Electric netting troubleshooting guide
Weak shock or animals getting out? Follow these checks in order to find the problem and fix it.
reads on the netting
Before you start
Most problems come down to one of three things: the energizer, the ground, or something touching the netting. You’ll need two tools to tell which.
Digital fence tester
Reads the high-voltage pulses on your fence. A household multimeter can’t measure these accurately.
Sold by Starkline: Six Light Electric Fence Tester
Digital multimeter
Only needed for solar energizers. Set to 20V DC to test the 12V battery.
Available at any hardware store.
Solar energizer?
Make sure the battery is charged first. Charge it on AC power for at least 12 hours, or leave the energizer switched off in direct sun for at least 2 days.
Plug-in energizer?
Make sure it has power first. Test the outlet with another device, and check the power adapter is pushed in fully at both the outlet and the energizer.
The Zero Touch rule
If one live strand touches grass, soil, metal or a wooden stake, power drains out of the whole net like water from an open faucet. One touch anywhere can drop the entire fence to near zero.
How an electric net works
An animal only feels a shock when the pulse can travel all the way around a loop and back to the energizer. A break anywhere in that loop means a weak shock, or none.
- Energizer sends a pulse about once a second.
- Live strands carry the pulse along the net.
- Animal touches a live strand while standing on the ground.
- Through the soil the pulse travels back toward the ground rod.
- Ground rod returns it to the energizer, completing the loop.
If the soil is dry, frozen or snow-covered, or the ground rod is too shallow, step 4 fails. The tester can still show high voltage while the animal feels very little. That’s why grounding is the most common cause of weak shock.
Know your netting type
| Traditional netting | Positive/negative netting | |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom strand | Black. Never live. | Green. Never live; it’s the ground for the whole fence. |
| How the shock returns | Through the soil to the ground rod | Through the green strand when an animal touches it and a live strand together, as well as through the soil |
| Works best in | Moist soil | Dry, sandy, rocky, frozen or snow-covered ground |
| Joining two nets | Clip the live strands together | Clip top to top and bottom to bottom |
| Energizer ground lead | To the ground rod | To the ground rod and the net’s bottom clip only |
Find the problem in 4 checks
Work in this order. Each check rules out one part of the system, so you don’t chase the wrong problem.
Check the energizer
- Make sure it’s big enough: at least 0.25 joule of output per 164-foot roll of netting. Two rolls need 0.5 J, three need 0.75 J.
- Switch the energizer off and unclip its lead from the netting.
- Switch it back on. Put the tester’s ground probe on the energizer’s ground (−) terminal and touch the tester to the fence (+) terminal.
- Note the highest reading.
4,000 V or more
The energizer is working. Switch it off, clip it back onto the netting and go to Check 2.
Under 4,000 V
Starkline solar energizer, red light: do the solar battery test.
Starkline solar energizer, green or blue light: contact Starkline support.
Plug-in energizer: do Checks 2 and 3, then contact support if it’s still low.
Another brand: see its manual or contact its maker.
Check the ground
Poor grounding is the most common cause of weak shock on electric netting. The ground rod must reach moist soil.
- Use a galvanized rod at least 36 inches long, driven at least 32 inches deep, with the top showing for the clamp.
- Set it in moist soil, within 5 feet of the netting and away from buried pipes and cables.
- Use enough rod: one rod per 164-foot roll, or 3 feet of rod per joule of energizer output, whichever is more.
- Check the connection between the rod and the energizer. Tighten loose clamps and replace rusty wire.
Dry or sandy soil? Pour a 5-gallon bucket of water around the base of the ground rod. In very dry areas, add a second rod or switch to positive/negative netting.
Adding a ground rod: Run one continuous heavy-duty ground wire from the energizer to rod 1, then on to rod 2, at least 5 feet away. Clamp every rod tightly.
Check the netting
- Walk the whole line. Make sure the first live strand above the bottom strand isn’t touching weeds, tall grass or soil.
- Move the netting away from metal posts, wire fences, wooden stakes and buildings. Keep at least 2 inches of clearance.
- Pull each corner post tight sideways before you step it into the ground. Then tie it off with a guy-line and stake at about a 45° angle so the net stays upright.
