Strange white/blue wire that’s disintegrating

[IanM18]

Morning,

Have you experts seen anything like this before?

It’s a white sheathed wire, with blue and white wires inside it.

Have been doing more renovations (UK) and found this running under the cellar, from one side to the other. I don’t have a clue where it comes from or where it goes without starting to rip up floorboards.

It’s very old, inside sheathes are soft and sticky and disintegrating , and the core is silver rather than copper.

Using my contact tester, it doesn’t appear to be live, but I know it’s multi meter to be 110% sure.

Anyone have any thoughts what it could possibly be? I originally thought some kind of telephone extension, but once I saw the insides, discounted that..

Google’s not bringing up very much…

 

[ericmark]

Temperature correcting cables are often blue and white, often one core seems silver the other copper but not always, I remember at work doing Cooper Heat stress relief some cable went missing, clearly some one did not know what it was and thought it was standard flex, are you in North Wales?

Cable colours can be anything, but green yellow is for Protective conductors and Cream is for Functional earthing conductors, so in the main we would not use Cream for normal wiring.

 

[bernardgreen]

Are sure it was originally white and is not brown that has faded to look white;

If definitely white then it might be speaker cable. But it could anything.

 

[IanM18]

Are sure it was originally white and is not brown that has faded to look white;

If definitely white then it might be speaker cable. But it could anything.

Yes, definitely white. Going to get an electrician out to check it out - I don’t like messing with electrical stuff.

 

[SUNRAY]

That looks suspiciously like PO/BT cable, a slightly heavier version used in exchanges.

If a previous occupant was a BT person it could have easily been used for anything; Speakers, door bell, thermostat etc. Some have even used it for mains but hopefully that is very rare.

By the look of that it's disconnected already, hopefully at both ends.

 

[ebee]

I`ll add that it`s not unknown for some folk to wire up fluorescent fittings run off bellwire. I even knew one chap who was determined to rewire a ring final circuit in TV Coax. And loadsa other "Old Chestnuts"

 

[IanM18]

That looks suspiciously like PO/BT cable, a slightly heavier version used in exchanges.

If a previous occupant was a BT person it could have easily been used for anything; Speakers, door bell, thermostat etc. Some have even used it for mains but hopefully that is very rare.

By the look of that it's disconnected already, hopefully at both ends.

Well, it’s technically disconnected, just in the middle and not the ends I’ve checked to see if it’s live, doesn’t appear to be, but have secured/insulated both both ends just to be doubly safe

 

[IanM18]

I`ll add that it`s not unknown for some folk to wire up fluorescent fittings run off bellwire. I even knew one chap who was determined to rewire a ring final circuit in TV Coax. And loadsa other "Old Chestnuts"

This house has been quirky to say the least, I need to stop DIY as I keep finding new pre owner crazy. I’m guessing it’s to be expected with an old Victorian house….

The weird thing is, looking under the cellar into the spider and web filled space under the suspended floor, the wire seems to be going from one corner of the lounge (where there is nothing) to up under the corner of the kitchen (where there is nothing) so it’s totally baffling me as to what it could be…

 

[SUNRAY]

This house has been quirky to say the least, I need to stop DIY as I keep finding new pre owner crazy. I’m guessing it’s to be expected with an old Victorian house….

The weird thing is, looking under the cellar into the spider and web filled space under the suspended floor, the wire seems to be going from one corner of the lounge (where there is nothing) to up under the corner of the kitchen (where there is nothing) so it’s totally baffling me as to what it could be…

sounds like:
1) doorbell
2) loudspeaker
to me

 

[SUNRAY]

sounds like:
1) doorbell
2) loudspeaker
to me

second thoughts, where's the boiler?

 

[IanM18]

second thoughts, where's the boiler?

Interesting! It used to be in the same area as where one end of the cable appears to be going, but it was moved a good while ago from what I can understand from the previous owners.

 

[SUNRAY]

Any evidence of an old thermostat in the other corner?

 

[IanM18]

Unfortunately not, it’s all been knocked out and redecorated, leaving the ends of the wire totally unreachable unless I start pulling up floors