In dire need of Telephone repair at the NID box. Telephone repair men PLEASE HELP!!!

[ItsAlive]

Recently I've been having issues with my Verizon landline phone and DSL. I have not been able to receive any incoming calls and my DSL keeps dropping connection anytime someone tries to call me. I checked filters, changed phones, replaced all indoor and outdoor wiring, and finally resorted to the NID box.

The test line in the NID box works fine, but upon further inspection I found the modular RJ-11 plug connector to be faulty and burnt.

I am very unclear as to wether I am liable for this connector or if Verizon would replace it at no charge. I am pretty handy and believe that I could replace the connector myself if only I knew what exactly the part was called.

Any help would be great.

Heres some pics sorry for the quality of them:

http://img35.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=1001010c.jpg

 

[Red Squirrel]

I am pretty sure they will replace the whole nid free of charge. Support does end at the nid but technically the nid is their property and not yours.

 

[ItsAlive]

yeah I called customer service and they said if the test jack is functioning correctly then I will be held accountable for anything that needs to be replaced. Even tho the line comes directly out of the NID I'm unsure if that 2 inches of wire and the connector are part of the NID. I'd hate to have a tech come fix it and charge me $155 to replace a $3 connector if I can do it myself.

 

[vailr]

Looks like rain water got inside the box.
Probably best to just replace the entire box.
Probably cheaper to buy a replacement box online & do the work yourself, than to pay Verizon to do the replacement.
Edit: if you can switch to some other DSL provider, maybe they would agree to install a new NID box for free?

 

[EQTitan]

yeah I called customer service and they said if the test jack is functioning correctly then I will be held accountable for anything that needs to be replaced. Even tho the line comes directly out of the NID I'm unsure if that 2 inches of wire and the connector are part of the NID. I'd hate to have a tech come fix it and charge me $155 to replace a $3 connector if I can do it myself.

Two options:

Option A:
Splice incoming from pole to exist line running into your home.

Option B:
Attach RJ11 jack to line running into your home and plug existing exterior plug into said jack.

 

[Chris2571]

Just make an appointment for guy to come out and check the nid. If your nice and slip him like 10 bucks he could write it off as old weather damaged box and it wouldnt cost you anything. I work for a cable company and if customer is nice we'll usually wave install fees if possible. Verizon has no idea what part of the box is damaged untill a tech goes there so its no big deal.

 

[ItsAlive]

Thanks for all the great responses guys, I went out and bought a new clip and installed it myself.....wasnt too hard. My only concern is that I had to use just a standard plug because I couldnt find a weatherized plug like in the pics. So far its working well tho. If I have anymore problems I'll just have Verizon send a tech out.

 

[Zap]

My only concern is that I had to use just a standard plug because I couldnt find a weatherized plug like in the pics. So far its working well tho.

Well, the "weatherized" part didn't last too long either...

Maybe you can do something to it yourself? Some imagination and tape can go a long way...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Actually is the nid cover water tight? that may be the issue if it's not. Could just put vapor barrier tape (red) around it, not like you have to go in there very often. Duct tape might work too but it would probably peel off in the cold.

 

[piasabird]

Sometimes for DSL you can purchase a service contract. For Direct TV there is like a $5 a month service charge for a service charge. They said if I had this contract I could cancel after one month. So I purchased the service at $5.00 a month and had them reallign my Satelite dish. Then I had them cancel my contract after the one month notice and it cost me $10.00 to fix my satelite dish after I redid my roof.

This sounds kind of convoluted, but it is cheaper than paying for a one-time service charge.

You have to love how this worked out.

 

[lxskllr]

put some silicone over the whole connector.

 

[ItsAlive]

Well, the "weatherized" part didn't last too long either...

Maybe you can do something to it yourself? Some imagination and tape can go a long way...

Haha true......but the old clip was prolly 20+ years old, it had a good run while it lasted.

 

[ItsAlive]

Actually is the nid cover water tight? that may be the issue if it's not. Could just put vapor barrier tape (red) around it, not like you have to go in there very often. Duct tape might work too but it would probably peel off in the cold.

I think this sounds like a great solution, Im fairly certain that the box leaked after a hard rain or the snow we've been gettin here. Since I already ran new lines and prolly wont have to mess with them anytime in the near future, this sounds like a good idea.

put some silicone over the whole connector.

Maybe I'll do this in conjunction with taping the box. For extra precaution.

Sometimes for DSL you can purchase a service contract. For Direct TV there is like a $5 a month service charge for a service charge. They said if I had this contract I could cancel after one month. So I purchased the service at $5.00 a month and had them reallign my Satelite dish. Then I had them cancel my contract after the one month notice and it cost me $10.00 to fix my satelite dish after I redid my roof.

This sounds kind of convoluted, but it is cheaper than paying for a one-time service charge.

You have to love how this worked out.

I actually thought about doing this from the start, but I wasn't sure if it would work.....lol

Glad it worked for you tho and thanks for posting, I'll have to remember to try it next time I have a problem.

 

[Texun]

Replacing the connector is pretty straight forward and usually a lot faster than waiting on a repair tech - but the real question here is what burned the connector? There's not enough current on a phone line to burn the connector, but if you have a grounding problem in the home it is very possible an appliance (cordless phone base\answering machine, DSL modem) may be using the phone line as a ground.

Telephone companies bond (ground) either directly to the outside electrical box or to the ground wire running from the electrical box to an ground rod. Electricity takes the path of least resistance to ground ,so any difference between the electrical ground on the outside and the appliance ground through the AC outlet and electricity will go where ever it has to in order to find proper ground. Connectors will almost always often melt before the wire will.