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Ademco Vista 20 - open circuit intermittent beep from panels

Phoenix_79

Dec 25, 2021
4
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Dec 25, 2021
Messages
4
Hi -the battery was low and I am unable to get service (to be safe) because my son was in contact with a friend that tested positive for COVID. I unplug the battery from the transformer and that solved the beeping until I get the battery replaced.

24 hours later, there is a beep at 1 of 2 panels. It says Open Circuit on both however intermittent beeping sound is coming from one of two panels.

how can I disable beeping this as well?
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
480
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
480
The quick answer to stopping the beeping from your keypads is to unplug both the battery and the transformer at the Control Panel. The Control Panel (or just "Panel" is the main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) located in a steel cabinet somewhere. I assume

I don't know what you mean by "unplug the battery from the transformer", because the battery is not connected directly to the transformer: It's connected to the PCB by two red and black wire leads, and the PCB's terminals 1 & 2 are connected to the Panel transformer. I assume you meant to say you disconnected the battery from the Control Panel.
 

Phoenix_79

Dec 25, 2021
4
Joined
Dec 25, 2021
Messages
4
The quick answer to stopping the beeping from your keypads is to unplug both the battery and the transformer at the Control Panel. The Control Panel (or just "Panel" is the main Printed Circuit Board (PCB) located in a steel cabinet somewhere. I assume

I don't know what you mean by "unplug the battery from the transformer", because the battery is not connected directly to the transformer: It's connected to the PCB by two red and black wire leads, and the PCB's terminals 1 & 2 are connected to the Panel transformer. I assume you meant to say you disconnected the battery from the Control Panel.

Thank you for your reply. You’re right, I communicated it incorrectly in my post for help.

I am a complete novice.

initially, there was intermittent beeping from panel 3 of 3 do I unplug the honey well 1361 for class 2 transformer. This stopped the beeping at panel 3 of 3.

Twenty-four hours later, there was intermittent beeping at panel 2 of 3 and on the panel display it showed “open circuit”.

I found the PCB, in this metal box is a battery with two white and another two black wires. I disconnect one of them from the battery and completely disabled the system to stop the beeping.

I think what I need to do next is get a replacement honey well 1361 and reconnect everything???
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
480
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
480
It's unlikely that your 1361 transformer is causing the problem. The "Open Circuit" message on the Keypad display almost always means there is a communication failure between the Control Panel and a Keypad, most often a data wire that has come loose or poorly connected, either at the V-20 Panel itself (data wires are terminals 6 & 7), or at one of the Keypads. It could be a loose wire at more than one KP, but that's unusual.

I recommend you go to the Panel (the Vista-20) and find the data wires for each Keypad
(1) Power down the Panel: Transformer unplugged, battery disconnected. Do NOT disconnect or connect KP wires while Panel is powered up. It tends to zap/kill KPs.
(2) Find which wires on Panel Terminals 6 & 7 to which of your 3 Keypads. #s 6 & 7 provide data to/from a variety of peripheral devices, so it may take some searching. The data wires are usually green and yellow/white. See if you can find a loose or loosely connected wire on Terminals 4, 5, 6, or 7. Sometimes those wires are bunched together and you'll need to give a tug on each individual wire. If you're lucky, you'll find a loose one that will fix the problem once it's connected firmly. If that doesn't solve it, then, remembering to power the Panel down first.....

(3) Disconnect the KPs at the Panel (The Vista-20 PCB), one at a time, then power the Panel up again, until you find which KP is causing the problem.After you see which disconnected KP solves the problem, then go to that KP and take it off the wall and check the connections there. The KP itself is usually good, it's most connections that cause the "Open Circuit" problem.

Some KPs have screw terminals, others have wire leads that need to be soldered to make a connection. Some installers use crimp connectors, and I've seen wire nuts used too. If the KP doesn't have screw terminals, I recommend solder-and-tape for a good connection.

Please let me know what you find, or if my instructions aren't clear.
 
Last edited:

Phoenix_79

Dec 25, 2021
4
Joined
Dec 25, 2021
Messages
4
It's unlikely that your 1361 transformer is causing the problem. The "Open Circuit" message on the Keypad display almost always means there is a communication failure between the Control Panel and a Keypad, most often a data wire that has come loose or poorly connected, either at the V-20 Panel itself (data wires are terminals 6 & 7), or at one of the Keypads. It could be a loose wire at more than one KP, but that's unusual.

I recommend you go to the Panel (the Vista-20) and find the data wires for each Keypad
(1) Power down the Panel: Transformer unplugged, battery disconnected. Do NOT disconnect or connect KP wires while Panel is powered up. It tends to zap/kill KPs.
(2) Find which wires on Panel Terminals 6 & 7 to which of your 3 Keypads. #s 6 & 7 provide data to/from a variety of peripheral devices, so it may take some searching. The data wires are usually green and yellow/white. See if you can find a loose or loosely connected wire on Terminals 4, 5, 6, or 7. Sometimes those wires are bunched together and you'll need to give a tug on each individual wire. If you're lucky, you'll find a loose one that will fix the problem once it's connected firmly. If that doesn't solve it, then, remembering to power the Panel down first.....

(3) Disconnect the KPs at the Panel (The Vista-20 PCB), one at a time, then power the Panel up again, until you find which KP is causing the problem.After you see which disconnected KP solves the problem, then go to that KP and take it off the wall and check the connections there. The KP itself is usually good, it's most connections that cause the "Open Circuit" problem.

Some KPs have screw terminals, others have wire leads that need to be soldered to make a connection. Some installers use crimp connectors, and I've seen wire nuts used too. If the KP doesn't have screw terminals, I recommend solder-and-tape for a good connection.

Please let me know what you find, or if my instructions aren't clear.
 

Phoenix_79

Dec 25, 2021
4
Joined
Dec 25, 2021
Messages
4
I am very thankful for your detail reply. I did not expect such great help and feeling much gratitude.

I will give this a try. Many thanks!
 
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