- Look for broken or burnt strands and fix them with a repair clip. Knots weaken the shock past that point.
- At night, listen for clicking and look for small sparks. They mark exactly where power is leaking.
Running more than one roll?
- Find the stainless-steel clips at the end posts where two rolls meet.
- Clip them together tightly, metal to metal. Never clip onto the plastic posts, the bottom strand or rubber post caps.
- Rub off any dirt or tarnish with fine steel wool.
Re-test the netting
Clip the energizer back on and switch it on. Test a live strand at the far end of the fence, with the tester’s ground probe pushed into the soil.
3,000 V or more
Your fence is working.
Still under 3,000 V
Unclip the rolls from each other and test each one on its own. The roll that reads low has the problem. If they all read low, contact Starkline support.
Symptom finder
Pick a topic or type what you’re seeing to jump straight to the likely fix.
Nothing matches that. Try another word, or contact support.
Solar energizer battery test
Solar energizers onlyDo this test only if your energizer read under 4,000 V in Check 1. Plug-in energizers don’t need it.
1. Rest the battery
Switch the energizer off, unclip the battery and leave it for 10–15 minutes. This clears the surface charge so the reading is accurate.
2. Measure the voltage
Set the multimeter to 20V DC. Touch red to the battery’s positive (+) terminal and black to the negative (−).
3. Load test
Keep the probes on. Reconnect the energizer and switch it on, then watch the reading as it pulses.
Resting reading
| Reading | Battery condition | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 12.6 V or more | Fully charged | Go to the load test. |
| 12.2–12.5 V | About 50–75% | Charge it fully and test again. |
| 10.5–12.1 V | Discharged Fence output drops a lot. | Charge it fully and test again. |
| Under 10.5 V | Deeply discharged Likely permanent damage. | Replace the battery. |
Load test result
Drops below 12.0 V and keeps falling with each pulse
The battery has damaged cells. Replace it.
Keep it charged: Face the panel south with nothing shading it, and wipe off dust and snow. Short winter days can drain a battery faster than the panel refills it.
Problems by season
The same fence can work perfectly in May and struggle in August or January.
| Condition | What goes wrong | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Spring growth | Grass grows into the bottom strands within days. | Mow a strip under the net before setup and weekly after. |
| Rain and dew | Wet grass touching live strands drains more power. | Keep the line trimmed. Morning readings often recover as it dries. |
| Drought | Dry soil can’t carry the shock back to the ground rod. | Water the rod, add rods, or switch to positive/negative netting. |
| Frozen ground | Frozen soil grounds poorly, and posts are hard to set. | Use positive/negative netting. Drive ground rods before the freeze. |
| Snow | Snow insulates animals from the ground and can bury lower strands. | Use positive/negative netting and knock snow off the strands. |
| Ice | Ice weighs the net down into the ground. | Knock ice off and re-tighten the corners after a thaw. |
| Storms | Lightning can travel down the fence and damage the energizer. | Unplug the energizer during storms or add a lightning diverter. |
When the fence works but animals don’t respect it
If your tester reads 3,000 V or more and animals still push through, the cause is usually training, grounding, or the fence being off at the wrong time.
Train new animals first
Keep them in a small netted pen with good voltage for a few days so they learn to respect it.
Never leave it switched off
Unpowered netting looks like a toy. Goats, sheep and deer can get tangled in it.
Check the ground, not just the voltage
A high reading with a poor ground still gives a weak shock. Revisit Check 2.
Dry hooves and thick coats
On dry ground, animals feel less. Positive/negative netting fixes this.
Predators digging under
Stake the bottom strand down between every post with the bottom stakes.
Horned goats and sheep
They’re more likely to get caught. Check on them often, especially in the first few days.
Stay safe
- Switch off the energizer before touching, fixing or moving the netting.
- Never test a fence with your hand. Use a fence tester.
- Run only one energizer on a fence.
- Keep children away and post the warning sign where people walk by.
- Never use netting with barbed wire or near dry hay or straw.
Still having trouble?
Contact Starkline customer support. To help us fix it quickly, include:
- Your order number
- Your energizer brand and model
- Your reading at the energizer and on the netting
- What you’ve already tried