Old customer contacted me to move his phone system and network to their new office location. The customer contact said “the General Contractor gave him a great deal on the wiring installation!” He wanted a quote to complete the phone system move and terminations. HMMMM……. I explained to him “I would accept the job at time and material only”, (Sparkie is alive and well in this area.) he finally agreed to the terms….off and running.

Beside several code violations, there was something strange with the cable.
When the insulation was strip back, there was an oily substance on the cable pairs?
I contacted General Cable and spoke with a rep that had no clue as to what it was.

I have never seen or experience this type of cable before. The only thing I can guess
is that the cable was stored in a extreme conditions and the cable has started to break down…… Any thoughts?

The label on the cable has the following:

General Cable CAT-3 J CMR (UL) C (UL) CMG 4PR 24AWG IWC---VERIFIED (UL) CAT-3---02-07 172219C2 475236 FEET CAT-3

Walt