phone junction box ? just low voltage?

[quentin]

My multi meter says that there is 120v at my phone service junction box. Is this about right?

If I wanted to disconnect the junction box and move it 3 feet. will I get slightly shocked? What's the best way for me to move this thing? Just take the shock and deal with it?

[giddonah]

Are you sure that isn't 120mV? 120V is very strange. The wires that are used for communications (cat3 and cat5 mostly) are not rated for 120V. Some people do use them for that though, to get power out to a security camera for example. That way they can get the video signal and the power in one cable.

You're getting this out at the main phone box though? That's odd. I've been shocked by live phone wires before, it's nothing big. If you have masochistic tendencies, you might actually like it. I've licked 9V batteries, it's on par (and if you haven't, you had a deprived childhood :lol: ) 120V though, will give quite a shock. If it really truely reads 120V, you might want to proceed with extreme caution, if not hire a pro. I don't like saying that too much, but sometimes it's worth it. If you're not comfortable working on live 120V wires (and nobody really should be), then think twice about doing it yourself.

Check it again though, make sure it's not 120mV, my meter jumps back and forth so fast I have to make sure what units it's reading sometimes.

[Vector]

When a phone is ringing, the phone lines carry 90V AC.

But a 120V reading sounds more like a very low current inductive voltage on the phone lines from too close a proximity to a 120V circuit. Are you using a digital multimeter or an analog one? Analog is actually much better for working with house wiring, Digital will give you readings that are essentially meaningless.

Regardless, it's not right, and you should take care in proceeding. Do you have a tick tester?

[quentin]

Could be mV.

I actually was unscrewing one of the screws on the junction box and touched the screw driver shaft briefly...gave me a little current. Nothing big though. So I tested it on my digital multi-meter. I set it on the 200 setting. The same one I use to test for current in my outlets. It was 120. It is also located right next to my power panel and it is not blocked by anything...in other words, I could have accidently set something on it like a rake or something at any time over the last 4 years. Odd that it wouldn't be covered and still carry that kind of juice. I find it strange that a line that small could carry 120.

[giddonah]

It can carry it, but only very small amps. Larger electrical cables are rated by the amps they can carry, and the insulation is rated for the volts (or so I'm assuming). I saw something where a guy was running 2A at 120V over cat5 (24 or 22 gage wires). I'm not sure how safe that is though. I'd definitely look for a short. If the boxes are close enough, and there's a short in the electrical panel, it might be the box that's at 120V or something, and thus energizing the tele. box. If you find out what it was, please report back.

[Sparks]

As Vector pointed out, 90 volts ac is on most phone lines when they are ringing, not just with dial tone. I would concur that this sounds like a case of 'phantom voltage' caused by the use of a cheapy (no offense) multi-meter and some inductive currents elsewhere inducing stray voltage on the line. I would bet that you wouldn't see this amount of voltage if you were testing this with an old analog meter or a wiggy solenoid meter. Many digital meters have extremely high input impedance (as to not damage sensitive circuitry by pulling to much current from the circuit being tested) and will quite often have phantom voltage issues. I would make sure any interfaces you have are properly grounded, many I see are not.

[HDNord]

.......I've licked 9V batteries, it's on par (and if you haven't, you had a deprived childhood :lol: )........ That's the way we used to check them to see if they were good. :lol:

[tooltroll]

I've licked 9V batteries, it's on par (and if you haven't, you had a deprived childhood :lol: )

Mmmmmm...

Nine volt batteries...

:lol:

[little dude]

The only time a phone line will give you a feeling of voltage present is when it rings, it will knock the snot out of you!! If your getting a tingle with no ringing is very odd. If 120 volts were present would give more than a tingle.

We had a teacher in high school who dropped a nine volt battery in his pocket during lunch. He suddenly was aroused from his seat, the chair went sailing as he was doing a dance no overweight person should attempt. The battery had shorted the connection tips across some change in his pocket and got really hot, really quick!!

[modesco666]

I remeber stripping phone wires with my teeth once and the phone rang. My tongue never felt the same again.

[ODDJOB]

Phone wires, Haven't tried that one...............Yet

[Sparks]

The phone lines in my area (not saying it's the same everywhere) put out 48 volts for the dial tone, they'll put out another 48 volts when it rings on the other wire. You can feel 48 volts.

[midnightscape]

Like modesco, I've stripped phone lines with my teeth and felt voltage, although not when the line was ringing. About the same buzz as a 9 volt battery.

[Sparks]

Let me know the next time your stripping phone lines with your teeth and I'll give you a ring, let us know what happens.

