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Testing, Repairing and Installing Home telephone Wiring - Repairing and Trouble shooting Inside Wire Yourself

Repairing inside wire yourself/ Trouble Shooting

Ensure that your inside wire is connected properly at the demarcation point. You can determine a lot about the trouble by listening to sounds on your telephone line:

Static: Wires could be wet or pierced. Wires could be loose at a connecting point. Carefully check all wires and connections.

Buzzing or Humming: A wire may have come into contact with metal, other than the connection terminals.  Is any exposed copper wire touching the box or other metal around the jack? Check that colors have been matched correctly.  Also, if you are using a cordless phone, you should try plugging in a wired telephone to ensure that the problem is not with your equipment.  Given the nature of a cordless phone, it is possible that buzzing or humming is coming from the phone itself and not your wiring.

Dead Air: Wires may be crossed.  Is there a contact between any exposed copper from wires of different colors (red crossed with green if 2-pair wire is being used; or blue crossed with white if 3-pair wire is being used)?

Cross Talk: Be sure you are not using a cordless phone, since cross talk is likely from the wireless nature of the phone.  If you have multiple phone lines in the home or are in a multi-unit dwelling, cross talk could be the result of damages or faulty wiring.

Check that all connections have been made properly. Are all the colored wires connected to the right terminals? Is the exposed copper wiring making a solid contact with the right terminals?

Check the wire. Is it broken or split?  Is it pierced by a staple, nail, screw or other object? If it is, replace the entire section of wire from end to end.

Check that the pins or connecting terminals inside the jacks are not touching each other and that a jack itself is not damaged.

How many phones do you have?  It may be possible that your phones are drawing too much energy and compromising the system as a whole.  Unplug a few phones a see if the problems persist. 

Modem problems?  If you are having problems connecting to the Internet, the problem may be with the modem.  Try disconnecting the computer and use a standard telephone and see if there are problems on the line.  If the line does not show a problem, the issue is likely with your computer equipment.  This is also true if you are using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) (or other high speed internet service) which may involve separate filters that could cause problems on the line, even though the line is working properly.

To isolate a trouble in your inside wire:

  • Locate your wire distribution device (connector block) at your demarcation point;
  • Disconnect one pair of wires from the distribution device;
  • Check to see if your service has been restored at other jack locations in your home;
  • Continue disconnecting wire pairs, one pair at a time, to determine which wire is the cause of the trouble;

Once you have isolated the problem circuit, it is suggested that you replace the entire section of wire that is defective or the jack if it is causing the problem.

If you are unable to repair or isolate an inside wire trouble yourself, repair service is available from your local telephone company or an independent contractor.  Be aware that charges may apply for these services if you do not subscribe to a monthly insurance plan through your local service provider.