That $20 outlet tester nearly burned my house down last week

I was swapping out old outlets in my basement last Tuesday and thought I'd be smart using this cheap tester I grabbed off Amazon. Popped it in, it said everything was fine, so I hooked up the new outlet and flipped the breaker. Smelled something weird after a few minutes and found the wires behind the outlet were literally starting to melt. Turns out that tester didn't catch a reversed neutral on the old wiring. Had to call an electrician friend to come re-do the whole circuit, cost me $150 and a full afternoon. Just a heads up, those basic testers can miss big problems, get a better one or hire someone if you're not sure. Has anyone else had a close call with a cheap tool like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana76917d ago

My buddy actually had almost the same thing happen with one of those cheap testers last month. He was helping his dad rewire a garage and the tester kept saying everything was good, but then the GFCI outlet wouldn't reset at all. An electrician later told them those basic testers can't always detect a bootleg ground or a shared neutral situation, which is apparently pretty common in older houses. That melted wire story is scary though, makes me think twice about trusting any cheap tool with wiring. Did the electrician say what exactly was wrong with your circuit?

jessem5916d agoMost Upvoted

Whoa wait, "couldn't detect a bootleg ground or a shared neutral"? That's wild man. I thought those little plug-in testers were basically foolproof for the basic stuff. I mean, I've used one on every outlet in my place and just figured three lights means good to go. So basically you could be getting a "pass" from the tool while your wiring is secretly a fire hazard? That's scary. Makes me wonder how many people have wired stuff up, saw the green light, and thought they were golden. I'm definitely gonna be a lot more paranoid about that now.

olivia_lopez9816d ago

Jumping in to say yeah, those little testers are basically a lie in a plastic box for half the stuff you really need to check. They're great for finding a dead outlet or a swapped hot and neutral, but bootleg grounds and shared neutrals? They just shrug and give you the green light like everything's fine. I swear, they should come with a warning label that says "this is for entertainment purposes only, not actual safety." It's honestly a bit terrifying how many DIYers trust them as gospel. Your mileage may vary, but I'd rather spend the extra 20 bucks on a multimeter and watch a few YouTube videos than rely on one of those things again. Paranoia is probably the smartest tool in your box after hearing stories like that one.