After an electrical storm that knocked out our electrical transformer fuse, we started having problems with our phone line that won't disconnect after we hang up. It is the worst on the computer, won't let go of the line until we pull the phone plug. We have tried different computers and it does it with all of them. Had a new service line put in to our outside box and then they hooked our existing line into the box. Still having problems. We checked the lines with a line tester. Showed reversed polarity in the outside box where they connected the inside wires. What is the deal? All wires look like they match up, red to red, etc. even in the box. Do we contact the phone company for this?

Have you checked to ensure this issue isn't caused by your own telephone handset!

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Originally Posted by lks434

After an electrical storm that knocked out our electrical transformer fuse, we started having problems with our phone line that won't disconnect after we hang up. It is the worst on the computer, won't let go of the line until we pull the phone plug. We have tried different computers and it does it with all of them. Had a new service line put in to our outside box and then they hooked our existing line into the box. Still having problems. We checked the lines with a line tester. Showed reversed polarity in the outside box where they connected the inside wires. What is the deal?? All wires look like they match up, red to red, etc. even in the box. Do we contact the phone company for this?

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Checked all of them. The reversed polarity shows up at the outside box and on all the phone lines on the inside. Have disconnected all lines and checked each one individually and it all came down to the main line coming in.

In that case it's clearly a job for your phone provider.

Thanks, guess we will have to call phone company.

If the line will not disconnect when you plug a phone into the outside box by itself then it's the phone company's problem.

Okay, here's the latest... called the phone company, guy came out, told him all the details... he actually listened!! He checked the lines and all came out allright, said not to worry about the reverse polarity, but said he would change it anyway. Also replaced the fuses in the box for good measure. Did some more checking and found that when the phone line was connected to the computer modem, it took a hold of the line, opened it up right away, even before trying to connect. Unplugged the computer from the electric outlet, thence no power to it, put in the phone line and it took hold of the line again. Phone guy thought it had to be the computer modem causing the problem. We tried a laptop computer that we know works correctly in a different home, and it was doing the same thing as our desktop, so find it hard to believe that it could be our computer. This one has me and the phone guy stumped. How about anyone else?

And you used the same modem cable for every test, right?

Yes and then we tried different ones. All the same outcome.

Do the following:

Get a duplex adapter and plug it into the test port of the NID.
Plug a phone and modem into the duplex adapter.

Does the problem occur?

If it does, then I would suspect the 1/2 ringer in the NID. Bypassing requires opening the telco side of the NID.

The CO (Central Office) nneds to do a 1/2 riger test with the jumper in the NID disconnected and/or the telco guy needs to disconnect the 1/2 ringer in the NID.

Some DSL installs like mine don't have one, since 1/2 ringers interfere with DSL.

If you have determined outside works fine and hangs up OK it is inside wiring.
For polarity to be correct, the green is positive and the red is negative voltage at the phone jack. If you had a volt meter connected to an inside jack with all phones, computers, alarm, intercomm or anything that uses the phone line disconnected, it should be about 48 volts, it may be close to 6-9 volts when something(modem goes off hook.
You could have someone watch meter and go through the house. Test one device at a time to determine the exact culprit, If unplugging all the phones is not the answer, then look at contacts on ALL phone jacks, should be gold, not green or black.

Telco guy did that. All tested okay.

We may have had two problems, one being the fuse in the DIN box that was replaced and that was probably why the telephones were slow to disconnect. The other problem was the modem of the computer. I replace the modem with an old one from a different computer and that seems to have solved that problem.

What we can assume here was that the electrical storm weakened the fuse and then went into the computer on the phone line and messed with that. According to a couple of phone reps, the reversed polarity no longer affects the new style of phones, but he did change things around.

Hope others learned from my experience!

I understand polarity doesn't matter much anymore, in most cases. Takes the same amount of time to wire correctly, as it does wrong, eleminate a possibility.
If the fuse was bad, it should have had a problem at the test point.
Glad you got it working.

Just a follow up observation... after I got the modem out and REALLY looked it over, saw that a small wire in the phone jack port had come out of place and was slightly raised. Don't know if it got over heated and released or what. That was probably the main cause of the problem.

Those small gold plated contacts, can can jump over to the next slot and short out. Many times you can lift and over and place back in its own slot, If not replace.
Looks like you got it.