Help wiring a WE 500

[Crichton]

Hey guys, I would like to know how to re-wire this phone. It came with a modular line, not the original and it is very dirty and old. I want to change to a black line to match, but I don't know what to do really. I appreciate any advice and thank you for reading. This is how to telephone looks internally right now:

[HarrySmith]

Very simple, you do not need all 4 wires. Just connect the red & green wires from your new cord to the same terminals, L1 & L2.

[Dennis Markham]

Crichton, welcome to the Forum.

Remove the black wire from the L2 terminal.  Tape it off, or snip it off, as Harry said, you do not need it.  You can leave the yellow wire on G although it serves no purpose.

Red line cord wire to L2.  Green line cord (mounting cord) to L1.

I would also remove the broken spade tip from the black wire from that G terminal.

~Dennis

[Crichton]

Thanks guys. So do I strip the red and green wires and can I use back the same spade tips?

[Dennis Markham]

Thanks guys. So do I strip the red and green wires and can I use back the same spade tips?

I don't understand the question.  Doesn't the red and green line cord wires have a spade tip on them already?  

You can actually leave them where they are (red and green).  Just remove the black wire from the network.  You can leave the yellow wire as well although it has no function.

You mention that you want to change back to a black line cord.  Do you have one now that you want to install?  Are you thinking of buying  flat modular cordage, snipping off one end, stripping back the wires and then attaching that to the phone?  It will be very difficult to re-use those spade tips, although I suppose it is possible.  Radio Shack sells spade tips for $1.99 for a bag of 24.

http://goo.gl/U9nHl

[Crichton]

Are you thinking of buying flat modular cordage, snipping off one end, stripping back the wires and then attaching that to the phone?

Yes, that's exactly what I want to do. I'm sorry for the confusion. I will follow your advice. It seems simple to fix.

I'm so happy I found this forum. Everyone is so knowledgeable and passionate about old telephones. It's nice to see people still care about them today, in such a technology driven world. Thanks for your help Dennis.

[Jim Stettler]

You can get combo modular-to-spade cords.
Jim