Network cable "explodes" - At total loss how it keeps happening

[Hourences]

I am not sure if this is the right place for this, and this is my first post here also, but I really don't know what to do anymore...

My network cable "explodes". Images below. Let me line up all the strange facts:

• This is the second time it happens. First time was two weeks ago. Happened at exactly the same spot twice.
• This was a brand new quality cable.
• I have been living in the house for years and the cable has been there for years. Suddenly two weeks ago this began happening.
• This happens during the nights. The cable is fine in the evening, and broken in the morning. No one is around in this part of the house when it happens.
• The door is never closed + it is not sharp anyway at the bottom.
• There is a yellow electricity cable next to it, that one is undamaged.
• This time around a small piece of the wood of the door frame came off even, so it ripped a splinter off.
• I had even put bubble wrapper plastic and duct tape around the spot this time, and it has torn right through that.
• As you can see in the images it shattered the cable and the plastic in a 100 small pieces.
• The pieces can also be seen pretty far away from the cable, so it must have happened with a considerable force to throw the debris that far.
• There are no bite marks and there are no animal droppings nearby. Nothing that indicates mice or so are chewing on it.

Help... Any one ever seen this before? Is it possible for a network cable to just snap/explode somehow?

High res version for upclose view: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2300830/cablexplodes.jpg


Some ideas and reasons as to why it is impossible:

Animals
No because: no droppings, no bite marks, and if it were mice why would they go through the trouble of biting through the duct tape if the cable an inch further is exposed. Also the wood splinter does not fit this scenario.

Door cut the cable
No because: door did not move during the night, door is not sharp enough at the bottom, the electricity cable is undamaged, I put extra protection around it, and I tried smashing the door as hard as I could on the cable and it did no damage at all to it.

Cable pulled itself in this bend apart due to being pulled in another part of the house (there is a dog somewhere else)
No because: there are multiple tight bends along the cable, it could have snapped at any of the other ones, also I tried pulling the cable over but you need a massive amount of strength to get the cable to snap. This does fit the wood splinter though.

EDIT: Extreme detail shots :https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2300830/veryhighres.jpg

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is there POE on that cable? I wonder if the switch is defective and it will send line voltage through it at random or something, that looks like a tight bend.

Even then though... I don't think 120v would arc through the insulation. There's definitely something really messed up here.

Do you have a cat? The plastic/tape you put would be attractive because the crinkly noise it makes.

I would setup some kind of camera in that location so you can catch it happen. The only thing that really makes sense is that it's being chewed, question is, why always the same spot.

 

[Hourences]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah I considered a power surge also, but the cable connects the fiber receiver with the router. Both are simple consumer devices, so my thinking was that if it is a power surge surely the devices would fry/explode first rather than the actual cable? And the two devices are operating just fine/look normal.

The duct tape has only been on the cable since it destroyed the first cable, so if something is attracted to the bubbly plastic then that doesn't explain the first time this happened still. And I have no cat. I do have a big dog but he has access to tons of similar cables in the living room and he has never ever done anything to those + his food is stored right next to this spot. So if he did make it into the room he would not have paid attention probably.

And it is a tight bend yeah, but the same cable makes 4 more tight bends along the way. This is the first tight bend on that side though, the other tight bends are all between this point and the router. So following that logic if there is a power surge I guess it must originate from the fiber receiver.

The receiver has a anti surge protection unit between itself and the socket already though + the receiver itself does not even use full voltage to begin with.

Are there devices that can catch power surges on network cables somehow?

 

[westom]

And it is a tight bend yeah, but the same cable makes 4 more tight bends along the way.

A bend that tight (much too sharp for such cables) would cause insulation to break down. Do these cables also carry low voltage power? IOW a surge might further compromise insulation. But surges have insufficient energy to do more damage. A resulting follow through current (due to that low voltage) would be needed for energy that large to cause so much damage.

Generally, such damage would be limited to but a few wires; not all wires. I cannot tell from those pictures where melting was greatest, if melting really occurred, and what each wire had electrically. Does some insulation look like it was gnawed?

An AC mains surge could easily be through receiver, wires, etc. Everything carries that same current simultaneously. In most surge damage, only one spot would fail. Surge energy might be greatest where wires have a sharp bend. Current might also be through something more conductive - linoleum tile. That might explain insulation failure at that location

If a receiver is connected to an adjacent anti-surge device, then that device simply provided more paths through the receiver. Many current paths would be non-destructive (due to superior internal surge protection) - depending on how a receiver is designed.

