# [SOLVED] How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?



## scm1893 (Jun 10, 2011)

I am trying to connect CAT5e riser cable to a GE #76536 network and phone wall plate. The problem I am having is the CAT5e cable has 4 twisted pairs of wires as follows: blue/white, green/white, orange/white and brown/white. The wall plate connection has 8 distinct colors; blue, white, green, orange, yellow, black, red and brown. (or at least that's what they look like to me)
None of the white wires from the CAT5e cable have any striping. They are all solid white. I've found color charts for matching striped wires, but I am at a loss to figure out how to connect these white wires to the proper terminals. 

Admin please move if I'm in the wrong category.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

The 8 distinct colors is phone wire not network wire.
You can't use that for networking. Phone wire has less twists and can be less of a gauge than network wire.

25-pair color code - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
compared to
Category 5 cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## scm1893 (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

Thanks for the reply. Some clarification please.

Our current setup is a phone line run, on the floor, from a jack in the dining room to a router in my den. Then an ethernet patch cable is run, on the floor, from the router to my wife's PC in another room.

I am trying to eliminate this by running new lines under the floor. I was going to install wallplates with a phone and ethernet jack on each. (GE #76536)

The plan was to use a patch cable from the router to the wallplate(1) in my den, the CAT5e cable (under floor) from that wallplate(1) to the wallplate(2) in her room and a patch cable from that wallplate(2) to her PC. I've already installed the boxes and run the cables to them.

The cable I have is labeled CAT5e Riser Type CMR-Gray 24/4 Gauge/Pair.
The packaging for the cable states under Applications: 10BASE-T through 1000BASE-T Ethernet(IEEE 802.3). Under Installation Instructions it states, "...maintaining consistent color coding to T568A or T568B standards." There is an illustration showing pin/pair connections and refers to the wires as O, GR, BL, BR, W-O, W-GR, W-BL, W-BR.

The wallplate packaging states, "Accepts network cables with RJ45 connectors. Supports CAT5 and CAT6 Ethernet connections."

Based on these statements, I thought I had bought the correct equipment.

When I look at the Wiki links you provided I see the following:
1. (25 pair link) The first 4 pairs match my cable. There is a statement below the chart that says, "The first five combinations are very common in telecomms and _data wiring_ worldwide but beyond that there is considerably more variation."
2. (Category 5 link) All wires that are not a solid color are striped.

As none of the white wires in my cable have any striping, it appears to me that Home Depot has erroneously packaged telecom cable with a CAT5e label relying on the fact that it could be used for ethernet, if one were able to make proper pin/pair connections.

From the links you gave me, it appears I could decipher the proper pin/pair connections. That is I would have to make assumptions about my cable, for example, that Blue/White = BL/W-BL, Orange/White = O/W-O, Green/White = GR/W-GR and Brown/White = BR/W-BR.

Can/should I make this work or do I need to do something different?


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

What writing is on the cable itself?

The data wiring they are talking about isn't network wiring per say but serial wiring. There was a time when macs could network together using telephone wire [cat 3]. Never saw that in the IBM world. It was BNC or a hub.

Given your situation and assuming this was just a bad run [no stripes on the white cable] you would just need to follow the TIA standard 568A or B wiring diagrams [pick one and only use it] knowing the "white" wire is also the stripped wire for the colors its twisted with.

Might want to get some colored markers and put a color line down the white when untwisted. Like a blue line for the white line paired with the solid blue for example.


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## scm1893 (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

Here's the entire label on the cable.

01439 FT Southwire Saber Link CAT5e UTF 4PR 24AWG (UL) c (UL) CMR Verified (UL) CAT5e e19882 0800 H CAT5e Made in USA

I have just a few questions before I attempt to make the connections.

1. Is one TIA Standard a better choice than the other; given what I'm trying to do?
2. On normal CAT5 cable would like colors be paired? EX. Would Blue be paired with White/Blue stripe, etc.? I believe they are, but I'd like you to confirm it.
3. Since my wallplate jack has the 8 distinct colors, could you direct me to a color chart showing proper connection? I wouldn't want to do a search and choose an outdated color scheme.

Thank you, in advance, Wand3r3r


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

You can use either standard though its my understanding A is commercial and B is residencial. You just have to use the same standard throughout.

Yes the color pairs are twisted together as default. Blue with blue/white for example.

I just google cat5e pinouts for the diagrams
Google Image Result for http://www.zytrax.com/images/cat5_cross_100_both.gif


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## scm1893 (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

Just letting you know it works. It was hard to get 8 wires under 8 screws with poor lighting, failing eyesight and only 3/4" of wire with which to work. Thanks again for your help, Wand3r3r.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

*Re: How do I connect CAT5e cable to GE wallplate?*

Thanks for the update


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