1A1 issues, stumped....

[Babybearjs]

well guys... I'm not sure what to do.... I have a small 1A1 system and all the phone lines are VOIP. lately whats been happening is.... the phone rings once....and when you pick it up, all you have is dial tone... on the other end.... the call gets dropped.... all the extensions seem to be OK, dial tone on all lines at all stations.... yet something is amiss.... when I unplug the power from the 20B2 PSU, when the call comes through, it rings like its suppose to and the pilot lights that tell me I've got power (LF, battery B, Battery A, and the 18 Volts) 2 of them start to flash... I think its Battery B and my Lamp feed.... yet there is no power to those circuits.... what could be the issue? crossover short? floating short or what? one of the current issues has been mice...and they have been chewing.... I've already replaced 2 power cords.... could that be an problem?  any help here would be great.... as I'm not sure what to look at other then the cabling right now....

[Payphone installer]

Are you sure the incoming trunks are not reversed? In there ring current present on the ring side of the line? Is there ring current present at all? It almost sounds like it's not seeing the ring. Just my thoughts.

[RB]

Don't know your setup, but, can tell you...
If you got mouse probs, they cause opens...not shorts.
Disclaimer: years of experience has proven over and again,
mouse teeth cut through things.
Don't see many shorts, tho possible.
if you suspect wires, bypass them, and re run the test.
With opens, what you can see is sneak circuits.
That is some components, can allow power to pass through them, and appear
on the OTHER side.
That allows power to re rout through other components.
And, the result, is weird lites flashing, extra stuff happening
along with what is supposed to be there.
Or, not happening at all.
good luck.

[HarrySmith]

I would hazard a guess if you did not change anything and it was fine before, your rodent friends have chewed something. I just had a customer at work that had warning lights on the dash, found out mice chewed her engine harness in several locations. I ended up dealing with insurance and replacing the entire harness for over $6,000.00!
Costly critters!

[Key2871]

We'll here's my two cents; what I would do is test and eliminate the voip line before the system. If that checks out, move toward inside wiring. It would be a really good idea to invest in D con if you have short runs under the house, consider putting the wires in some thing like pipe, or conduit.
That would eliminate future issues with rodents.

I've not had problems with mice in that way, but I have known voip to have strange issues with their lines.

[Babybearjs]

Thank you for all the advise! its weird, last night, I called my number from my cell phone, it rang once then dropped the call.... called again, it rang 3 time before dropping the call... and a third time it rang 5 times before dropping the call.... so, do you think it could be the cable modem? everything else seems to check out fine.... lines 2-4 and the ICM are running fine, its just line 1 I'm having issues with..... strange, huh???

[AE_Collector]

If you got mouse probs, they cause opens...not shorts.
Disclaimer: years of experience has proven over and again,
mouse teeth cut through things.
Don't see many shorts, tho possible.

BUT....this really depends where you are located. Up here in the Pacific Northwest it can be damp...real damp. Lots of problems caused by dampness in exposed conductors that is otherwise intact.

Terry

[Key2871]

Remove the system from the voip lines, then call your number from your cell, does it work right? If it does, it's most likely not your voip. With your line pulled, If you pick up the handset, do you hear noise, static, humming? That in it's self could cause your system to freak when ring voltage is applied. But if you leave everything connected, you will be chasing ghosts for weeks.

Now you have to figure out what's causing your system to jump, then stop.

[tubaman]

This sounds like the ringing current is finding a short, which is usually high resistance to the normal line voltage. This then trips the line. Once the line has tripped the short caused by the ring current will be gone and because you haven't actually answered the call it will be dropped (if that makes sense  ).
I would be looking at the cable insulation on the affected line.

[Key2871]

Exactly!

[Babybearjs]

and the ringing current it is..... I disconnected the "R" relay jumper and the phone started to work right.... so, now knowing whats causing the problem, how should I fix it? why would the relay cause an overload... thus dropping the calls? could the modem be wearing out? I don't understand this?? here's whats is happening as of 5/10: I took the cover off of my 212, discovered that I had taped a ID Tag to the inside of the cover, took that out....then manually activated the "R" Relay.... it seized fine and timed out OK, so I reconnected the jumper between #36A and #31A. called the number and the relay actuated with the ringing cycles, it did NOT seize up and stay on..... it followed the ringing cycle, on-off-on.....then dropped the call.... so, right now I have the jumper off until I can understand whats happening.... should I try reversing the T/R on the line? would that do anything?

[tubaman]

I'd be taking a very close look at the wiring associated with the defective circuit for things like chaffing or even dust or insects across contacts.
Reversing T/R (A/B in UK speak) shouldn't make a difference.