UKC

My telephone socket has a place A and B on the back where the external telephone cable comes in. I know my orange wire goes into B but how do I choose from 5 white wires which is the active one to go into A? I have no continuity metre to hand and live out in the Highlands. Any DIY tips to determine the appropriate white wire? Thanks

In reply to MargieB:

Would placing a white wire on the end of my tongue detect the low voltage? Any tips like that!

In reply to MargieB:

Try one, phone yourself (presuming you have a mobile and know the number) and repeat until the phone rings?

In reply to MargieB:

I'm not sure if this is any help?
http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wiring/UK_telephone/uk_telephone.html

Are there any stripes on the white wires?

In reply to ianstevens:

No mobile reception in this neck of the woods. But can get to a phone - anything else?

In reply to marsbar:

No. This is the external cable coming into "A B" at the back of the phone. The other colours are Blue , orange {the active line} Green , Brown and slate and I know I will use the orange out of those choices in "B". Its just that there a 5 white wires, one of which is active and which I have to use in "A" .

In reply to MargieB:


It would certainly work. But since the low voltage is about 50 V it would also probably result in you being unable to speak for a while...

In reply to Removed User:

I have a little buzzer that i used with 9 v battery to make a" buzzer wire "for the children. Could I put the orange wire and a white wire across the terminals and if I choose the correct white wire, it will make it buzz? Could this be a home made solution to discovering which white wire is active?

In reply to MargieB:

Just try each wire until you get a dial tone. You won't blow anything up...

In reply to MargieB:

That's all I've got I'm afriad! Just to clarify I'm in no way an expert in either wiring or landline telephones - it's just what I would try in said situation.

In reply to MargieB:

as above, you could connect the orange and try each one of the white ones in turn, connecting any wrong one wont do any harm, another way if you have access to something that can ring it,is to bare the end of the orange wire and all the whites and ring your number, when you short the correct white with the orange the ringing will trip and you will know when you have the correct white.
re putting it on your tongue will indeed work but its not for the faint hearted, its only 50 volts dc but it will sting a bit, also if someone rings in while you are doing it then that's going to sting a lot as its 90vlts.
p.s are you sure about the orange wire as that's normally pair 2, colour coding is white blue pair 1, white orange pair 2 white green pair 3 white brown pair 4 and white grey pair 5.

In reply to MargieB:
is there a white wire twisted around the orange.

No idea if its twisted pair, just a guess.

In reply to itsThere:

it will be a twisted pair but he would have to cut back about 6 inches to identify it as they are loosely twisted, probably wont have that amount of slack to play with.

In reply to buzby:

I'm sure its orange because i have undone and checked further down the external line. There is a fibre in line splice closure box and the blue and a white from the main telephone cable is connected and that goes to another building- not my house which is what I'm dealing with. So Blue / white pairing is already taken. So, having looked at youtube
the second pairing for a line is orange and white {this fits your colour code ordering knowledge} and my house is a second line from the main cable. Does that correlate with your know how?

In reply to itsThere:

The white wires are separated from the coloured { blue, orange green brown and slate } wires.

In reply to MargieB:

yep that would explain why your on pair 2. as I said connect the orange to the socket and then go through the whites one leg at a time connecting it till you get dial tone. they will be twisted but you'd have to strip back on the cable to find it . only one leg of the pair carry's the full 50 volts and it might not be the white one depending on how its connected at the exchange.

In reply to buzby:

That is really useful and re-assuring I'm reading the situation correctly. Thanks a lot!