Am I the only one who uses a toner instead of a voltage tester for finding breaks?

I was on a job last week in an old house where the lights kept flickering. I spent 20 minutes poking around with my voltage tester and got nowhere. Then I grabbed my toner and traced the whole circuit in 5 minutes flat. That toner found a loose splice behind a wall that the tester never would have picked up. Anyone else find toners way more useful for troubleshooting than people give them credit for?

3 comments

3 Comments

marydavis1mo ago

Different tools for different jobs, a voltage tester still has its place for safety checks before you start poking around.

karenb971mo ago

Grabbed a toner last month to find a dead outlet in my living room. Voltage tester just showed nothing, toner led me straight to a chewed wire behind the baseboard. Makes you wonder why we all reach for the tester first, like the fanciest tool is always the right one. Same thing with people throwing smart speakers at a noisy room instead of just moving the furniture.

aaron_perry1mo ago

Ha, @karenb97 you nailed it! We always grab the flashiest tool first because it feels more "professional." But sometimes the cheap old toner is the real hero. Smart speakers are just another shiny distraction when a simple fix works way better.