Line Splitters for Clamp Ammeters

Here's three possibilites, depending on what you want to measure...

Mike,

A while back (maybe months) you showed a "split wire" harness for using a clamp ammeter to test current draw from an electrical device. I had a male and female plug with separated wires between.

I saved it but now can't find it. Could you send me a link for this item so I can buy one. Thanks - Paul

Dear Paul,

I write a lot so there’s a few possibilities. Here’s the best Line Splitter I’ve ever owned, but it’s no longer in production. However, it’s still available in limited quantities at a somewhat inflated price.

The HT Line Splitter is the best (if you can find one)

This HT Line Splitter has 15-amp pigtail connectors, so you just need to add appropriate adapters for your 30- or 50-amp shore power plug to test leakage current.

Combined with a low-current clamp meter, this splitter allows you to find ground fault currents as low as 1 mA. That’s perfect for troubleshooting GFCI nuisance tripping on an RV. It’s not always in stock, so if you find one somewhere for sale, grab it! I paid around $20 each for two of these, but you can find one at an inflated price HERE.

Here’s one with embedded male/female connectors

I don’t like this style line splitter as much, but it’s the standard configuration.

Note that it doesn’t split out the EGC/Ground wire for separate GFCI ground leakage troubleshooting. And you have to be careful not to break a wall receptacle with the weight of the wire if you plug in directly, which is why I plug this type of splitter on the end of an extension cord. You can buy it on Amazon HERE.

Build your own line splitter for 30/50-amp testing

Here’s what I made for testing how much ground leakage current was happening in a 50-amp shore power RV. And yes, it also works to measure combined L1 and L2 currents up to the 30-amp limit of the circuit breaker.

Simply get a basic 30 to 50-amp dogbone adapter and carefully slit off the outer cord cover. Be careful not to nick the insulation of the inside conductors. Now you can access each of the three conductors to measure Line, Neutral or Ground currents with a clamp ammeter.

Let’s play (and measure) safe out there… Mike