Hidden telephone cable

[Bob]

How can I find a telephone cable (without a phone jack) that is covered by wallpaper in my room?

[Scott Carlon]

You can use one of these to trace wires in a wall:

but if you have an unfinished basement or attic, it might be better/faster/cheaper/easier to just run a new twisted pair cat5 cable.

[Wade Garrett]

Look for a long, thin bulge in the wall paper. The phone line will be right under it ;-)

If you can't see it, run your hands over the wall; same results.

[trader_4]

Yeah, I was wondering how a cable that is just under wallpaper isn;t obvious to find too.

[Bob]

The telephone cable is in the hole in the drywall that is covered by the wallpaper

[hrhofmann]

Use the braille method suggested by an earlier poster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dean Hoffman]

Would just pressing against the wallpaper with your finger work? I was trying to think of a tool with a small roller that would depress the wallpaper when it rolled over the hole.

[Meanie]

Use an infrared camera for your smartphone.

You may be able to view the slight variation where the hole is located.

[Bob]

I found the cable hiding behind the wallpaper.

I expected to find the end of the cable but I found a loop. See photo at:

How do I install a telephone jack to this cable?

Note: My house has three working phone jacks so I don't want to mess them up

[Ralph Mowery]

Normally only 2 wires are used, the red and green. There are probably 4 wires in the cable with 2 not used unless you have more than one line.

A common telephone circuit is just 2 parallel wires, the red and green. Whatever phones you have just hook across those lines. The line will normally have less than 15 volts on it,so safe to work on unless someone dials in and you get the 90 volts of puslating voltage. Probably will not harm you,but will sure make you jump and hirt yourself.

If you want a phone jack at that spot, just cut the wires, and find a phone jack that has 4 screws in it. If you are careful you can just peel back the insulation on the red and green wires and put them under the correct screws of the new jack with out even cutting the wires. Not often,but sometimes you will have to reverse the red and green wires going to the phone to make them work and ring.

[Retired]

Get a jack same/similar to this:

Depending on how the wire is routed behind the walls, other phones may be "downstream" from here, that's why it is looped, so try not to cut the wires, but trim back enough insulation to loop the wires under the screw terminals.

Use a wire stripper if available, otherwise small sharp knife like an Xacto.

[Bob]

Correction: I know of two (not three) working phone jacks in my house.

I conclude that the loop leads from the bedroom phone jack and goes to the kitchen phone jack.

[clare]

generally by skinning the wires and looping them over the screws of the jack

[Bob]

The Leviton 40249-W Standard Telephone Wall Jack uses FOUR wires in the telephone cable:

._SX355_.jpg

[makolber]

the red and green are needed for a standard single line phone

the yellow and black are often not needed, they are needed only for a two line phone or for other accessories such as lights etc.

m

[clare]

Yes, the jack uses 4 because it can support 2 lines. Only 2 wires will be "active" in better than 90% of residential installations. There are a FEW residential installations with 2 active lines

[Bob]

My house has only one line.

[Sam E]

[snip]

Be careful using your teeth to strip wires.

[Bob]

Since my house has only one telephone line, do I connect only the red and green wires to the telephone jack?

[Retired]

Yes, connect the red & green. They are the normal colors used for Line 1.

You *may* want to also connect the yellow & black, in case of some future need, but you don't have to.