Telephone problem with Caller display - ADSL filter related

[Rollerball]

A few days ago the Caller Display feature ceased working on my phone line - I tracked down the cause of the problem to the ADSL filter that's built into the faceplate on my master socket.

This is the type of faceplate that I have:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221287926906?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648

With the faulty faceplate in place the phone would no longer display the incoming phone number - I unplugged the faceplate and plugged in a separate ADSL Filter to the master socket and all was well - the incoming phone number was displaying again.

Today I got a replacement faceplate (exact same type as the original pictured above) - this worked ......... but then failed a few hours later! I've now unplugged the new faceplate and plugged back in my old separate ADSL Filter for now.

So, two possibilities:

a) The new faceplate was simply faulty, or:
b) There is something wrong with my phone line (or my router or phone?) which is damaging the filter in the faceplate. But what would cause that? And why did the separate filter work fine for a few days (and is still working now?).

All I have plugged into the phone line is my single cordless phone and my router (a BT Voyager 2110).

Should I perhaps get a different type of faceplate (maybe one that's more resilient?) - if so, any recommendations please? Naturally it must be compatible with my master socket as the one above is.

Thanks!

 

[kbdiy]

I suspect that if you had the approved BT ADSL socket you would not be experiencing the same issue.

 

[Rollerball]

Curiously enough, the one that went faulty was in fact installed by an OpenReach engineer (which is why I replaced it with the exact same type, assuming it was official).

Which faceplate would you recommend then?

Ta.

 

[AlanE]

Is there any other phone connections wired to back connections of the faceplate?

 

[Rollerball]

Is there any other phone connections wired to back connections of the faceplate?

Yes - one isn't used, the other has the cordless phone's base station plugged into it.

The separate filter is still working just fine, so either the replacement faceplate developed a fault or it's more sensitive to whatever (if anything) killed off both it and the original faceplate (but if something in/on the wiring killed them both off why is the separate filter working just fine, and why has the problem only just developed?).[/b]

 

[AlanE]

try removing all the extension wiring to the back of the faceplate.
Now simply plug adsl router directly into it and the base station into the front socket of the faceplate.

It is possible for faulty wiring/connections to interfere with the caller display information.

I assume the caller display is part of the cordless phone system which works ok when using the separate filter.

 

[Rollerball]

try removing all the extension wiring to the back of the faceplate.
Now simply plug adsl router directly into it and the base station into the front socket of the faceplate.

It is possible for faulty wiring/connections to interfere with the caller display information.

I assume the caller display is part of the cordless phone system which works ok when using the separate filter.

Thanks for your advice. I need to explain the issue a little more fully though as I don't feel that I did so in my OP :

A few days ago Caller Display stopped working (this is a BT 'service' and the caller's number is displayed on my cordless phone's display). I did some research and noted that dodgy ADSL filters can cause this issue. I found that removing the master socket's faceplate (with built-in ADSL filter that was installed by BT a few years ago) and attaching a separate ADSL filter the Caller Display returned and was working correctly once more. When I re-attached the old faceplate the problem returned. This lead me to conclude that the faceplate was at fault.

So I ordered a new faceplate, exact same type as before. This arrived yesterday - I fitted it and all was well, however after a few hours the old problem returned so I had to detach the new faceplate and go back to using the separate filter: the new faceplate had also developed a filter fault.

I have a new faceplate on the way, so it will be interesting to see if that too goes faulty - if it does then I'll report back here.

 

[AlanE]

I'll repeat previous question - Has original faceplate got some extension wiring going to terminals behind socket?

If it has then simple test of removing the front and replacing it with a plug in filter will not provide any proof the face plate is faulty.

If there are extensions wired to plate then these must be removed so that you have identical situation when comparing existing faceplate with stand alone filter.

 

[AlanE]

Sorry double post!

 

[Rollerball]

I'll repeat previous question - Has original faceplate got some extension wiring going to terminals behind socket?

Sorry, forgot to answer that - there are two wires connected to the removable part of the faceplate and these go to one extension socket (thinking about it, the other socket in my lounge is disconnected so only one extension is active).

If it has then simple test of removing the front and replacing it with a plug in filter will not provide any proof the face plate is faulty.

If there are extensions wired to plate then these must be removed so that you have identical situation when comparing existing faceplate with stand alone filter.

Understood, will do some more testing based on that. Thanks.

 

[AlanE]

Sorry, forgot to answer that - there are two wires connected to the removable part of the faceplate and these go to one extension socket (thinking about it, the other socket in my lounge is disconnected so only one extension is active).

Understood, will do some more testing based on that. Thanks.

I would honestly think there was more chance of a problem caused by those wires than the actual faceplate. Particularly the disconnected extension, could be wires shorting together if they have not been terminated properly.

 

[b13kal]

The only time a face plate can go faulty is when water gets inside

 

[bernardgreen]

The only time a face plate can go faulty is when water gets inside

Not the case with the cheap imported rubbish where the quality of components is very poor. One failure is the insulation of the wire used in the filter coils breaking down when ringing voltage is applied. This results in shorted turns making the filter in-effective.

 

[Spark123]

Any moisture whatsoever seems to make the cheap ones go wrong, the PCBs must have something that absorbs moisture in. I had to replace 3 of mine not so long ago but used a decent brand, got MK from screwfix and all is good now, open circuit with a 250v IR test.

 

[bernardgreen]

The minimum standard should be glass fibre board which does not absorb enough water to become conductive. Some of the cheap junk uses resin bonded paper ( RBP ) boards with the barest minimum resin, the edges absorb water like a sponge and this spreads though the board.

Good quality RBP board has it's uses but not where damp can occur.