The electrical shorts are a common phenomenon in the electrical setups of most households. Depending on the intensity of an electric short, the intensity of damage may vary. Often, short circuits lead to fire hazards. Hence, it becomes mandatory to locate the exact source of short in an electric circuit.

The job of identifying an electrical short circuit can become very easy if you know the handling of a digital multi-meter. Normally, the electricians use a multi-meter to measure the electric current, voltage or resistance of a particular electric circuit. Based on the values, one can know a lot about the state of the concerned circuit.

Before you move ahead with the proceedings, make sure that the main breaker switch is turned off. You can use a voltage tester to confirm the same. Normal electricity supply could produce an irregularity in the scheme of things. The location of the main electrical breaker box or the electric fuse must be known to all the members of the home.

Remove the housing of the faulty segment that includes the faulty circuit. To undo the concerned segment from the access board, unscrew the nuts that are holding the housing in place. Make sure that the tip of the screwdriver complements the size of the screws.

Commence the actual task by testing the resistance of the concerned circuit. Observe the positive and the negative terminals of the concerned circuit. You can differentiate between the various terminals by applying color coding. The dark colors refer to phase (hot) wire of the circuit. The light colors and green color are used for neutral and ground wires respectively. You can measure resistance between these wires by connecting the probes to the concerned terminals.

There are a number of test points on the circuit board. You can use these points to determine the resistance values at different junctures of the electrical circuit.

Use the other test points of the housing to measure the resistance values one by one. Alternatively, you can use a utility knife to create check points on the length of the electrical wiring of the concerned circuit. Determine the resistance at the check points and locate the source of irregularity.

As soon as a small value of resistance (few ohms) is shown on the scale of the digital multi-meter, take it as the exact location of the electric short.

Scott Rodgers is a noted expert who has been authoring on electricians contents for a long time now. His exemplary guidance has given motivation to a host of workers, ranging from Hadley Electricians to South Portland Electricians.