ademco vista-20 open circuit, help

[grumpy]

Last night we woke up to a beeping sound of both keypads. "OPEN
CIRCUIT" was displayed on one of them. I wasn't able to clear it so
I went downstairs and unplugged the system and disconnected the
battery. The following morning I plugged it back in, OC cleared, but
the system is now refusing to register fault on any zone. After it is
armed I could open any door or triger any motion with no alarm. In
disarmed mode the green "ready" light is always on even with faulted
zones. Is it time to replace the board? Thanks for your help.

 

[G. Morgan]

alt.security.alarms

OC means one of the keypad wires is broken or intermittant...I think it's the yellow one (could be the green, I forget) it's one of the data bus wires that are yellow or green.

Check all keypad wiring where it attaches to the keypads (in the wall or if there is a back box behid the keypad)

Check those same connections in the alarm panel.

Mice are great for chewing on keypad wires in the attic

How old is the system battery ? If older than 3-5 years replace it.

After you've checked all...

Disconnect battery
Disconnect AC Power
Reconnect battery
Reconnect AC Power

I always have applied AC first, then battery. Is there a reason why
you connect the battery first?

 

[Frank Olson]

OC means one of the keypad wires is broken or intermittant...I think it's
the yellow one (could be the green, I forget) it's one of the data bus wires
that are yellow or green.

Check all keypad wiring where it attaches to the keypads (in the wall or if
there is a back box behid the keypad)

Check those same connections in the alarm panel.

Mice are great for chewing on keypad wires in the attic

How old is the system battery ? If older than 3-5 years replace it.

After you've checked all...

Disconnect battery
Disconnect AC Power
Reconnect battery
Reconnect AC Power



Follow the manufacturer's instructions with respect to powering up any
panel. Some advise hooking up the battery first, but if you did that with
most fire panels, you could wind up frying something ("releasing the
carefully packaged blue smoke").


--
Frank Olson
http://www.yoursecuritysource.com
Free listings for qualified dealers and industry professionals
You can read the ASA FAQ at
http://www.yoursecuritysource.com/asafaq.htm

 

[grumpy]

Thanks for the advice. Checked the wiring, looks fine. The key pad
appears to be working just fine, I could arm / disarm, all info is
displayed correctly. I don't think it is a wiring problem. Any other
suggestions?

 

[Robert Bass]

Hi Grumpy,

Here's one more suggestion for you. If there are more than one keypad on
the system, swap the bad one with a good one. If the problem follows the
keypad, replace it. If the problem stays put, take another look at the
wiring. Besides broken wires, keypads can act up due to inducted AC
voltage. If something else electrical was recently changed you might
develop such a problem even though the panel worked fine previously.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
2291 Pine View Circle
Sarasota · Florida · 34231
877-722-8900 Sales & Tech Support
http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
=============================>

 

[James B]

I have had this problem on the 20p when the battery goes bad. Not when it
gets low but when it gets down under 10 volts. Even though it still has AC
power it does not have enough to run the keypad bus while it is trying to
charge a faulty or extremely low battery. You might check to be sure the Aux
power is not overloaded, and the battery is good. I usualy just replace the
battery and cycle the power on the control to take care of it.

James


Open Circuit OC on Ademco means the keypad databus wire(s) are busted (open)
thats the yellow/green wires. If it's intermittant could be bad wiring
harness at back of Keypad or loose wires in panel...or rodents in your attic


check all wiring
then try powering system down and back up again;
battery/transformer/transformer/battery

not displaying faults could be anything, but you have to address the OC
problem first.


| Last night we woke up to a beeping sound of both keypads. "OPEN
| CIRCUIT" was displayed on one of them. I wasn't able to clear it so
| I went downstairs and unplugged the system and disconnected the
| battery. The following morning I plugged it back in, OC cleared, but
| the system is now refusing to register fault on any zone. After it is
| armed I could open any door or triger any motion with no alarm. In
| disarmed mode the green "ready" light is always on even with faulted
| zones. Is it time to replace the board? Thanks for your help.
|

 

[G. Morgan]

alt.security.alarms

Remember those stupid Ademco panels that had DC "power packs" that looked exactly like transformers? Sheesh that was dumb design. Can't remember what model it was, but it was annoying.

Heh.. You should of been here a couple of years ago. There was a 6
month long debate over the existence of "DC transformers".