Convert line 2 back to line 1

Hi, there. I am trying to convert an old jack back to my main line. The phone company installed a whole new NID and a whole separate number and line which was hooked up to an existing jack in my office. Now I have had the 2nd line turned off and have a dead jack. I need to hook it back to my main line.

The box has 2 sets of screws and 2 sets of tester jacks. All wires are hooked to one set of screws - mostly red and green but 2 blue and white ones. And a lot of unused wires, yellow and black and lots of orange. I can't tell if I need to hook up other wires to the existing screws or do something to the jack (which is red, green, black and yellow.

I'm usually adept at these things but am terribly confused at this point and, of course, would rather not call the phone company.

Help! And thanks. If needed I can send a photo.

cmrva

 

It sounds like the blue/white set is your second line. Try moving the blue/white to the red/green post at the NID. Then try your jack. I'll bet that does it.

Let us know how it works out.

 

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Hi, Brandon. Thanks for answering. After looking more closely I had the configuration wrong. There are 3 sets of red/green screws. The very top one has yellow/black wire which I presume goes to my old jack (and a big presumption) for line 2, now dead. There is nothing on the middle 2 screws (ignore that they show on the middle screws - I put them there and the blue-white wires are now hooked back in with my main line0. I'm not sure where the red/green wires that are in the cord with the attached black/yellow are.

Now do you still think I should take the blue/white to the screws where the black yellow are? so I leave the black/yellow attached or unhook them?? Or find the red/green wires - I am getting frustrated!
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Here's what you really should do:
Take a phone outside with you (not a cordless phone - just a regular phone).
Using the test jacks (on the right side of each connection point) test each one until you get a dial-tone.
When you get a dial-tone, you've found your active line.
Just hook-up everything (everything that's connected now anyway) to that connection point.

This may give you 2 dial-tones in one jack (the one that the black/yellow goes to) but that's no big deal, since you're probably not using 2 line phones or anything like that.

Let me know if you have any more problems.

 

Everything (including blue) is already hooked to the live connection (on the bottom) except the black/yellow (top)- the live line has 4 red and 4 green and the 2 blue wires. I have 5 jacks in the house, which all used to be on my main number. I still can't get a dial tone thru to the jack I want to use which appears to be hooked to black/yellow (and which had a separate number before, converting to a 2 line; as I recall the phone guy hooked up a whole new line from the pole outside, so there may be 2 actual lines into the house). The yellow stuff you see in the phone jack on the top is some type of "gunk" - no clue, and am not sure if I want to stick a phone plug into it.

I may just have to give in and call the phone co, but hate to do that.

 

Ok, you need to pull that phone jack off the wall. It sounds like they switched the connections in it to get the second line to work. Just take the jack off the wall and look at which wires from the NID or line are connected to the red/green terminals to the jack. The red/green terminals in the jack are your Line1, so whatever wires are connected to it need to be connected to your active line outside. I'll bet you the black/yellow wires are connected there.

BTW, the yellow stuff in the jack outside is just a sealant, it won't hurt your phones or plugs, it doesn't even stick to them.