Phone wiring

[Jena]

I had a second phone line installed. The phone wiring in my house is the blue/orange stuff.

I tried to switch two different jacks to the second line by removing the blue wires from the red/green wires and hooking the orange ones to the yellow/black wires. Nothing happened.

When I look at the gray box (in the dark last night), there are numerous runs of phone wire coming from it and going off to various places in the house. Is the problem that the particular run I want to have the second line on is not hooked up right in the gray box?

I will look in daylight today, but am just wondering.

Thanks
Jena

[mikell]

Start new fron the box. Usually only 2 wires are used . lots of luck

mikell

[Oregonsparkie]

ach color is a potential phone line. Blue and blue/white, orange and orange/white, etc..

The phone uses the red and green wire for the phone, the yellow and black are sometimes used for power for lighted dials and such.

Normally the blue pair are the first line and the orange pair is the second line.

[Runners]

Oh boy, that sounds like the typical add as you go mess...

If there are 8 conductors.. the order of stripes/colors to line are:

line 1 white/blue & blue/white
line 2 white/orange & orange/white
line 3 white/green & green/white
line 4 white/brown & brown/white

These are paired together, actually twisted together. Keep them together, adding extra twists actually helps cut out RF, crosstalk and noise. In this case, if you've got dialup internet, running cat-5 cable, keeping the twists intact, can actually impove connect speeds (cleaner signal).

If you're using QUAD cable (no twists, red, green, black, yellow)...

line 1 Green & Red
line 2 Yellow & Black

All single line phones will use the 2 center conductors on the plugs / line cords. If you have a 4 conductor cord, or a 4 conductor plug, the 2 center most pins/conductors will be line 1, the conductors on either side of the center two will be line 2. (USOC wiring is standard for POTS voice service)

On a 4 position plug, pins 2&3 are line 1, pins 1&4 are line 2.
On a 6 position plug, pins 3&4 are line 1, pins 2&5 are line 2.
On a 8 position plug, pins 4&5 are line 1, pins 3&6 -OR- 7&8 are line 2.

Computer (ethernet - 568B or 568A) is a little different, but, will work for a single line phone AND ethernet at the same time. The computer uses pins 1&2, 3&6 - while the single line phone uses pins 4&5. There are splitters for this - but you need to wire for it.

Keep in mind, the twists are a GOOD thing, they really do cut down on crosstalk and RF bleeding into the circuit.

( telecommunications... it's in your blood, or you're confused by it. )