Unidentified cable in loft - advise needed!

[hallur84]

Hello,

I am installing insulation in my loft and have been mindful of all the electrical cables to lights and switches. All good, as they are nicely secured to the joists - so no need to touch them.

However, there is a cable running across the length of the loft and I can't figure out what it is for and I am hoping that you good people may have come across something similar.
I have attached some photos showing one end of the loft where the cable disappears into the wall (photo 1) and the other end where it goes down behind the plaster board (photo 2). At one point the cable seemed to be taped and a thin grey wire comes out and disappears down through the ceiling. I removed the tape and was faced with a multicore cable the thinner grey cable coming of a few of the cores (photo 3).
I'm really puzzled to what this could be! I have a voltage detector pen, and it beeps intermittently when I touch the cable, so I think that there may be some current going through.

Some things, which I think that I have already determined, which may help.
- It is not coming from an antenna or the sky dish (can see these cables, and they are routed differently).
- My house is a semi-detached house, so the end in photo 1 may go into my neighbours loft. I have still to ask him if he knows about this cable.
- The cable comes down (photo 2) almost above our combi-boiler, however I had that replaced 2 years ago and have never seen this cable, so it is not routed towards it.

Ideally I would like to either remove or re-route this cable, as it is very stretched for its entire run. I am not sure why, but there is no slack in the cable and it seems to be very randomly routed across the loft.
If anyone has any idea what this cable could be for and if I can remove it, then that would be much appreciated!

 

[SparkyChick]

This one is a little older than the one in the OPs picture.

It has a tag attached detailing the installer and the inspector... it appears to be dated 1957. And yes... that is all rubber insulation

 

[Dave OCD]

Did it have porcelain connectors inside ?

 

[SparkyChick]

Did it have porcelain connectors inside ?

No, it's a black bakelite carriage with brass terminals. It's packed quite tight and has been tinkered with since it was installed as there was a PVC cable linked in.

I'll snap some pics of the innards.

I know I'm abit weird with this, but this place is proving to be a treasure trove of old cable samples for my collection

 

[Toneyz]

This is one that I saw in a house last year the lid fits flush with the ceiling there is one upstairs and one down.

 

[DPG]

OP - is it a sheltered housing esate? If so then it may be for a warden call (pull cord, etc.) system. Often use 10 core multicore as the system cable.

 

[SparkyChick]

As promised... some pics of the 'Octopus'



And for the younger members who's experience of old rubber cable may be very limited... here's a selection of cables. On the outside, the one on the bottom looks in reasonable condition, but when I was pulling it out, you could hear the insulation inside cracking so I peeled it open to take a look. One of the joys of rubber... over time (or with a liberal application of heat) it can dry out, become brittle and just fall away when touched.

 

[Dave OCD]

That box was well done internally SC, and most of the lighting cables back in 1957 appear to have a cpc too ! It's a little bit of history and also a little sad as whoever did it will be very elderly or gone by now.

 

[SparkyChick]

That box was well done internally SC, and most of the lighting cables back in 1957 appear to have a cpc too ! It's a little bit of history and also a little sad as whoever did it will be very elderly or gone by now.

I was impressed when I opened it. It's possibly the part of the install that was in the best condition.

Most of the accessories have had insulation tape wrapped round conductors and one place where a bunch of cables ran near the heating cables the insulation fell off when I touched it.

The picture is deceptive though... I was surprised when I saw that CPC in the lighting circuit cabling because to that point I hadn't encountered any when cutting the old cabling out. Lots of metal switches too. Scary.

 

[7029 dave]

As promised... some pics of the 'Octopus'

View attachment 40952 View attachment 40953 View attachment 40954 View attachment 40955 View attachment 40956 View attachment 40957

And for the younger members who's experience of old rubber cable may be very limited... here's a selection of cables. On the outside, the one on the bottom looks in reasonable condition, but when I was pulling it out, you could hear the insulation inside cracking so I peeled it open to take a look. One of the joys of rubber... over time (or with a liberal application of heat) it can dry out, become brittle and just fall away when touched.

View attachment 40958

We have all been there.