No dial tone inside my house, but the DSL is working. When I plug a phone directly into the grey box (a.k.a. Network Interface Device) on the outside wall of the house, at the same time disconnecting the link from the phone company's incoming line to the wiring inside the house, I get a dial tone! It seems that the phone company is still providing service. The evidence is exactly what I'd expect if there were a phone off the hook inside the house... but there isn't. What else could be going on? [more inside]
posted by aws17576 on Aug 31, 2008 - 22 answers

Help me diagnose repeated failure of my lighting dimmers. [more inside]
posted by jon1270 on Jun 26, 2008 - 20 answers

We decided to replace an ugly old chandelier today. After turning off the breaker and taking off the chandelier, I noticed there are black, red, white and green wires. The house is circa 1968. From what I can tell there used to be a fan/light. So I hooked up our flourescent dome by matching the wire colors and capping the red wire. Unfortunately, it didn't work. [more inside]
posted by mecran01 on Dec 25, 2006 - 14 answers

Is there a safe, easy way to ground a household outlet? [more inside]
posted by Gilbert on Sep 1, 2005 - 11 answers