Media Extender Active network Conductors

[Ronno6]

After a recent nearby lightning strike my Media Extender could no longer obtain an IP address. I changed ports on the switch without success. Changing the cable cured the problem. I obtained a cable tester and found wires 1,2,3,5,6 to be good. Which does the ME use?The old cable runs through the attic and replacement is not an option due to new insulation. Can I change the wiring in order to get good it working using the 5 available good conductors?

[GKusnick]

It should be standard 100BASE-TX wiring. Check the Wikipedia article for full details, but if 1&2 and 3&6 are intact, it should work (assuming you're numbering the pins correctly).

Note that it's not just a matter of finding four good wires. Wires come in pairs, and you need two good pairs.

Also note that gigabit Ethernet requires all four pairs.

[Ronno6]

Yup. The pin numbering is per the article. I've used the T568B orientation, and, according to the tester, 1&2, 3&6 are all good,yet, it does not work. No lights illuminate on the lan switch when this cable is connected. Hmmmm.
Another mystery as to the black magic of Media Extender operation!

[GKusnick]

Is the cable stapled down anywhere? If not, it may be possible to fish a new cable by taping it end-to-end with the old cable and pulling it through.

[Ronno6]

How well does heat shrink tubing grip?
Taping ends has been considered and, I guess, would be the only way to replace the cable. (I have the current cable going around the room and over drapery rods now.) I will probably try re-terminating first. The last 6 feet from the attic down to the HT is possibly the trickiest. I built 2 3" PVC conduits into the wall thinking I would NEVER need that much capacity! (Boy,was I ever WRONG on that one!!)
Hopefully I'm reading the tester correctly. It scans down the conductor LED's and the ones with continuity light up momentarily. The instructions are kind of lacking. Operation is obvious I suppose. But, the 1,2,3,5,& 6 LEDS light. The others do not.
Be that the case, 1,2,3 & 6 being the required conductors, it SHOULD work.
(But it does not!) And they are pairs.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by Ronno6

How well does heat shrink tubing grip?
Taping ends has been considered and, I guess, would be the only way to replace the cable. (I have the current cable going around the room and over drapery rods now.) I will probably try re-terminating first. The last 6 feet from the attic down to the HT is possibly the trickiest. I built 2 3" PVC conduits into the wall thinking I would NEVER need that much capacity! (Boy,was I ever WRONG on that one!!)
Hopefully I'm reading the tester correctly. It scans down the conductor LED's and the ones with continuity light up momentarily. The instructions are kind of lacking. Operation is obvious I suppose. But, the 1,2,3,5,& 6 LEDS light. The others do not.
Be that the case, 1,2,3 & 6 being the required conductors, it SHOULD work.
(But it does not!) And they are pairs.

I'm not sure what you are using to test your cable, but just because you have continuity from one end to the other doesn't mean you don't also have a short between two adjacent wires. Did you check for wire to wire shorts?