Telephone Wiring

Dennisfly · May 15, 2009

I'm finishing my basement and I wired in 3 new circuits. The existing circuits use only the red and green wire. I ran wire to each of the new outlet boxes and then back to the telephone junction box. I left the wires unattached at each new box and then ganged them all together, red and green separately at the main junction box, and attached them to the appropriate red and green terminals. Now I have no dial tone at the pre-existing circuits. The test jack, where it enters the house, has a dial tone. What did I do wrong and how do I fix it?

kennyd · May 15, 2009

1. Is it possible the red and green in one of your box's is shorted together( you said you left them unconnected)?

2. What kind on staples(if any) did you use to run the wires? Possibly one of the wires has a short in it...You can verify with a ohm-meter after disconnecting them at the NID (the main box).

PS...I have 25 years experience in the telecom industry

Dennisfly · May 16, 2009

Kenny,

Thanks for the help.

I removed the red and green gangs from the screw terminals and ohmed them against each other. There is no continuity and therefore, no shorts. Correct?

Returning everything to its original configuration, I now have a dial tone on the main floor again.

The attachment below shows the main box as it is now, without my wires connected. The blue sheathed wires are the originals that go to the main floor. They have different color wires and used dark blue to red and light blue to green.

The three large white sheathed wires are my new basement runs (now disconnected). The lower, slightly smaller diameter white wire is for an alarm that was installed when the house was built. It has a black, white, red, and green wire. It is wired Black to dark blue (red) white to light blue (green) and red and green to the appropriate color screw terminal.

Now I hope your not as confused as I am!

Is there a maximum number of circuits or feet of wire that I'm exceeding?

Any thoughts on where I go from here?

Inspector507 · May 16, 2009

The small white wire for your alarm uses all 4 wires because they have a "Line Seizure Module" in their control panel. Red and Green feed telephone to the alarm panel and then back on the white and black wires. They want first dibs on the phone line in case of alarm.
If you connect a phone to the green and red terminals, you just might interfere with the alarm calling out in an emergency. It's possible that when you loosened up the red or green terminal their red or green wire slipped out from under the terminal. That would leave all the other "circuits" in the house without a dial tone.

You want to connect your new wires (red and green) with the blue ones connected to their white and black wires.

Tim Stuart · May 16, 2009

What color are the wires that you terminated to get the phone working on the main floor?

kennyd · May 16, 2009

Dennis, you want to do as the Inspector says...Your new Red/Green wires should connect to where the White/Blue pair of wires connects. UNLESS YOU ARE NO LONGER USING YOUR ALARM.

Green=White/Blue
Red=Blue/White

But polarity is not super important anymore...years ago if if was reversed you could not dial out-but no more.

Is there a maximum number of circuits or feet of wire that I'm exceeding?

Not really. If you are in a heavily populated city with powerful radio stations then they can act as antenna's and pick up noise, but you should be OK.

Now I hope your not as confused as I am!

Not confused at all...

Dennisfly · May 17, 2009

From Inspector507, "The small white wire for your alarm uses all 4 wires because they have a "Line Seizure Module" in their control panel. Red and Green feed telephone to the alarm panel and then back on the white and black wires. They want first dibs on the phone line in case of alarm. If you connect a phone to the green and red terminals, you just might interfere with the alarm calling out in an emergency."

Inspector, I think you've hit on it. I need to intercept the signal as it comes out of the alarm.

From Kennyd, "Dennis, you want to do as the Inspector says...Your new Red/Green wires should connect to where the White/Blue pair of wires connects. UNLESS YOU ARE NO LONGER USING YOUR ALARM.

Green=White/Blue
Red=Blue/White"

You're right Kenny. Thanks for the help.

Tim - They were red and green but apparently just connected to the wrong place

Now, I'll go change the connections and see waht happens