Cable Modem Connection Woes

[Park305]

I live in northern Delaware and have been using Comcast for years now. I've had flaky service happen a lot of times, and they usually resolved themselves after some time. Calling their help desk has rarely, if ever, helped me out.

Problem is my Cable Modem keeps connecting/disconnecting, the cable light will go out and then come back after reconnecting for a minute or less. I just came back from college and apparently it has been happening since last week.

The weird thing is though that it seems to work decently well at night (past 6pm) and early morning. I had it up for a hour this morning from 10am-11am but maybe its because I disconnected the power overnight?

Today, I logged the disconnections. Starting around 11am it would disconnect every 10-20 minutes then by 1pm it became 3-5 minutes, I left afterwards.

I tried using a different cable cord and also directly connecting the ethernet to my computer but neither has done anything useful.

At this point I'm thinking it is a Comcast problem but also wondering if it is possible for Cable Modems/the CATV cable to overheat? The cable and modem get really hot after a hour or two of use. But i've used them before 24/7 without any problems....Or maybe my cable modem is going to hell?

I would appreciate any insights before I cave in and ask them to send a technician out. I really hope they don't charge for it. I wouldn't really care but I have a summer job doing help desk work at an internet company and really need a stable internet connection.

 

[Fardringle]

My cable connection started doing something very similar about six months ago after working (almost) flawlessly for years. I got a new Motorolla 5150 modem from Comcast and haven't had a single problem since then.

Considering the troubleshooting that you have already done, I would recommend asking Comcast to give you a new modem if you are renting the modem from them, especially if your modem is several years old.

 

[jamesbond007]

You might suggest them to have a look at your signals to make sure they're within spec. If you have splitters in between the line that comes into your apartment/house and the modem, try removing them or bring the modem to where it would normally split and see if the connection issues still happen.

 

[Genx87]

This happens to me about once a month.

Do your connection lights reset when you make an HTTP request? For some reason my modem will get into a bad cycle of resetting itself. Like it got a bad config file from the server and is too stupid to ask for another.

Usually a reset of the modem will fix this. If it doesnt the other issue I have come across is too high a signal strength on the line. This can happen after an electrical storm and a call to the cable company is required. They will come out, test the line, and replace the broken part.

 

[Park305]

Right well it seemed to disconnect no matter whether I was using the internet or not. I had a constant ping setup so I can see when it did disconnect. I called Comcast a few days ago and they "reset' the line but didn't do anything.

Funny thing though, I setup a fan blowing on the modem this morning after I had my router and cable modem disconnected overnight. It's been almost 2 hours and it hasn't disconnected...

 

[jamesbond007]

If heat is your issue, you may want to move your modem from its current location...keep us posted!

 

[Park305]

In my 3-5 years of using Comcast, my connection problems always seemed to either be my computer or Comcast. One time a lightening storm destroyed my cable modem which was connected directly to the outlet.

It's been working actually pretty fine today and yesterday. Only a few disconnections but I still have been keeping it cool and disconnecting it overnight since I still have to use the internet for work during the day time. I'll let it heat up tomorrow and see if it really was a heating issue with the cable modem or just Comcast finally fixing their problems without telling me about it over the phone.

 

[Redfoot]

Originally posted by: Genx87
This happens to me about once a month.

Do your connection lights reset when you make an HTTP request? For some reason my modem will get into a bad cycle of resetting itself. Like it got a bad config file from the server and is too stupid to ask for another.

Usually a reset of the modem will fix this. If it doesnt the other issue I have come across is too high a signal strength on the line. This can happen after an electrical storm and a call to the cable company is required. They will come out, test the line, and replace the broken part.

I have Adelphia in Colorado, and I had the same issue, though at times HTTP would not go through, though I could still play countertrike. My issue was resolved by some work at the split panel in my complex, apparently some jackass worker left metal shavings everywhere and some of the pins were bent as well. I lose signal once a week now, but a simple modem reset takes care of everything.

I would start with a new modem first to satisfy the hell desk, and then after that does not work demand a work order.

Good luck!

-Redfoot

 

[Puffnstuff]

I've got a surge protector on my cable before the modem to prevent any spikes from reaching it. With that said your modem should be warm but not hot to the touch and if it's getting that hot then you've got a problem. I'd try blowing it out with compressed air to make sure that the dust bunnies aren't overheating it. I keep mine up on the top of my desk with nothing next to it to allow for air to circulate around it.