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Trying to remove the ugly caulking on the baseboard in the basement and noticed this deadline of wire was running along the baseboard, I have seen in the past but not able to figure out what it is. I am guessing some sort of audio wire given they go by 2 sets, I thought they are ground wires, but I might be wrong. Someone please help!!! Pics below

running_along_baseboard closelook

N_C
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    Physically, it looks like speaker wire to me. You need to verify that the previous person wasn't an idiot and hooked it up to an electrical circuit. Use a non-contact voltage tester. – MonkeyZeus Nov 16 '22 at 18:24
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    Lamp cord looks the same, in clear. Indeed, much speaker wire WAS lampcord, before audiophools came along. – Ecnerwal Nov 16 '22 at 19:59
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    @Ecnerwal whoever came up with reusing lampwire as specialized wire for sub 20kHz transmissions was a masterfool maketer! – P2000 Nov 16 '22 at 20:09
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    I can say as an audio engineer, that is speaker wire. What it was/is actually hooked up to, I cannot say. – element11 Nov 17 '22 at 04:15
  • Check wiki entry for [zip cord](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip-cord). It could be used for both speakers and lamps. Often find it on swag lamps threaded through the chain since it is more decorative then romex. – user2448131 Nov 17 '22 at 16:35
  • Perhaps also could be used for various home security installs. Yes, not normal, but... – Jon Custer Nov 17 '22 at 20:41

1 Answers1

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Very definitely looks like speaker wire, similar to this available from Amazon:

Amazon Basics speaker wire

What it was used for is anybody's guess. One would hope it was for connecting speakers to the amp, but somebody could have connected it to main power. That would be a Very Bad Thing™. Be sure to check for any voltage before just ripping it out.

Use of a non-contact voltage detector would be a good start. A multimeter would be a good addition if the NVD triggers for voltage.

Do try to find the other end to see what it's attached to. If neither end is attached to anything, feel free to rip it out and reuse/recycle it.

manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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FreeMan
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  • Thanks, just checked, no power running through. In fact other end of the wire was already cut off and inside the baseboard. Yikes. – N_C Nov 16 '22 at 21:10
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    @NaveenCotha Yikes? Wires not attached to anything aren't really a problem. They're just ugly, is all. – user253751 Nov 17 '22 at 09:30
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    @user253751 Makes you wonder what it was cut off *from*, and if that thing is still lying hidden somewhere. – chepner Nov 17 '22 at 18:23
  • It looks like other end of the wire was cut off during a previous paint+reno project. – N_C Nov 18 '22 at 16:04
  • Was talking to a neighbor, he mentioned that he used to hear big "boom boom" sound which I am thinking is the speakers attached to these wires :D – N_C Nov 18 '22 at 16:10