8-Plug Pro Audio Cable Tester

I just purchased the cable tester PCT-10 and note that at the first psition 1 the ground and lower lights illuminate without anything plugged in, is this correct?

We have checked a video presentation of the unit and it showed that there should be no lights on when there are no cables to be tested. The only time it should light up is when you got good cables plugged in

Testing XLR cable, pin one bottom lights green top row pin 1,2. and 3 light yellow. Do I have a short or open?

Based on how the Pyle PCT10 cable tester works, you have a short.

When testing a healthy, normal XLR cable, turning the dial to Pin 1 should only light up the LED for Pin 1 on both rows.

Because selecting Pin 1 causes Pins 1, 2, and 3 to all light up at the same time on the top row, it means the electrical signal is bleeding across all three pins inside the cable or the connector housing.

What to check:

Unsolder or unscrew the boot of the XLR connectors. Check to see if any stray copper wire strands are physically touching the other pins, or if the internal solder points have melted together.