So yes, a surge might explain damage. But only if other currents are also on that cable. Surges only creates a fault. Other currents would have to do that much damage.

 

[Hourences]

A bend that tight (much too sharp for such cables) would cause insulation to break down. Do these cables also carry low voltage power? IOW a surge might further compromise insulation. But surges have insufficient energy to do more damage. A resulting follow through current (due to that low voltage) would be needed for energy that large to cause so much damage.

Generally, such damage would be limited to but a few wires; not all wires. I cannot tell from those pictures where melting was greatest, if melting really occurred, and what each wire had electrically. Does some insulation look like it was gnawed?

An AC mains surge could easily be through receiver, wires, etc. Everything carries that same current simultaneously. In most surge damage, only one spot would fail. Surge energy might be greatest where wires have a sharp bend. Current might also be through something more conductive - linoleum tile. That might explain insulation failure at that location

If a receiver is connected to an adjacent anti-surge device, then that device simply provided more paths through the receiver. Many current paths would be non-destructive (due to superior internal surge protection) - depending on how a receiver is designed.

So yes, a surge might explain damage. But only if other currents are also on that cable. Surges only creates a fault. Other currents would have to do that much damage.

Thanks.

I don't think they carry voltage, it is just a standard cable connecting to consumer type devices. Not sure if in those kind of cases they usually carry voltage? Probably not I take?

I could try taking it off the floor everywhere.

Are there other steps you can recommend I take in the near future? Remove the surge protector in case it is faulty? Connect the receiver to an electricity socket outside this room so it is on a different fuse?

Can I insulate something somehow in an easy way? Or ground it somehow?

 

[KingFatty]

I'm astonished at how this appears to be so clear cut.

The cables *literally* have a "chewed-up" appearance. Is there a dog or cat in the house? You mention "there is a dog somewhere else" but I can't tell what that means.

Look at the close up, how you can see the copper is pristine (no arcing or electrical burning) and even there is a part where the green wire has missing insulation further up (e.g., like where a tooth chewed it) before the end point, and then again it's stripped at the end point exposing the copper.

I had a kitten that chewed wires that ended up looking *JUST* like this. All appearance is fully consistent with the chewing by something (animal or person) that has teeth that can grind away at the wires.

So the grinded-up/chewed wires that are mechanically damaged (no signs of electrical damage), the scattered pieces, every bit of evidence shown in your pictures is fully consistent with animal mouth chewing.

There is no evidence of an explosion or anything like that. Look how the pieces are scattered in one direction - an explosion would blow the pieces in all directions and if it was electrical related there would be some charring or discoloration.

Further possible evidence that is not considered - smell and touch/taste. Can you sniff the wires and see if they smell like dog slobber? Can you taste any dog breath on the wires? Any sign of saliva drops anywhere?

 

[master_shake_]

did you possibly have a dream that you were eating spaghetti?

 

[westom]

Can you sniff the wires and see if they smell like dog slobber? Can you taste any dog breath on the wires? Any sign of saliva drops anywhere?

Tree Rats (also called squirrels) also have a history of doing this. For some reason these rats love to chew on wire insulation.

 

[Tsavo]

Electrons caused this...specifically, furry electrons.

 

[Hourences]

I'm astonished at how this appears to be so clear cut.

The cables *literally* have a "chewed-up" appearance. Is there a dog or cat in the house? You mention "there is a dog somewhere else" but I can't tell what that means.

Look at the close up, how you can see the copper is pristine (no arcing or electrical burning) and even there is a part where the green wire has missing insulation further up (e.g., like where a tooth chewed it) before the end point, and then again it's stripped at the end point exposing the copper.

I had a kitten that chewed wires that ended up looking *JUST* like this. All appearance is fully consistent with the chewing by something (animal or person) that has teeth that can grind away at the wires.

So the grinded-up/chewed wires that are mechanically damaged (no signs of electrical damage), the scattered pieces, every bit of evidence shown in your pictures is fully consistent with animal mouth chewing.

There is no evidence of an explosion or anything like that. Look how the pieces are scattered in one direction - an explosion would blow the pieces in all directions and if it was electrical related there would be some charring or discoloration.

