Phone line issue

Frank

Sasquatch
It all started last summer when we lost our FIOS box due to a nearby lightning strike. Anyway we have no home phone now and Verizon says it’s my issue. We don’t use the home phone for anything but faxing and auto extended warranty calls. The tech that replaced the FIOS box said it was likely the line entering my basement.

Does anyone have experience with this and know what kind of cabling is required for this? The one that’s there has to be over 50 years old so I think it’s just a phone line, just a heavier gauge, I think. Any insight appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
 

moose35

Well-Known Member
It all started last summer when we lost our FIOS box due to a nearby lightning strike. Anyway we have no home phone now and Verizon says it’s my issue. We don’t use the home phone for anything but faxing and auto extended warranty calls. The tech that replaced the FIOS box said it was likely the line entering my basement.

Does anyone have experience with this and know what kind of cabling is required for this? The one that’s there has to be over 50 years old so I think it’s just a phone line, just a heavier gauge, I think. Any insight appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I can come hook it up for you. Just let me know. I'll take a drive down there
 

Over the Bars

Well-Known Member
Just use cat 5e cable from the Verizon demarc outside. Cat 3 will work but you can get 5 anywhere. Do 1 straight line straight to you fax machine and avoid all the wiring that goes throughout the house the short could be anywhere including a room that you don't even have or use a phone in to begin with. Get a stick on phone jack and put 1 pair of wire the same pair as outside on the green and red post in the jack and then your good to go 👍
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
Cat3 cable is typically phone grade wire but Cat5 works.

Seems the guys above here have you covered it’s not that hard to run from the external box to inside and wire it to an RJ-11 jack.
 

Frank

Sasquatch
Just use cat 5e cable from the Verizon demarc outside. Cat 3 will work but you can get 5 anywhere. Do 1 straight line straight to you fax machine and avoid all the wiring that goes throughout the house the short could be anywhere including a room that you don't even have or use a phone in to begin with. Get a stick on phone jack and put 1 pair of wire the same pair as outside on the green and red post in the jack and then your good to go 👍
That’s what I’m doing now, fudging it. But I would rather fix it proper. I tested the lines in the house and they are fine once I disconnected them from the ceramic block just inside the house, so I’m pretty sure it’s the line going through the wall.
 

Frank

Sasquatch
I can come hook it up for you. Just let me know. I'll take a drive down there
Dude! That’s an amazing offer but I can’t have you traveling that far. Besides, I need to get my shit together and do things myself again. I’ll call you for help if I smell smoke. 😉
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
bypass ceramic thing - this isn't the 40s!

should be a red & green in and a red and green out - just hook them together with a wire nut.


it doesn't look like this does it?

s-l1600.jpg
 

Frank

Sasquatch
bypass ceramic thing - this isn't the 40s!

should be a red & green in and a red and green out - just hook them together with a wire nut.


it doesn't look like this does it?

s-l1600.jpg
No, it looks more like an old Ford starter solenoid. I disconnected the wires from the ceramic looking doohickey and there is zero resistance across the wires coming in. Going into the house from the doohickey is open. The Verizon tech that came to the house to fix the box mentioned that it was more than likely that wire entering the house and gave me tips on how to test. But of course it was a chemo week and it all kinda blurred together. I was trying to avoid adding a service contract for this.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
No, it looks more like an old Ford starter solenoid. I disconnected the wires from the ceramic looking doohickey and there is zero resistance across the wires coming in. Going into the house from the doohickey is open. The Verizon tech that came to the house to fix the box mentioned that it was more than likely that wire entering the house and gave me tips on how to test. But of course it was a chemo week and it all kinda blurred together. I was trying to avoid adding a service contract for this.

another trick would be to use the yellow and black wires instead.
Just move the post they are hooked to in the outside box.
 

Over the Bars

Well-Known Member
another trick would be to use the yellow and black wires instead.
Just move the post they are hooked to in the outside box.
From the sounds of its way older than colored pairs and it's just the thick black line that they use to use for their drop lines back in the day only they extended it into the house to another ceramic Block. Probably cracked and filled with water.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
From the sounds of its way older than colored pairs and it's just the thick black line that they use to use for their drop lines back in the day only they extended it into the house to another ceramic Block. Probably cracked and filled with water.

you would think they'd replace the wire when they first installed the NID (1990s?)
 

Over the Bars

Well-Known Member
you would think they'd replace the wire when they first installed the NID (1990s?)
🤣I have seen so many where they just went to the side of the house cut into the ancient drop at the side of the house and connected 1 side to the in of the new nid and 1 side to the out and Called it a day lol
 

pibbles

Well-Known Member
Mak
🤣I have seen so many where they just went to the side of the house cut into the ancient drop at the side of the house and connected 1 side to the in of the new nid and 1 side to the out and Called it a day lol
Be sure you unhook all your phones and fax machine from your landlines when you test wiring. It could be you have a faulty phone shorting it out. ...
 

JerseyPete

Well-Known Member
You said you have Fios? Did you try to unplug the ONT, wait 10 minutes, then plug it back in?
Ours was recently acting flaky where we would not get calls or a dial tone. I did that a few times and called them and they replaced it for free, no contract.
 

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
The ceramic thing may be a lightning arrestor which can fail shorted. a ground wire connection would confirm this.

They are made to protect the phone user from lighting or power cross.
Two spark gaps from each line to ground protect against lighting.
If there is power cross as a result of a power line falling on the telephone pair, then the heat from the continuous arc melts an insulator allowing a clip to short the lines together and ground and then the section of line outside can fuse open.
I know 30+ years worth of irrelevant technology
 
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Frank

Sasquatch
Well it wasn’t the line coming into the house. It turns out the a close friend read this thread and knows a guy, who sent a guy to my house this morning. He got me a dial tone to the mid point of the house so now I can go from there. The guy would have probably fixed everything himself but I had to excuse him because I have to go for chemo today. Thank you all so much for your input on this as there was some great info and ideas I got from it. Now I just need to move some of the shit I’ve accumulated over the past 30 years to get to the jacks. Lol. Now we are at the point where I can finish it so I’m happy!
 
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