
The location and how much cable is affected is now
known. But it is still necessary to locate where the water
actually entered the cable. A break in the sheath may
not necessarily be within the span of where the water is
and may not necessarily show up in testing. If the break
in the sheath is not fixed, the problem will show up
again in the future.
If the break in the sheath happens to be at a high point
in the cable, the water will enter through the hole then
migrate to a lower point. If the water entry point is not
found, it may be necessary to visually inspect the cable.
Check the integrity of the sheath.
4.4 Locating Intermittent Faults
A major problem in troubleshooting outside plant is
locating intermittent faults. The first indication of an
intermittent fault is when a telephone customer com-
plains of noisy static or no dial tone. The problem is
usually a high resistance series fault or intermittent
connectors.
Many times, the customer calls with a noisy telephone line.
However, by the time the trouble crew is deployed, there is
no trouble found. When there is no loop current, the fault
heals itself. As soon as you leave the trouble, and the cus-
tomer uses the line again, they report the same type of
trouble.
Solid cases of trouble are very easy to locate with the help
of a TDR. If the trouble is intermittent, the technician will
have a difficult time seeing the problem on a TDRs wave-
form with just the naked eye. When this type of trouble is
located very close to the subscriber end of the line, this
may be a high resistance open (series resistance fault).
Below is a quick and easy guide on how to locate “noisy