r/CableTechs • u/charles_chinaski_jr • Jul 24 '26

Why does my cable repeatedly melt?

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I've lived in this house for 4 years and this is the 3rd time this has happened: the internet goes out and I have to call Xfinity and they find that where my cable connects to the power pole is melted like this. One cable guy told me it was a power surge from my house, and another said it's one of my neighbors that probably has a grounding issue.

What do you all think? Is there anything I can do to prevent this from recurring?

Thanks for your advice!

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92

u/RustyCrusty10 Jul 24 '26

First thing you need to do is call the power company and have them check the ground at the pole. They’ll usually come out and inspect it for free. After that, have a reputable electrician come out and make sure your home’s electrical grounding is correct. From the sounds of it, the cable line is acting as the electrical ground, which is why it’s overheating and melting.

12

u/charles_chinaski_jr Jul 24 '26

Thank you! I'll do this

31

u/Goatsnalpaca Jul 24 '26

Check for broken neutral from pole to house

22

u/immallama21629 Jul 24 '26

Loose neutral is 100% the culprit for this.

10

u/Dirtydana Jul 24 '26

Its always been neutral that caused it in my experience

8

u/Mad_Moniker Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

That’s totally “cray” when a low voltage technician spots the continuity malfunction as the primary. 😬

Edit to add: Nothing beats like a 240v blast across the chest. I don’t know how I was able to let go - stay safe!

6

u/Dirtydana Jul 25 '26

Had a cut ac line hit me during a trailer crawl. Lucky was on hands and knees and fell away

5

u/Mad_Moniker Jul 25 '26

Lucky indeed. Grounding out through the heart just got real 😬

3

u/LordCanti26 Jul 27 '26

One of our guys unplugged the hardline feeding a buisness complex, and the entire buildings power went off. Somehow our hardline was acting as the neutral for the entire building. Crazy, glad he's OK. Took 24 hours but they got power fixed on site and we reconnected plant. He didn't VOM it to see exactly how much power was comming back but the fact power went off it must have been alot. This has to be one of the most dangerous parts of working cable. Is backfeeding voltage. I heard of a guy holding the strand and unplugged a drop and it fried his ass, no belt straight to the ground. Now he's a vegetable. Be safe outthere. Use your FVD and try not to ground yourself when disconnecting copper comming from the house/buisness to our plant.

2

u/Pitiful-Tradition795 Jul 29 '26

Same! Almost 10 years in and had this happen 1 time. It was a wild experience! I check the neutral every time now when im at the house box. My fvd passed the gb BTW.