Is a cleaning person able to splash water into a wall jack? He must have good aim or he's really sloppy. Or is the defective jack a surface-mount type? The preferred method for a surface-mount -- formerly referred to as a "42A block" (pre-modular era) or a "625A block" (modular era) -- is to mount the block with the opening downward. The next best position is with the opening to the left or right side. Never install it with the opening pointing upward.

Now that we have spent a cumulative $250 worth of time on this question, and since the original jack probably was worth $1.50 when installed, I would suggest that you apply your time and energies to more productive and useful endeavors than to trying to resurrect a defective jack.

For a more detailed discussion of the life and mating habits of the common connecting block, see BSP 461-610-103 (1978)


Arthur P. Bloom
"30 years of faithful service...15 years on hold"