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ADT Safewatch Pro2000 of 25years died

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We took a lightning strike in the backyard that blew off the phone box and satellite tv box from side of house, killed several light switches, killed dryer and dishwasher along with tripping our main power breaker in house. After restoring power our ADT system no longer worked. Keypad is dark. We checked the system board and it had power from the transformer on terminal 1 (19.44vac), but there is no power at the back of the keypad. We found a burn mark on back of the system board, so we ordered one from ebay and replaced it. ADT SAVS20ADT Security Alarm System Board | Safewatch Pro 2000. Still no power at the keypad. What are we missing? Please help.
 

Bluejets

Oct 5, 2014
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Lightning travels thousands of kilometres through the atmosphere, so it very rarely ever stops at one component when it gets to electronic circuitry.

Time to go shopping for a new device methinks. :cool:
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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Okay, so you have 19.44 VAC power on terminals 1 & 2. The keypad is powered from terminals 4 & 5, and I'd normally expect to see ~12.5-13.5 VDC there, depending on the load drawn by peripheral devices, including keypad(s). What are you reading at Terminals 4 & 5?
Also, what's the status of your Control Panel's (the Safewatch Pro's) backup battery? It should normally read ~13.5 VDC in standby (not in alarm) mode.

Anyway, if you're reading ~13.5VDC on terminals 4 & 5, and zero at the red and black on your keypad, then it's probably a wiring problem between Control Panel and Keypad, not unusual after a lightning strike, i.e., a wire blown open.
If you're reading zero voltage at T4&T5, then power take the KP wires off and measure T4 & T5 again, to see if the KP is shorting power from the Panel.

WARNING: Before reconnecting Keypad, power down the Panel (unplug transformer and take one wire off battery) . NEVER connect live power to a keypad. For some reason it's prone to zap them. Connect the KP(s), whether at Terminals 4 & 5, or at the KP itself, and only then power up the Panel.

Please let us know what you find.

EDIT: If you need to replace your keypad, I'd recommend buying a Honeywell 6160, or at least a 6150, rather the exact model of your old keypad. Your Safewatch Pro 2000 was a slightly modified Ademco/Honeywell Vista-20SE, at least 13 years old, but Ademco/Honeywell makes its panels and keypads back-and-cross compatible. If you currently have a 6139, 6128, 6148 or other, it's going to have to be replaced within a few years at best: Keypads have moving parts (the keys/contacts) that wear out.

SECOND EDIT: It's late and I've had a hard day, or I'd have thought of this earlier. I forgot you're going to have to program your new Control Panel, so you either have a 6139 (Alphanumeric) Keypad, or you're going to have to get a 6160 KP anyway. Don't attempt to program without an Alphanumeric Keypad (6139 or 6160). If you have your original KP, it's due for replacement anyway. Any 6139 on ebay is at least 13 years old, and keypads have moving parts that wear out. I strongly recommend buying a 6160 to replace whatever you have. Ademco/Honeywell made their panels & keypads back-and-cross compatible, so newer KPs are compatible with older Panels.


Let's get power to your keypad and see if it needs replacement before we can proceed.
 
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Okay, so you have 19.44 VAC power on terminals 1 & 2. The keypad is powered from terminals 4 & 5, and I'd normally expect to see ~12.5-13.5 VDC there, depending on the load drawn by peripheral devices, including keypad(s). What are you reading at Terminals 4 & 5?
Also, what's the status of your Control Panel's (the Safewatch Pro's) backup battery? It should normally read ~13.5 VDC in standby (not in alarm) mode.

Anyway, if you're reading ~13.5VDC on terminals 4 & 5, and zero at the red and black on your keypad, then it's probably a wiring problem between Control Panel and Keypad, not unusual after a lightning strike, i.e., a wire blown open.
If you're reading zero voltage at T4&T5, then power take the KP wires off and measure T4 & T5 again, to see if the KP is shorting power from the Panel.

WARNING: Before reconnecting Keypad, power down the Panel (unplug transformer and take one wire off battery) . NEVER connect live power to a keypad. For some reason it's prone to zap them. Connect the KP(s), whether at Terminals 4 & 5, or at the KP itself, and only then power up the Panel.

Please let us know what you find.

EDIT: If you need to replace your keypad, I'd recommend buying a Honeywell 6160, or at least a 6150, rather the exact model of your old keypad. Your Safewatch Pro 2000 was a slightly modified Ademco/Honeywell Vista-20SE, at least 13 years old, but Ademco/Honeywell makes its panels and keypads back-and-cross compatible. If you currently have a 6139, 6128, 6148 or other, it's going to have to be replaced within a few years at best: Keypads have moving parts (the keys/contacts) that wear out.

SECOND EDIT: It's late and I've had a hard day, or I'd have thought of this earlier. I forgot you're going to have to program your new Control Panel, so you either have a 6139 (Alphanumeric) Keypad, or you're going to have to get a 6160 KP anyway. Don't attempt to program without an Alphanumeric Keypad (6139 or 6160). If you have your original KP, it's due for replacement anyway. Any 6139 on ebay is at least 13 years old, and keypads have moving parts that wear out. I strongly recommend buying a 6160 to replace whatever you have. Ademco/Honeywell made their panels & keypads back-and-cross compatible, so newer KPs are compatible with older Panels.


Let's get power to your keypad and see if it needs replacement before we can proceed.
Thank you for all of the ideas! I will check the power at t4 and t5 and get back to you.
 

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My battery voltage at the battery is 13.44vdc. I have nothing, .77vdc at t4 and t5. I’m going to disconnect power at the panel and remove keypad wires at the keypad then reconnect power to panel to check t4 and t5 with keypad removed.
 

