the water had debris and that's why they weren't drinking. At one point I thought I felt a slight tingle. I touched the ground with my other hand and I got a serious jolt. Turns out the wire supplying power to the water heater had been severed and was shorting through the heater. Even with wet ground, the muck boots insulated enough for me not to get shocked at first. 

Other than that, check for shorts to ground and check your connections. Like said before, if you have a short to ground like branches or grass/weeds, the batteries won't last long. 

You could try using a solar charger. The only problem we had with them was the batteries do freeze when temps are sub zero.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## deserthorsewoman (Sep 13, 2011)

I learned the hard way to NOT knot tape or rope if I want full power on it, also not wrap around insulators. They make these connectors for a reason. Fence at my new place is properly installed,with the connectors, gate handles and two tapes joined, and my fence tester shows max power. We also use the proper cable to connect charger and fence. To keep the rope/ tape from slipping out of the insulators I tie it with a small piece of baling twine( the plastic kind) to the insulator.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I tried that brand of charger once and returned it. If you read the directions it says you should have 3 ground rods. At least for the a.c. powered one.

They used to be better made. I have one that is probably 10 years old and still going strong. My neighbor gave it to me. The new ones don't compare. This is the one, but I'm sure they aren't made the same anymore.

15 Mile: AC Solid State < Electric Fence Chargers | Zareba

I bought a havaheart charger with 2 d batteries. I just hooked it up yesterday but haven't tested the shock yet. I'll let you know how well it works. 

I have not been impressed with zarebra.

What is the cost of the 12 volt battery? I debated about getting a bigger charger, but wasn't sure about the battery life.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

So I rewired the fence lastnight and connected the battery to the charger. It was alittle stronger but not by much. We poured a few buckets on the rod and that helped some, it is a bit stronger then before but still not enough to knock you on your butt. 

The only other two things I can think of are I need more ground rods or I need to get connector wires to connect the charger to the fence in a different way. 

Ugh, this is so confusing. And I can't figure out how many volts the charger gives out. It says horses need 2-3,000 volts. My charger just has joules on it.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

You may have to spring for a tester that tells more than if it's hot. I used to have one here that told how much zip was going through it so I could find the areas that were shorting out and places where the little wires through the tape and rope were broken.

I'm running a small zareba now and it hurts. Heard an good pop when one of my horse hit it and from their reaction it smarts plenty. I've only got one ground on it but it's in a swale where the ground is wet all the time.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Can you send me a link to a tester? My boyfriend touched the fence and it doesn't bother him much. He will leave his arm on the fence and watch his arm jolt. Weirdo...

I touched it and it stung but nothing that hurt. I have no idea what else I need to do to get this thing to work Ã°ÂŸÂ˜Â


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Is the fencing new? All I can think of are the little wires that are woven through the rope are broken in spots.

Milwaukee Auto Voltage/Continuity Tester and Voltage Detector Set-2221-20H at The Home Depot

I think that's real similar to what we had. 

You pretty much have to go around the perimeter of the fence and test every 5 feet or so. If there's a break in current you'll spot it this way.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Yes the fencing is brand new. I took down the wire from the first time I put it up about two weeks ago and trashed it and put up new wire again just in case some of the strands may have broke but it's still not strong regardless of the new wire job.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

It could be a faulty charger. With the charger hooked to the fence, touch where the wires connect to the charger. You should feel a good zap. 

If you don't get a good zap, disconnect the fence wire from the charger and try again. If you get a good zap, there is a short to ground somewhere on the fence. If you don't, the charger may be bad. 

If you do get a good zap touching where the wires connect to the charger but not when you touch just the fence, you could have a bad ground connection. Touch the fence and the ground terminal on the charger. If you get a good zap, there is a bad ground connection.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

We actually started insulating our earth wires as well as the hot wires, and found that really put extra juice back into the system. 

Biggest issue with not enough zap almost always seems to be the quality of the earthing system - here in Australia we usually use three long star pickets with less than 2m gaps between them, driven almost completely into the ground, connected to each other and the earth wires - and it should be moist ground year-round, at least below the surface. The earth system doesn't _necessarily_ have to be near the energiser unit, if that helps.


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