Further possible evidence that is not considered - smell and touch/taste. Can you sniff the wires and see if they smell like dog slobber? Can you taste any dog breath on the wires? Any sign of saliva drops anywhere?

The only known animal in the house is a big dog (about as big as they get), but he really didn't do it.

-He has access to many more cables all over and has never touched a single one of them.
-His food is stored just 1 step away from this spot, if he would have made it into this room he would have gone for his food, not for an ethernet cable
-He is really big, and this is about the worst spot for him to chew on a cable. He wouldn't even be able to reach it with his teeth probably, and even if he did the bite marks and squeezed plastic he'd leave behind with his big teeth would be massive and very obvious.

So that leaves mice or rats, but that too is not clear cut:
-Why did they chew through the duct tape and the plastic? Why didn't they just chew the cable a little bit further? Why take the most difficult spot?
-Happened twice at exactly (I really mean exactly) the same spot in the exact same way. If it is an animal you'd say they might leave a partially chewed cable behind at least once.
-There is a wood splinter that came off the door frame, but no other marks on the wood work. Just a split that broke off, clean cut. As if the cable torn it off with friction from being pulled.
-There are no droppings anywhere nearby or anywhere else in the room
-The dog food is next to it, more interesting.
-There is also a big bag of old nuts and grains standing on the shelf above this spot. Untouched.

I agree that all the signs for an explosion or burst aren't there either, and that is the thing, nothing adds up. I am totally puzzled by this.

 

[westom]

Who you going to call? Ghost Busters.

 

[BoberFett]

Bizarre. Tagged so I can follow this mystery as it unfolds...

 

[imagoon]

Going with animal damage. Looks exactly like the wires carrying some T1's the squirrels kept eating an one of our offices. They apparently liked the taste and eventually took putting the cable in an armor to keep it intact.

 

[dawza]

Do you have a UV/black light?

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

The fact that you bandaged it and expected it to work correctly, but you can't understand what happened...........................

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

The fact that you bandaged it and expected it to work correctly, but you can't understand what happened...........................Right where the door meets the jamb!

 

[cubby1223]

my money's on an animal.

 

[Raizinman]

I would suggest that you place two or three identical brand cables right next to this one. These other two cables NOT to be hooked up to anything, just placebo cables. See if the problem is identified as coming from the live cable or the dummy cable. This will help determine if the problem is external or internal.

 

[pcgeek11]

Dude. You have rats or mice. Lots of insulation these days has a Soy Base and rats and mice love it... really!

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/rodents-eat-soy-car-materials


It is probably next to the door jam and is where the rodent feels comfortable. I agree with a poster above that says to remove the live cable and place a dummy cable that is not connected to see if the rodent will eat it also. I'm thinking he will.

Oh yeah. Stop running the cables through the door. It is a hazard.

 

[Phynaz]

Rodents. Why do you have cables laying on the floor anyway??

 

[KingFatty]

Perhaps a web camera could help to monitor the cable. Then you can figure out if it's a rodent or the dog.

But looking again at the plastic wrap around the cable (3rd picture), it really seems that the animal carefully chewed away the "layers" of the plastic onion, so now I'm leaning toward rodent. If your dog is really big, and if he did it, maybe there would be more of a single cut.

So, the problem is not a clear cut situation as I thought before, it's more of a spiral cut situation [har har get it?].

 

[Eeqmcsq]

I would suggest that you place two or three identical brand cables right next to this one. These other two cables NOT to be hooked up to anything, just placebo cables. See if the problem is identified as coming from the live cable or the dummy cable. This will help determine if the problem is external or internal.

Yeah, and in fact, I'd try putting these unplugged cables on top of the powered cable. If it's mice or whatever, they'd have to chew through the unpowered cables first.

 

[ch33zw1z]

TL;DR....but, animal of some kind, probably a rodent.

 

[ArtShapiro]

Do you happen to have any spare pieces of electical conduit - either traditional metal or the very-heavy-duty plastic stuff, I believe termed "PEX"? (If you're a D-I-Y'er, this might be something you have lying around.) I'd run the cable through a length of such conduit. If your cable subsequently "explodes" at that same point, inside the conduit, it would probably rule out rodents. But if the problem moves elsewhere in the system, it would tend to support that hypothesis.

Art

 

[Elixer]

My money is on squirrels or chipmunks.
They love wires...