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What are these cables in my sitting room wall for?

  • 09-09-2014 8:39pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 136 ✭✭


    HI!
    When I moved into my house, we noticed that there were in each corner of the sitting room 4 cables with wires sticking out of the wall. They look to be the same type of wire as those found on speakers.
    Looking closer, there is a red and white cable wire wound together, a black and blue cable wire wound together and then a yellow and green cable separate.

    Anyone any idea on what they are for? I can't get photos of them at the minute I'm afraid.

    Thanks for any help!


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 1,732 ✭✭✭SachaJ


    The blue/black and red/white do look like speaker cables "bi-wired". The thinking is that the wire is thicker overall so should carry the signal better. Or perhaps the previous user needed thicker wires for higher powered speakers.

    That's only a guess though and not sure what the other wires could have been for (yellow/green). Really you need to find the other end of the wires to see if they are plugged into anything. If not then you could use for speakers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,323 ✭✭✭Slaphead07


    they look a bit flimsy to be speaker cable and even the colours, though not standard, would have me thinking somebody intended them for mains use. I know you shouldn't have mains leads hanging out of a wall but I'd be careful - have you checked what's at the other end?
    They are unlikely to be for bi-wiring, bi-wiring is where you run separate but parallel cables from an amp to the low and high frequencies on a speaker.


  • Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭Eminence


    Definitely not speakers, unless it was a single full freq driver driven in some way. As said above colouring is off and very flimsy.

    I would suggest some kind of Led Lighting with control options, do you know where they lead?


  • Registered Users Posts: 136 ✭✭draven3410


    Thanks for the replies!
    Unfortunately, I have no idea where they lead to. All the light switches are working normally so its not them. There is a phone light plug that doesn't seem to be working but I really doubt its that.

    I had thought originally they where for lighting, but under and slightly to the left of each of them are actual lights. Seems a bit redundant to have 2 sets of lights in each area.

    I did check the wires with one of those amp screwdriver devices, the kind that light up when there is power in the wire when you tap it and got no light.

    I was hoping that the red/black wires were like normal speaker wires and the green/yellow were speaker wires for behind. Then it would set up as : Red (front Left), Black (Front right), Green (behind Left) and yellow (behind right).

    Thanks again!


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,323 ✭✭✭Slaphead07


    It's all irrelevant unless you know what's at the other end of them.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,789 ✭✭✭slavetothegrind


    thats cat5 cable, they will all terminate in the same place, see your attic or if you have a utility room are they coiled up in there?


  • Registered Users Posts: 136 ✭✭draven3410


    We have two attics in our house so I'll have to have a look in both! I don't remember seeing anything like them last time I was up there though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,163 ✭✭✭ZENER


    thats cat5 cable, they will all terminate in the same place, see your attic or if you have a utility room are they coiled up in there?

    Definitely NOT intended to carry 230VAC so please don't try it.

    It's simple alarm cable, the reason some are shorted I imagine was to help the installer/electrician to identify and label them back at their source or as a nod towards the current carrying ability of one core.

    No doubt intended for speakers as this is typically what a first fix sparks will put in if the conversation goes similar to this:

    You: I want to put speakers in the corners of the room, how much will the wire cost for that ?

    Sparks: Ah sure a tenner will get the roll of wire, sure it's only speakers - ya wouldn't need anything more than that ?!

    You: Ah grand . . .

    Ken


  • Registered Users Posts: 136 ✭✭draven3410


    Seems to be about right. Most of the people who have seen the wire say it looks like alarm cable but then notice it in all the corners of the room and then say it must be for speakers!


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