Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention provide for determining the location of a short circuit in a branched wiring system. The distance from the short circuit to an impedance measurement point is determined based on a measured impedance of the branched wiring system. The branch in which the short circuit is located is then determined by identifying a calculated high-frequency impedance phase spectrum for the branched wiring system with one of the branches short-circuited that correlates to a measured high-frequency impedance phase spectrum for the branched wiring system. The measured high-frequency impedance phase spectrum is measured from the impedance measurement point.