secondary phone points.

has · 14 Dec 2005

Hi,
i have a problem with 8 secondary phone points. The incoming line rings once then no sound. Its not a bt problem as it works ok from the master point. Has been fine for about 8 months, anyone got any ideas what it could be? have checked each point and doesn,t seem to be any cable problems next step is to disconnect each point and check wiring which is a pain as I don't know the order in which they are wired.

Lectrician · 14 Dec 2005

What kit have you got plugged in?

How many phones etc?

Spark123 · 14 Dec 2005

How many telephones have you got plugged in?

Great minds think alike

has · 14 Dec 2005

theres 4 different phones pugged in but they have all worked ok till now. have tried with just one plugged in was ok the first time i rang the number then problem returned. Its a customers house not mine that I wired a while ago.

Spark123 · 14 Dec 2005

Have you tried it with just another one phone plugged in?

has · 14 Dec 2005

Customer was a bit of a pain and kept messing with phones while i was there. its possible more than one was plugged in. if that was the problem what would cause it? are you suggesting its a common fault with too many phones plugged in and if so why has it just started happening. By the way I appreciate the help
Thanks.

andy · 14 Dec 2005

has said:
Customer was a bit of a pain and kept messing with phones while i was there. its possible more than one was plugged in. if that was the problem what would cause it? are you suggesting its a common fault with too many phones plugged in and if so why has it just started happening. By the way I appreciate the help
Thanks.

you can have a max of 4 REN to a phone line. generally, each phone has a REN of 1 (allowing 4 phones) but most phones will have their REN printed at some point.

or it could be a faulty cable or master socket. the ring signal is seperated from the line at the master socket. or it could be a faulty cable on the ring core (pin3). phones will work without pin3 but they wont ring.

Spark123 · 14 Dec 2005

There are a number of causes of this type of fault, firstly a normal BT line normally has a REN of 4, which basically means four REN1 phones can be plugged in. If the REN limit is exceeded this can cause problem. A faulty phone on the system can also cause this type of fault.
If it is not a REN or faulty phone problem, the next step is to see if it is a BT line fault or internal to the premises. Does the system have a master socket with the detatchable face which allows you to isolate the master socket from the other sockets? If so, what happens when you try a known good phone into this point with slave sockets isolated?

Lectrician · 14 Dec 2005

Bear in mind fax machines can have a ren greater than 1, as can PBX's etc.

Look for a dodgy phone that is pulling the line ring down.

has · 14 Dec 2005

Spark123 said:
Does the system have a master socket with the detatchable face which allows you to isolate the master socket from the other sockets? If so, what happens when you try a known good phone into this point with slave sockets isolated?

yes, works fine with all slaves disconnected. I guess a faulty phone is probably the best bet as the system has been working fine and all sockets were connected ok.

Spark123 · 14 Dec 2005

Next thing i'd try is to unplug all phones, reconnect the slave sockets and plug in the one known working phone in turn into each socket to check all secondary sockets. If these are fine you are almost definately looking at a phone/fax/answer machine dragging the line down, plug them all back in, in turn, testing the line between plugging in each item.

has · 14 Dec 2005

Spark123 said:
Next thing i'd try is to unplug all phones, reconnect the slave sockets and plug in the one known working phone in turn into each socket to check all secondary sockets. If these are fine you are almost definately looking at a phone/fax/answer machine dragging the line down, plug them all back in, in turn, testing the line between plugging in each item.

thanks for your help will try tomorrow and let you know.

offroader · 15 Dec 2005

I had a simular problem when BG fitted our CH, the phones would ring once then nothing, the same happened to the caller, only ring once, then nothing, apart from that, they worked.

I've now run in new cabling, under the boards rather than the carpets, hehe.

JACKC · 15 Dec 2005

has he got Sky conneceted, this caused same prob on mine. Disconnected the boxes and all ok. Sky peeps not happy, sod em they cost me enough each month anyway

has · 15 Dec 2005

Result,they had and extension built in garden and had run an extension point into its office. When i disconnected this line problem solved. It appears builder had buried the cable in gravel and cable damaged somewhere.
many thanks for all your help.

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secondary phone points.

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