Maintaining and Troubleshooting Electric Fences

Once your electric fence is up and running, it needs to stay in good working condition.

Watch “Maintenance and Troubleshooting Electric Fences” to learn how to test the voltage on an electric fence, tips for seasonal and routine maintenance, and how to troubleshoot common electric fence faults.

Find more details below on maintaining electric fences and troubleshooting problems.

Maintenance Tips

Routine maintenance is key to ensuring an electric fence stays in good working condition. Here are some tips to consider:

  • Check the fence voltage regularly to ensure it is at a sufficient level. Check each fence wire, along with different sections of the fence, including gates.

  • If using a solar energizer, regularly check the battery to ensure it is maintaining an adequate charge.

  • Keep heavy vegetation, overhanging branches, and debris clear from electrified wires.

  • Spray or trim vegetation seasonally to reduce vegetation load on fence wires.

  • Routinely (at least seasonally or annually) check the whole fenceline and fencing components for any needed repairs, including insulators that may need to be replaced or refixed to posts and wires that may need tightening.

Tool tip: Put together a toolkit with electric fencing supplies and tools to make maintaining and repairing your fence easier, especially for seasonal or annual checks. Include items such as a fence voltage tester or fault finder, energizer and/or fencing manuals, extra insulators, electrical tape, and any other supplies that may be useful.

Troubleshooting

If the electric fence is not maintaining sufficient voltage or not working properly, you will need to troubleshoot the electric fence to determine the cause. Here is a brief list to help troubleshoot common issues. This list is not meant to be exhaustive.

Check the battery/power source

If your fence has no power/voltage, your energizer battery or power source may be at fault. To test the battery or power source, try the following depending on the energizer type:

  • AC-outlet: The simplest way to check if the AC-outlet has power is to test another electrical device in the outlet and see if it works. If that device does not work, your outlet may be at fault. Consult an electrician. Do not use the fence tester to test an AC-outlet.

  • Solar: Some solar energizers have built in meters to indicate voltage. If not, use your voltage tester to measure your battery voltage on the solar energizer. Batteries may lose charge over time and may need to be replaced. If the solar panel has not received adequate sunlight to recharge the battery, the battery can also lose charge. The voltage should match the size of the energizer (i.e., a 12-volt battery should test at 12 volts).

  • Battery: If you are using a battery-operated DC energizer without a solar panel, you should check the DC battery for sufficient charge. Shorts in the fenceline can drain a battery, so check the fenceline for shorts before reconnecting the battery.

Check the energizer terminal

On the energizer, there is a positive terminal where the electrified hot wire connects into the energizer, along with the ground terminal where the ground wire connects. Testing the terminal can help determine if the energizer itself has sufficient energy:

  1. Turn off the power to the energizer.

  2. Disconnect the ground wire and the positive hot wire from the terminals and energizer.

  3. Turn the power/energizer back on.

  4. Using a voltage fence tester, check the voltage output from the positive terminal.

    • If the voltage meter reads 2,000 volts or less, the energizer may be faulty, and may need to be repaired or replaced.

    • If the voltage meter reads 2,000 volts or more, the energizer should be operating properly.

Check the grounding system

Sufficient grounding is a vital component to a properly working electric fence. Insufficient grounding can cause voltage on the fence to drop or give a lower output. To test the fence for sufficient grounding:

  1. With the fence electrified wire and ground wire hooked back up to the energizer, turn the energizer on.

  2. Test the voltage on the ground wire.

  • If the ground wire is over 400 volts (0.4 Joules), your ground rod is leaking too much voltage, and more ground rods will be needed. Add more ground rods or drive existing rods deeper into the soil. Test again and repeat, adding additional ground rods until the ground wire is below 400 volts.

  • If the ground wire is under 400 volts (0.3 Joules or less), the fence system is sufficiently grounded.

Check the hook-up wires

The electric fence hook-up wire is the line that connects your energizer’s positive terminal to the fence, along with a separate hook-up line wire that connects the energizer’s negative terminal to the grounding system. Both hook-up wires should be securely connected to the energizer and/or grounding system. To test:

  1. Turn off the energizer.

  2. Check that both hook-up wire connections are secure. Check that the positive terminal knob is secure, along with where the positive electrified wire connects to the fence. Check that the negative terminal knob is secure, along with where the ground hook-up wire connects to the grounding system.

  3. Turn the energizer on and retest the wires to check if this corrected the issue. If the issue is still not corrected, turn off the energizer.

  4. Disconnect the positive hook-up wire from the fence, leaving it connected to the positive terminal on the energizer. Leave the ground wire system connected. Test the positive hook-up wire with a voltage tester.

  • Less than 1,500 volts indicates the hook-up wire may be the issue. Ensure you are using a 20 KV insulated wire.