[David]

No problem here. I use my CAT5 as ethernet. I only use a cell for a phone.
:taz: <couldn't resist...must use new icons>

[Vector]

No problem here. I use my CAT5 as ethernet. I only use a cell for a phone.
:taz: <couldn't resist...must use new icons>

Just as long as you aren't running PoE (http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/what_is_poe.php)...

[David]

That's a good one, but no, I don't run power over ethernet. However, I have been juiced a few times by 110 and once by 220.

[Mike44]

If I wanted to disconnect the junction box and move it 3 feet. will I get slightly shocked? What's the best way for me to move this thing? Just take the shock and deal with it?

Okay, sorry to interrupt the conversation here, but back to the initial question of how to move the box. If you currently have an operational outlet, take off the coverplate and the telephone jack plate to have access to the screw terminals. One by one, unscrew each wire and put a piece of electrical tape over the exposed copper wire (very important!!) This way, you won't get shocked with the voltage that you have on your line, and you won't manually 'cancel' any phone calls coming in by accidentally touching the lines together (trust me on that one - accidentally 'ended' one of my moms' phone calls that way!!!! ah!). Then you can pull the wire out of the box, remove the box, mount the box 3' over, push the line back in, and connect it all up again. Oh, and don't forget to label what colour wire went where on the telephone jack plate so that it works the same way as it did before you moved the plug over.

I think that's about it.

Good luck!!

Mike

P.S. Since we're on the whole 9V battery thing, here's something: When I was a kid, I once stuck two 9V batteries together end to end and let them sit for a while in the parking lot while my mom shopping (I just waited in the car). Yeah......don't try it......

[Vector]

P.S. Since we're on the whole 9V battery thing, here's something: When I was a kid, I once stuck two 9V batteries together end to end and let them sit for a while in the parking lot while my mom shopping (I just waited in the car). Yeah......don't try it......

It's amazing kids like us survive to become adults, isn't it?

I fried more electrical equipment than I can comprehend now and took a lot of line-level shocks as a kid. Probably explains why I'm so paranoid about protecting my 2 yr old from electricity now. I plan on rewiring every outlet at my wife's family's cabin next time we're there, I just don't think they're safe.

[Mike44]

yeah, you never know what's waiting for you around the corner in life...!!

[David]

P.S. Since we're on the whole 9V battery thing, here's something: When I was a kid, I once stuck two 9V batteries together end to end and let them sit for a while in the parking lot while my mom shopping (I just waited in the car). Yeah......don't try it......

I plugged in a little lightbulb (made for 9v batteries) into the outlet instead of the 9v battery. It turned to dust. I got detention. But it was sooo cool!

[David]

And then there was baseball practice when I plugged in the batting machine. It was 220v. I didn't know the cord had had been rubbed down to bare wire. I was only on my back for a few seconds! :)

[Vector]

Managed never to get hit by 240. Did see an idiot in my high school electrics class manage to hit himself with 300v from a variable power supply once. Knocked him on his ass, but didn't do more than that. Can't say I felt sorry for him though.

In that class, we wired up circuits in these little sections of "walls" and then to test them, the teacher would plug them in to an outlet (which seems in hindsight to be a pretty stupid way to test them). Every time someone botched a project and shorted out the circuit, it would kill most of the power to the classroom and the teacher would have to go get a maintenance guy to open up the utility room and reset the breaker. We wasted a *lot* of time that way.

The kid who got the 300v shock was one just about certain to cause the breaker to trip every time. Dumb as a post, but he thought he was really smart.

It would have taken all of what, 5 minutes to make something with a 5a breaker for testing? Or better yet, test with something like a 24v transformer?

Of course, at the same school, I recall in chem class having the teacher pull out a big jar of mercury, pour some of it on each of the lab tables and have everyone play with it. With bare hands, no masks, etc...

[David]

That must have been an awesome school! ;)

[Mike44]

Good old high school stories - those can be best!!

[trailrunr9]

Thanks guys, I have a dead phone, no dial tone with a busy signal showing when dialed from outside. I am only reading 1.4 v on the line with phone connected or not. no dial tone at box test connection i think it is a phone company problem. On an unrelated note, one other fun stupid things to do is connect a speaker to a 120 AC outlet. very strong Bss note for a very short time.

[Mike44]

On an unrelated note, one other fun stupid things to do is connect a speaker to a 120 AC outlet. very strong Bss note for a very short time.

:o Woah! I would imagine!

As for your phone line, sounds like the phone company may have disconnected you! Or a line was cut from your house to the pole or something. Seems strange.

Mike