Methods to test the operation of the pick-up coil without having to de-energize the power line serving as the power line carrier in order to perform testing on the pick-up coil. A sweep wave is introduced and parameters of the pick-up coil can be measured to detect the presence or absence of resonant behavior indicative of the health of the pick-up coil. Testing capabilities may be incorporated into a power line carrier receiver and use the connections between the pick-up coils and the receiver to perform the pick-up coil test. Several methods for evaluating the pick-up coil response to a series of test inputs of different frequencies are presented. These methods could be incorporated in a pick-up coil testing device that is independent of a receiver.