On Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:56:33 -0700, WayneJ wrote:

In article , elson@pico-
systems.com says...
Karl Townsend wrote:

Plugged in the electric fencer and the meter reads ?short? but it
still shocks the **** out of you. Don?t ask me how I know this.

Not having a volt indication will be a real problem, no way to know if
grass etc. is knocking down the effectiveness. A fencer puts out a
high volt burst a small percent of the time. On the order of 7K volts
for 50 miliseconds once per second. Is there an easy way to add a volt
meter? Just a relative indication is all that?s needed. or time to buy
another unit? ($250)

Karl,

Most fence chargers are prtetty simple, I have schematics of a few
designs. What brand is yours?

Units with a meter typically connect the meter to a 1 or 2 turn
secondary on the output transformer. Depending on the design of your
charger, the meter curcuit can be as simple as a diode and a meter
movement or somewhat more complex.

It would be well worth your while to open the charger up and take a look
at what you have. It could be a bad meter movement, a bad diode or even
a dead insect in the meter movement blocking motion. Supposedly, the
movement is sealed os a bug can't get in, but as you probably know they
can get into surprising places.

WayneJ

Its a Parmak precision brand. Made in USA - KC MO

A proper repair would be huge. I did find this on the web
http://www.dickselectricfencerrepair.com/ But likely, the repair will
be about the same as a new one. Mine is a 6 Joule 7K volt rated unit.
Now, I see you can get 10 Joule 12K volt units. Maybe its time to
upgrade.



For years, I've moved a metal post close to the wire to make sure it
pops a good arc. I'm thinking, make this accurate for a measurment.
I'll just set up a stop with a threaded bolt, probably use 3/4x10 so
each turn is 0.100". I know the fencer pops 1/4 to 3/8 when in top
form, if it won't pop more than about 1/8 its time to find the
problem.