Due to the lack of effective analysis of the short-circuit impedance curve in the main transformer winding deformation detection, the detection results are poor. Therefore, a method for developing a main transformer winding deformation detector based on swept frequency impedance method is proposed. Firstly, by combining power electronics and pulse power technology, a novel nanosecond pulse generator capable of outputting high voltage and stable repetition rate is proposed. Optoelectronic signals are selected as transmission signals to improve response speed and anti-interference ability, and the hardware circuit of the instrument is designed and optimized; Then, the frequency sweep impedance method is used to obtain and analyze the frequency sweep impedance curve and short-circuit impedance value of the transformer, reducing the detection error. The winding deformation detection is completed by comparing the changes before and after the transformer has a short-circuit fault. The results show that the standard deviation of the sweep impedance value of the main transformer winding deformation detector developed using this method is small and the detection accuracy is high.