Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - alarm shorts phone line

hi...i'm experiencing a loud buzzing on the phone line and traced it all the way back to the dm jack ...a phone tech came and first they ran a new line to the house...but now they tell me i'm getting shorts from our alarm system, i'm wondering if there is a way to bypass the alarm to check the line?

If properly installed, there should be a RJ-31x jack at the alarm panel that you can simply unplug to remove the alarm from the equation.

If your phone wiring has been worked on recently, it's possible that the pairs going to and returning from this jack have been improperly wired. See the link in the FAQ concerning proper alarm telco connections.

thanks ron...actually there was another box on the wall and the tech said it wasn't necessary ...they have ran a new line from the road ...worked for a day or two ..came back and told us it was a ring short in the alarm system...but i have taken everything out of the dem jack and the hum is still there...they told us it's not there problem and that we should call the alarm company?

I repeat, at the box that contains the alarm system main circuit board, there should be a cord that plugs into a a jack with a large (rj45) connector. If you unplug that cord, and the alarm system and the trouble goes away, then the alarm system (or even just that cord) is the problem. If it doesn't then there is a wiring error somewhere in the telco wiring between the panel jack and the demark.

If you are hearing this sound directly from the test jack at the demark, then the problem belongs to the telco.

Not so sure of the rules here so I hope this doesnt get me in trouble but if your system is an Ademco from the past 10 years or so, and you do determine the noise is caused by the alarm system and not the phone jack or outside phone wiring, there is a last resort to eliminate the noise before you replace the alarm. If you look at your "motherboard" for the alarm you will see where the 4 wires hook up from the phone jack to the motherboard. From left to right they are red,green,gray, brown. Right over those connections you will see 2 Blue plastic caps sticking off the board. Take a pair of pliers or needlenose pliers and squeeze them one at the time until they break. Once they are broken check the phone line again and it should be clean.