Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1991 18:57:20 GMT From: Paul Wexelblat Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Old Phone Wiring Puzzle Reply-To: mailrus!ulowell!wex@uunet.uu.net Message-ID: Organization: Univ. of Lowell CS Dept. Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 477, Message 2 of 11 Lines: 31 > I bought the modular converter for the wall jack, and a modular to > four-wire cable to wire in to her phone. When I took apart the old > jack, there were only three wires -- green, red and yellow -- no black. > So I connected the green, red and yellow wires to the new surface-mount > outlet, and screwed everything down tightly. > [Moderator's Note: In the box you mounted on the wall try connecting the > yellow wire (to the phone) with the red wire. If that does not work > then try the yellow wire connected with the green wire. PAT] This is actually a followup to the Moderator's Note: appended to the original query. The Note is almost exactly what I would have said, In the stated case, the yellow was typically ground, ringing current was either between tip (green) and ground or ring (red) and ground. This was the usual case in olden days when there were many more party lines, in this way a two-party line could ring only in the desired place. {Asides; I'm surprised that you could make out the colors at all on wiring that old; and, if the wiring is really old, it is rubber insulated and most likely dried out, be careful if you decide to relocate it.} So much for folklore, the real reason I am posting this is to suggest that: once the correct placement of the yellow wire is determined, making the change at the service entrance will solve the problem for the whole house; may save a little trouble in the future. Wex