I was digging a hole for a plant outside, and accidentally cut into electrical wiring that runs to my outdoors shed. Is there a safe way for a novice to fix this, or should I pass this on to a professional?
DO NOT TAPE IT you need to to shut the power off to that circuit before you attempt anything.Go to your breaker box and shut the fuse to that circuit off. Then because it is outside you now have a real problem as if the cable has cut through the inner cables they could be touching and then when the power is turned on it could cause damage or even start a fire. I would advice an electrician to do the work as it is outdoor and must be done perfect,as any slip ups here could invalidate your insurance if your house was to catch fire due to the cable being damaged then the insurance wont pay. But if you really insist on doing it your self then who am I to say no.So I would dig a square patch of around the cable then cut the cable were the damage has been caused.Buy your self a waterproof junction box (Must be submersible junction or it can be called IP68).Then put that into the ground and connect your cables into the junction and use a connector block to join the two cables together.Then job done.
Pass this onto a professional. If you do not seal the wire properly, this may cause you a multitude of problems. The proper way to repair this wire, is to use a splice kit that is designed for underground wiring. If you don't, you will almost assuredly have problems in the future. Working with electricity is dangerous, and it is never recommended that a novice attempt an electrical repair.
If you have a service entrance on a pole there has to be a service disconnect switch there at or below the meter. Turn this off, if the cable leading to your trailer is the one that was cut and it does not have enough extra wire to reconnect then new wire will need to be needed. Check the size wire used to connect the trailer and replace with same size. As far as connecting red to red,back to black , white to white, green to green. And an Electrician will cost you an arm 2 legs and anything else they can get away with. You might also check local codes as you may HAVE TO hire a Licensed Electrician. Good Luck.
Most likely you have 220 going to your shed, so you are going to want to be careful with this. first how big is the cut? if you just nicked the wire (cutting the insulation only), then go to the hardware store and buy some direct burial silicone cover for the wire and slip the nicked portion in the silicone to prevent any water from traveling through the wire and corroding the wire. If you cut the wire you are going to need to wire nut it back together. then put in silicone cover. the reason you cannot simply tape a cut wire is that the thicker the cable the lower the resistance through the wire, and the thinner the cable the greater the resistance. by reducing the cross section of the wire, the wire will heat up because of the resistance, and potentially catch the insulation on fire.
