No Dialtone!!!?

Question

Ok everyone, My dialtone just went out recently. I get no dialtone at all inside the house. I went to the NID and unplugged the jack and plug my phone in and it works fine. Once I plug the phone jack(the one leading to the green & red s***w) back in, I get no dialtone inside.

I home ran a line from the NID to my room a year or so ago. I don't even get a tone from there and it's a straight shot line. So I'm thinking there must be a short somewhere between the phone jack leading up to the green and red screws. It'd be so much easier if I had a bud set, then I can just plug into the red and green screws and if i'd get no dialtone there, then i definately know it's that.

What do you guys think? Also, that part of the NID, if it's the problem, can we remove it and install another one ourself? Im reluctant to call the phone company right now knowing how they like to charge. Would that be the phone companys problem or would it be on the customers end?

Answer 1

if the problem is in the outside box it should be the phone

companys problem.plug a regular phone not a cordless,

in the outside phone jack in the box,if you get a dialtone

outside but not inside its your problem if you dont get a dial-

tone outside its the phone companys problem.

Answer 2

Visit the site below, it has useful information about troubleshooting and fixing phone lines. Good luck.

http://www.fix-your-phone-line.com

Answer 3

The NID is generally owned and maintained by the phone company.  If you can determine it is faulty, then it is the phone company responsibility to repair it for free (if not your fault). But, if you can get phone to work fine fro there, then the problem is yours, inside your home wiring.

It is probably not a "short", but rather an "open" connection in the line.

Get yourself a good volt-ohm meter, I've had one for many years and it is priceless for troubleshooting electrical problems.

If the phone connection is good, you should read ~ 48Vdc across the active lines.

If the line is open, I expect you will read ~ 0Vdc.

However, if the line is short, you will also probably read 0 or something very low.  But if the line were actually "short", you would probably be hearing from the phone company notifying you of a problem - as a short may well be detected by their switching equipment and cause problems if not fixed.

To verify for yourself if the line is short, disconnect the mains at the NID again like you did before.  

Now, check the red-green lines (to inside of house) with ohm meter.  Any shorts will show up on ohm meter as a very low resistance reading.  A good line-pair should be "open circuit" between the red-green pair (no phones connected).  Check at both ends, too.  Should be open as measured at both ends, or something is awry.

However, it is more likely you have an "open" connection on either the red wire or the green wire from end-to-end.

If you verified no dial-tone and you do not get ~ 48Vdc at phone jack in question, then the line is definately open.

Your porblem could be as simple as a bad phone jack (open/poor connectors).  Replace the jacks or terminal block.

Good luck troubleshooting...