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Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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Posted by amav31 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 30, 09 at 8:15
| I had an old phone jack plate(not flush against the wall) in my kitchen that was removed in order to mount a wall cabinet.
But the plate was secured to the wall with wing-nuts and had phone wires(2 sets of red,black,blue,yellow)connected to it directly. My handyman who mounted the cabinet, cut the wires from the plate, stripped the wires to expose the copper inside,paired the colored wires to each other but instead of electric tape (which I did not have at home and he did not have in his tool box) he used a band aid to tape them but made sure the wires were not touching each other.He put them back in the hole in the wall. Mounted the cabinet.
But now I noticed my Verizon DSL has become slow and my vonage phone line which works off my DSL internet has a problem. The phone line is not clear with voice breaking up each time i make a call.
My handyman will be coming back to fix this. But apart from retaping the wires with electric tape instead of the band-aid, I cannot think of any other solutions.
What else needs to be done.? Any advise much appreciated.
Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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| The bandaid or tape is not the problem. The problem is "twisting the wires together" is not sufficient. Go down to your local home center and get the appropriate splies. Cut off the bare ends (these splices bite through the insulation) and use those. "Handymen" should not be allowed near wiring. |
RE: Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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| As long as the wires are tightly twisted together and completely covered by the band-aid, I can't see how the problems you describe would result. On the other hand, a band-aid wouldn't be a very good long term solution...the adhesive will break down in relatively short order. If this junction is being made in an inaccessible location, I would tend to solder the connections and cover them with heat-shrink tubing. If you want something less permanent, there are small wire nuts and automotive connectors that can be used for this type of junction. |
RE: Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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| Thanks for the replies. The main problem with the jack plate was it was protruding,
so I went and bought a flush jack plate.If I attach the wires back to the plate everything should work right? I see 4 terminals(each for red,blue,yellow and black)and a small u shaped clip at the end of the wire. Is this clip to hold the wire that I should wound around it.? How do I attach the wires coming from the walls around the terminals on the plate. ? Thanks a bunch. |
RE: Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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| Yes, everything should work "as before" if you are just substituting a flush mount jack for a surface mount model. Most of these jacks have 4 screws, one for each color of wire. Connecting like-colors, wrap the bare portion of the wires around the screws in the same direction as the screw tightens. The clips that you mention are usually the ends of the wires that go to the "outlet", and the "u" clip is just a nicer way of keeping the wire in place underneath the screw. In this case, each screw terminal will have three wires (of a single color), two bare, and one with a "u" clip. |
RE: Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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| Thanks Kurto for the detailed explanation.I understand now. |
RE: Securing wires after old phone jack removal
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| I should point out, that "tightly twisted" is not a permanent solution for phone wiring any more than it is for power. It just won't stay. You need something that's putting pressure on the connection. That's either being tightened under a screw or using some sort of fastener (junction block, good-n-plenty, appropriately sized wire nut) . |
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