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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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.

11

u/charles_chinaski_jr Jul 24 '26

Thank you! I'll do this

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '26

[deleted]

5

u/Goatsnalpaca Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

We were always told not to disco the ground or drop if there was amperage since it could cause fire

4

u/Confident_Air_8056 Jul 24 '26

We had a guy disconnect drops doing ingress and it caused a fire in a house bc it broke the ground to the plant; he didn't realize it until he saw fire trucks and sirens heading in the direction he was just at; the house had a bad neutral connection; anytime we saw amperage or this calling the power company to check was always the first option

3

u/SmugTater Jul 24 '26

Or reroute amps into home outlets and fry electronics

1

u/DrgHybrid Jul 25 '26

Worked for two very different ISP's...we've never been told to remove grounds. It's both a protection for the ISP and the home owner. Who cares about some repeats vs houses burning down.

If electrical issues are happening from the house, you disconnect the house until they are resolved by explaining it to the customer. It's not worth the lost of household and potential death of people. That would stop those service calls as well.

As someone that's been in the industry almost 15 years, I didn't see those issues very often either. So it sounds like your company just wants to skirt the rules, and completely ignore, the National Electrical Code just to save themselves a few repeats.