Step 5 - Locate & Resolve the 2-Wire Problem

Congratulations! You have isolated a field issue using a clamp meter to a concentrated area. There are a few common culprits of a high current draw:

If you suspect a splice issue:

Visually this is the most obvious, as you are looking for exposed wires, water in splices, or improper splices (non-3M-DBRY/6). Confirm this by reading the 2-Wire path before and after the splice. 

Note: A bad splice can lead to degradation of a decoder & wire path. Re-using splices, leaving splices partially assembled, or using improper slice kits can cause irreversible damage to your 2-Wire system. 

If you suspect an issue with the 2-Wire path:

Narrow down a suspected area to two valve boxes (from your high number (mA) to a "benchmark" value).

To verify the wire is corrupted, run spare wire above ground between the two valve boxes. Record the value at each valve box to determine if the high number (mA) value has decreased.

If you suspect a bad decoder:

Take the measurement of the decoder's standby values via the decoder's blue wires.

A "bad" decoder would show a different standby (mA) value at least four times higher than its expected benchmark.

If you suspect a compromised SP-100:

Use the same method as above. If you measure any current greater than 0.0mA, the SP-100 is compromised & should be removed.

To complete troubleshooting return to: 2-Wire Troubleshooting - A Comprehensive Guide