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I have bought a network cable tester today and tested my newly crimped crossover and 6-1 are not lighting up. At first i thought that the 6-1 led lights are not working.But i tried to switch the cable and now 3-1 are not lightning up. But the cable is working when i connect to my router. I'm actually using it right now.

I have old straight-through cable, manufactured by belkin, still working or in good condition and check it on my new tester and now 1-1 are not lightning up. But the cable still in working condition.

Please help, is there a problem in my new tester?

Esther T
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    You need to edit your post to provide more details. Like perhaps the exact make and model of the network cable tester and maybe a picture of these lights so everyone knows exactly what you are referencing. – Giacomo1968 Aug 28 '16 at 15:29
  • Phil's answer is good, but leaves out the answer to why your cable works with bad conductors. Below gigabyte speeds only 2 of the 4 twisted pairs are used. Also you should always have one known good cable handy to test your tester, that way you are never left with the conclusion that there must be burned out lights. – Tyson Aug 28 '16 at 19:41
  • @Esther-T Only Gigabit NIC (1Gb and over speed) uses all 4 pairs (8 wires) otherwise for 10/100Mbps NIC uses only 2 pairs (4 wires) for data transfer. There is some fault in your cable, may be not punched/connected properly to the socket pin. Fortunately it's still working for you because the wires which your NIC using to transfer data (2 pairs) are connected where others are not. [Check out this page for more info](https://serverfault.com/q/449416/406232) – webcoder Nov 27 '18 at 08:12
  • Am I the only person who finds it bewildering that these companies manufacture and sell diagnostics devices that comes with no on-board diagnostic features? – Arctiic Jul 17 '22 at 09:26

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It's common for "newly crimped" cables to have problems (that's why cable testers exist, I guess).

One common problem is using the wrong kind of cable. The insulation-displacement contacts in the plugs are designed to work with specific cable thickness and insulation thickness. Also single-strand cable won't work in a multi-strand connector or vice versa.

Another common problem is not compressing the connections correctly, which is why you need a crimping tool and not just a screwdriver. If the contact is not compressed far enough it won't penetrate the insulation. Worse still, it will sit a little bit high in the plug, which will push the contact in the socket a little too far and bend it. The next time you insert a correctly-terminated plug in that socket, the contact in the plug can miss the bent contact in the socket.

So, bent or dirty contacts in the socket on the tester is a likely explanation. But your experiments were giving inconsistent results so you need more tests.

Phil McKerracher
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  • All of this is really correct yet cursory. Did you read the part of the question where they state that despite the cable failing the test it works 100% fine? – Giacomo1968 Aug 28 '16 at 22:38