In article ,
"new" wrote:

Thanks for the fast response Bob. This is a constant 55 volts so it is not
involved with the ring (and it is on both pairs anyway).

I had thought I had an old pricess transformer around but when I went out to
the jack I was suprised.

Again: is this normal?

Probably. Someone probably rang your phone at JUST the right time for you to
get really ZAPPED. Either that or you were WELL grounded when touching the
live wires.

Dialtone is -48-52VDC. I've never metered it at 55, but I suppose its
possible. We VERY rarely disconnect a working pair before working on it.

You'll notice inside the S/NI/D it says something like [to avoid shock, you
should disconnect the service prior to working on it]. Good advise, I guess.
--

JR