did it ever work? the cable in a house phone socket will usually run to another jack in the house. A simple way to check this is open every jack in the house make sure all the wires are connected well and you may find a loose connection in one of the jacks. also look in the jack with a flash light the little metal pins could be corroded, in that case you will need a new jack. all this is very safe and will take only a little time,
john, April 2009