Weird outlet in apartment...what is it?

[coletrain]

I've got this weird "outlet" in my apartment. I'm not sure what it is. That hook thing is loose and it makes a clicking sound every couple hours...

It's been painted over multiple times by the owner. So I'm guessing it's not being used...

[stewie]

possibly an old old old phone jack?? i have a similar thing in my bedroom behind my bed..

[Tippey764]

Im not sure what it is but looking at it makes me laugh.

[nine_deuce]

That's odd, I've never seen anything like that. Take the cover off and see what the wiring looks like behind it??

[Pandemic]

Wow, depending on the age of your apartment, that may be a component to a door bell or phone. If there's an electro magnet behind the plate, it may vibrate and tug on a string that's attached to a bell.

It looks solid and not like a wire. I say take it apart!

[visualpoet]

I've been in the telecom, construction and maintenance fields for years and that thing is something I've never seen. How old is your apartment buildng?

I vote you score around the edges of the plate with a razor knife (so the paint doesn't peel off the wall), clear the screw heads of paint and carefully pull it open. If it's a live phone system of some sort, the voltage is only -48vdc, it won't kill you, but it does suck to get zapped. If it's some sort of alarm system, it could be low voltage, could be 120 vac. Just be cautious. And have a friend videotaping so we can all laugh about it later. Open it up and get some pics.

[apuforyou]

Just be cautious. And have a friend videotaping so we can all laugh about it later. Open it up and get some pics.

[Raf99]

I'm curious, rip that baby off and take some pics
Maybe there's treasure in there...

[Pandemic]

I'm curious, rip that baby off and take some pics
Maybe there's treasure in there...

If by treasure you mean dead rat then yeah... maybe.

[MikeW]

That IS weird. Im with the group; take it off and see what you find.

[coletrain]

The building was built sometime between 1906 and 1920. Pretty old!

I'm nervous to take that plate off. I already tried taking a screwdriver to the screws and the paint flakes off very easily. I'll try to take the whole thing off and take pictures

[visualpoet]

Hurry the hell up! It's been damn near 12 hours!

[Shag Wagon]

Explore or FAIL.

[deevergote]

Once you have it off... lick it.

[coletrain]

Ok, I took it apart. Probably scraping off years of old lead paint, lol.





You can see the hook attached through the brass plate. When I wiggle the hook, it moves the metal tab in the middle