A fault indicator for indicating the occurrence of a fault in an electrical conductor has a housing, a high capacity battery, a plurality of emitting diodes (LEDs) visible from the exterior of the fault indicator upon the occurrence of a fault, and electronic circuitry for sensing a fault, for actuating the LEDs to indicate a fault and to provide a timed reset of the LEDs to a non-fault indicating condition a predetermined time after the fault has occurred. The electronic circuitry, including a microprocessor that is normally in a sleep mode, conserves energy by drawing insubstantial current from a high capacity battery during non-fault conditions. Preferably, the microprocessor controls activation of the fault indicating LEDs with pulse width modulated (PWM) signals during defined time intervals for improved visibility. Visibility is further improved where the PWM signals for the indicator LEDs are interleaved in time to provide a highly distinctive flicker effect. Alternately, if the PWM signal for one LED quickly follows the PWM signal for the other LED, the LED indicators provide a highly distinctive strobe effect.