Telephone rings, then silence but connection still there

[DIYJEE]

I am hoping someone out there can help me with my telephone problem. When someone phones, at both ends there is a very slight ring and then nothing. However the connection is still there but most people don't realise that and assume they have lost the connection. I have tested the line in the master socket and line is OK. I have checked all wiring is secure in the NTE5 master socket and all is secure. The master socket is in a cupboard and it could have been knocked. Could the capacitor have been damaged. Any ideas of what the problem might be. I was going to purchase a new NTE5 master socket but thought I would check with everyone first.

 

[TicklyT]

Usually known as 'Ring Trip' - It is often caused by the higher voltage AC ringing current applied to a line breaking down the insulation of a cable that's suffered water damage or maybe a component inside a telephone that's reached the end of it's useful life.

It may be something on your side of the NTE, or something on the network supplier's side. If you remove the front plate from the NTE and connect a known good telephone directly to the socket inside, you are connecting directly to the end of the supplier's wiring. If the problem is apparent there, report t to your service provider.

If the problem is on your internal wiring, it's time to start looking for damaged cable sheaths, any wiring that might have been trapped or damaged (cables hidden under carpets, rodent damage etc. etc.) or anything that could have got wet.

Water can travel a surprising distance (even uphill sometimes) if it gets into a cable sheath. Parts that have got wet, then dried out could still be a prolem, with conductive salts deposited on components.

I once spent days investigating a fault where everyone was blaming a software bug. A printer would stop working when the user printed a page. The actual fault turned out to be a trapped cable - the user rolled his chair back from his desk to pick up the printed sheets, and the chair casters ran over the printer cable he had tucked under the carpet to keep it out of the way

 

[simonpolly]

Like tricky has said it is probably a rectified loop,it will ring once then the ringing voltage goes to earth,9 times out of ten the fault will be internal,it could be the nte,adsl filter,internal wiring or a faulty phone.Disconnect everything and ring B.T and ask for a line test.

 

[DIYJEE]

Like tricky has said it is probably a rectified loop,it will ring once then the ringing voltage goes to earth,9 times out of ten the fault will be internal,it could be the nte,adsl filter,internal wiring or a faulty phone.Disconnect everything and ring B.T and ask for a line test.

Thank you for your help. A line test has been done and line is OK. I have tried to eliminate everything. It all started when the snow came. I wonder if that is significant.

 

[Steve]

BT have done a line test for me in the past and there was a fault. The line test came back ok. It does not detect all faults.

 

[Europlex]

line breaking down the insulation of a cable that's suffered water damage

I'd stake money there is a damaged cable outside somewhere.

 

[simonpolly]

It could be a intermittent fault in the network but from my experience rectified loops are 9 times out of 10 in the house or very near,if you get a rectified loop in the U.G network its is normally accompanied with some other fault conditions namely battery or earth faults where a joint gets wet and it picks up voltage and earth from another line.Just a thought are you over head fed or U.G ?,if u.g have a look behind the grey capping where the U.G cable comes up the outside of your house,this is where the U.G cable is crimped to the internal,you can quite often get a rectified loop there due to the crimps getting wet and corroding and going to earth

 

[punchy]

line breaking down the insulation of a cable that's suffered water damage

I'd stake money there is a damaged cable outside somewhere.

I would agree with above. Is it possible your overhead line goes through trees? The BT test only tests at a low frequency for the main socket it does not see the ringtrip fault. I would get a neighbours phone, disconnect all of yours including sky and all filters. Use your neighbours to test. Use 17070 option 1 for a test ring its free.

 

[simonpolly]

line breaking down the insulation of a cable that's suffered water damage

I'd stake money there is a damaged cable outside somewhere.

I would agree with above. Is it possible your overhead line goes through trees? The BT test only tests at a low frequency for the main socket it does not see the ringtrip fault. I would get a neighbours phone, disconnect all of yours including sky and all filters. Use your neighbours to test. Use 17070 option 1 for a test ring its free.

Yes it does see a rectified loop which causes ring trip problems,quite often the line test robot will pick up these types of fault and issue a live fault without the end user even being aware of a problem.It could be a dropwire problem like has been said tree rub can cause ring trips/disconnection fault/loops/earth faults

 

[DIYJEE]

line breaking down the insulation of a cable that's suffered water damage

I'd stake money there is a damaged cable outside somewhere.

I would agree with above. Is it possible your overhead line goes through trees? The BT test only tests at a low frequency for the main socket it does not see the ringtrip fault. I would get a neighbours phone, disconnect all of yours including sky and all filters. Use your neighbours to test. Use 17070 option 1 for a test ring its free.

Our overhead line does go through trees. I will give the neighbour's phone a test.

I do appreciate all the posts. I am on a steep learning curve here and I am convinced I am going to solve this!

 

[DIYJEE]

It could be a intermittent fault in the network but from my experience rectified loops are 9 times out of 10 in the house or very near,if you get a rectified loop in the U.G network its is normally accompanied with some other fault conditions namely battery or earth faults where a joint gets wet and it picks up voltage and earth from another line.Just a thought are you over head fed or U.G ?,if u.g have a look behind the grey capping where the U.G cable comes up the outside of your house,this is where the U.G cable is crimped to the internal,you can quite often get a rectified loop there due to the crimps getting wet and corroding and going to earth

We are overhead fed. I will look outside tomorrow and advise exactly where the phone lines come in to the house.

 

[Europlex]

It could be a intermittent fault in the network but from my experience rectified loops are 9 times out of 10 in the house or very near,if you get a rectified loop in the U.G network its is normally accompanied with some other fault conditions namely battery or earth faults where a joint gets wet and it picks up voltage and earth from another line.Just a thought are you over head fed or U.G ?,if u.g have a look behind the grey capping where the U.G cable comes up the outside of your house,this is where the U.G cable is crimped to the internal,you can quite often get a rectified loop there due to the crimps getting wet and corroding and going to earth

We are overhead fed. I will look outside tomorrow and advise exactly where the phone lines come in to the house.

..... but the problem could be underground a mile away !

 

[Spark123]

It may be something on your side of the NTE, or something on the network supplier's side. If you remove the front plate from the NTE and connect a known good telephone directly to the socket inside, you are connecting directly to the end of the supplier's wiring. If the problem is apparent there, report t to your service provider.

Have you done this yet? Try phoning your phone from a mobile or get a friend to phone it.

 

[DIYJEE]

It may be something on your side of the NTE, or something on the network supplier's side. If you remove the front plate from the NTE and connect a known good telephone directly to the socket inside, you are connecting directly to the end of the supplier's wiring. If the problem is apparent there, report t to your service provider.

Have you done this yet? Try phoning your phone from a mobile or get a friend to phone it.

Yes I did this at the outset and the phone rang normally. I have checked all the cables inside the house and all appear OK. We have no rodents. I have checked the cables running up the outside wall and they are intact. The cables are not touching the trees at all. I am going to get another NTE5 master socket and give that a go.

 

[DIYJEE]

line breaking down the insulation of a cable that's suffered water damage

I'd stake money there is a damaged cable outside somewhere.

I would agree with above. Is it possible your overhead line goes through trees? The BT test only tests at a low frequency for the main socket it does not see the ringtrip fault. I would get a neighbours phone, disconnect all of yours including sky and all filters. Use your neighbours to test. Use 17070 option 1 for a test ring its free.

Our overhead line does go through trees. I will give the neighbour's phone a test.

I do appreciate all the posts. I am on a steep learning curve here and I am convinced I am going to solve this!

I phoned 17070 and the ring back was just the same one little ring that I have been getting when people phone.