# Ethernet cables spliced with wire nuts



## brdcollie (May 2, 2017)

I'm building a new house and have 8 ethernet cables running throughout the house to the location of my cable modem/router (I only plan to use 4 at one time.) I expected to have 8 separate ethernet cables come out of the wall at this termination point. But my electrician stripped each of the eight cat5/6 cables and wire-nutted the individual strands together with a pigtail so that there is only one ethernet cable coming out of the wall to run to the router. (Photo of what the junction box looks like linked below.) I've never heard of ethernet cables all being spliced together like that and suspect it won't work. Does this electrician know what he's doing?? Thanks


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No that''ll never work.


----------



## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Well, it would, but only as a single connection (not 8 individual connections).

And, no, he doesn't. You should point out his error and have him pull new cables (or give you a discount).


----------



## GentleArrow (Aug 10, 2015)

Those lines were setup for phones not networking. They are Untwisted which will not work with a regular network connection. You don't mix phone/network cable with power cables [looks like a power line in that box]

For a network all of the lines would have been terminated to a patch panel.

An electrician is NOT the same thing as a low voltage electrical contractor. Most electricians I have met don't touch LV


----------



## GentleArrow (Aug 10, 2015)

Might want to review the house specifications with the builder. If is specifies networking and phones then the subcontractor is in violation of the terms as set forth.

if only phones you need to get a LV contractor in there and get network and cable lines run to every room. Otherwise you are limited to wifi and/or powerline networking. 

I wouldn't expect any less for a new house.


----------



## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

Exactly. That set up is for telephones.

You may be able to salvage it if you know how to terminate them properly, but you'll have to do both ends of each cable.


----------



## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

brdcollie said:


> Does this electrician know what he's doing?? Thanks


NO!! I have only seen one electrician ever get ethernet wiring right. Ever.
That's not even correct for telephone.


----------



## brdcollie (May 2, 2017)

Thanks for the replies - and confirming that the electrician didn't have a clue about ethernet. 
Here's what I'll try to do to salvage the mess. I'll check the the termination of each cable in the various rooms around the house to confirm the pin pattern (A or B, or some random configuration). I have determined that at least he didn't try to wire the network in series, but has homeruns to each room. Then at the router end I'll rebuild each twisted pair for each cable and install correct RJ45 connectors. This is the part I wonder about. The electrician stripped about 12 inches of the blue outer sheathing off of each cable, and untwisted each pair, but left the sheathing on the individual strands. Can I just retwist the proper pairs and use either heat shrink or tape wrap to recreate the outer sheathing (If that is even needed?) 
Replacing the cables is not an option since the cables are inside of foam insulation in the walls - and I don't want this guy back in my house anyway. This what I get for trying to use an electrician and not a network guy.
Thanks again for the help.


----------



## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

" the cables are inside of foam insulation in the walls"

I was thinking there might some excess stuffed into the walls, but if so, you may not be able to pull any out if foam was applied afterwards.

Yes, pair separation and heat shrink will be functional for your use. For typical home networking use you should be fine without noticeable speed loss. It would not pass Gigabit certification however.


----------



## Fred Garvin (Sep 4, 2010)

See if there is enough excess cable at your termination points that would allow you to cut the untwisted pairs back to the where the outer jacket is. If any of the wiring is run through a crawl space or attic you can access, see if there is any slack or a service loop - you may be able to pull a little extra length out to your wall plates and re-terminate the keystone jacks. You can put up to 25 ft/lbs of tension on the cable.

As a last resort, you can try to re-twist your pairs & shrink tube or electrical tape them. You should have no more than 1/2" of untwisted wire at the ends when you terminate the connectors.


----------



## GentleArrow (Aug 10, 2015)

the twists are precisely done by machines. you will not be able to duplicate that. you would have to cut the untwisted parts off and only untwist about 3/8" for the outlets/ends crimping.

personally I would be doing all new runs. you will regret not doing so in the future


----------



## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

^^ That's not necessary for a typical home application. Not even for most small business applications. It would only be necessary for business applications that consistently require high speed data transfers and if that were the case, the electrician would be paying for the reinstall.


----------



## GentleArrow (Aug 10, 2015)

Pretty normal these days to wire the whole house for phones, coax and network. At least one outlet per wall. Makes equipment placement easier


----------



## tipen2985 (Jul 21, 2017)

Have anyone used CableMonsta Cat6 High Speed Ethernet Cable?? I want to know about how it is. Is it suitable for gaming??
Should I buy or not.


----------



## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

tipen2985 said:


> Have anyone used CableMonsta Cat6 High Speed Ethernet Cable?? I want to know about how it is. Is it suitable for gaming??
> Should I buy or not.


Why are you responding to someones elses topic with a question of your own?

Cables typically work or they don't. Any Cat6 rated cable should work just fine. The biggest factor would be cable length. And personally, I don't buy anything with a gimicky name like "CableMonsta". Having said that, all of my cables are from monoprice.


----------



## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

^^ You know, I stayed with MonoPrice for a long time for patch cables, etc. I had a need for two 100 footers. Checked several places. Found one for a better price. Should have known better. Very thin sheath and the conductors were more like ribbon cable strands; maybe 28 gauge or smaller and stranded. I had to cut one to a shorter length and make up a new connector. A standard RJ45 connector wouldn't crimp right since the strands were too thin. I ended up having to heat the contacts a bit to melt the insulation on each conductor for it to make contact. Not a high speed or quality necessary application, so it didn't matter as long as it worked at all. I got it working, but I wasn't happy.

The one 100 footer that I used intact works well, even with POE.

I guess it'll be back to MP next time.


----------