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Disconnected the wiring on back of the keypad. Rechecked t4 and t5 and still reading only .77vdc. This is a new (used) system board we just got from eBay.
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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T4 and T5 are nominal 12VDC power for peripheral devices, i.e., keypads, motion and/or glassbreak sensors, RF Receiver (5881 or 5882), Hardwired Expansion board(s), and a few other possible devices. Any one of those devices could have been zapped by the lightning and might be drawing down the output. Only if you disconnect _all_ the wires and measure voltage at T4 & T5 will you know if your new-old panel is supplying the 12VDC power output.

If something is drawing the power down, then chances are your Panel battery is not being charged either; which is why I asked you to check the voltage of the battery. If you haven't replaced the battery in the last 3 years or so, it would be a good idea to replace it anyway, but I'd hold off until you're seeing a voltage of ~13.5VDC at T4 & T5.

If you take all the wires off T4 or T5 (you only need to remove wires from one) and still read near-zero voltage, then you got a bad panel. Sometimes that happens when you order from ebay, or other vendors. I believe I remember a fuse for that aux output, but I assume you checked any fuses on the board.

If you have a bad panel, I recommend you replace it with a Honeywell Vista 20P, which is going to be newer and perfectly compatible with all your existing peripheral devices, and will program and function the same way; and will probably cost about the same as the ollder Vista-20SE/Safewatch Pro 2000.
 

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You have provided great information. My battery is less than a year and measures solid 13.45vdc. I removed ALL wires from t4 and t5. I now am measuring 13.44vdc here. System board proves good. I now added back just the keypad wires to t4 and t5. Still reading 13.44vdc here and at the end of wire that connects to back of keypad. 2nd I added back the siren wires to t4 and t5. Still solid 13.44vdc at t4 and t5 and my siren sounded briefly upon power connection. 3rd I added my RF Receiver (5882-3enh). My 13.44vdc at terminals t4 and t5 is now gone. There in lies the culprit. The RF Receiver must be bad. I also notice with the keypad removed a scorched spot on the backplane next to the power connection. My next step is to order a new keypad and RF Receiver (5882). Correct?
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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You will need a Honeywell 6160. That's a two-line Alpha KP, which you'll need to program the panel. Remember to have the panel powered down when you connect it.
Your old SW-2000/ Ademco Vista-20SE panel didn't use keypads with different addresses, which means that your new KP will need to be set to "Address 31" non-addressable mode. Keypads used to come from the factory with a default address of 31, but that may have changed since newer panels (for the last 12-13 years) use different addresses for different keypads, and you may get it defaulted at 16. Once it has power, you can check the address by pressing 1&3 simultaneously and holding until it beeps and displays a two-digit address.
If you need to change it, it's pretty simple. See "Setting the Keypad Address" on page 2.
https://cdn.website.thryv.com/62e5e5edce744b3283184fc71e21ded6/files/uploaded/6160 honeywell alpha keypad Installation-Instructions.PDF
 

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Thank you!! New keypad and RF Receiver on order. Hope the new system works
 

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Installed new RF Receiver in my panel and connected new keypad. Powered up via transformer and keypad comes online. Checked address and changed to 31. Keypad shows and beeps Open Ckt. I have removed all wires except for keypad and still Open Ckt. I moved the keypad down to the panel and directly wired it to T4-T7 with a 2' piece of wire. Open Ckt is now gone, and keypad is ready to program (it's already showing open door faults). So that tells me I need to pull a new wire from the panel (system board) up to my keypad, correct? Looks like it is 20AWG 4 conductors. Trying to locate where to purchase 50' of this wire.
 

ChosunOne

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Yes, you're right, it looks like you need to replace the cable from Panel to Keypad.
Almost everyone, including ADT, uses 22/4 = 22AWG, 4-conductor. Most dealers use red-black-yellow-green, but ADT used blue instead of green. There's long-standing disagreement over whether solid or stranded wire is better. I personally prefer solid because it makes connections easier, but I won't argue with anyone who advises you to use stranded. As I said, this argument has been going on for a long time.

I have a surfeit of wire scraps that I saved from installations over the years. I probably have at least one 50' length somewhere. If you want to PM me with contact info, I'll send it for the cost of shipping.

EDIT: I assume you're somewhere in North America. :eek:
 
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Yes, you're right, it looks like you need to replace the cable from Panel to Keypad.
Almost everyone, including ADT, uses 22/4 = 22AWG, 4-conductor. Most dealers use red-black-yellow-green, but ADT used blue instead of green. There's long-standing disagreement over whether solid or stranded wire is better. I personally prefer solid because it makes connections easier, but I won't argue with anyone who advises you to use stranded. As I said, this argument has been going on for a long time.

I have a surfeit of wire scraps that I saved from installations over the years. I probably have at least one 50' length somewhere. If you want to PM me with contact info, I'll send it for the cost of shipping.

EDIT: I assume you're somewhere in North America. :eek:
Yes, you're right, it looks like you need to
Yes, you're right, it looks like you need to replace the cable from Panel to Keypad.
Almost everyone, including ADT, uses 22/4 = 22AWG, 4-conductor. Most dealers use red-black-yellow-green, but ADT used blue instead of green. There's long-standing disagreement over whether solid or stranded wire is better. I personally prefer solid because it makes connections easier, but I won't argue with anyone who advises you to use stranded. As I said, this argument has been going on for a long time.

I have a surfeit of wire scraps that I saved from installations over the years. I probably have at least one 50' length somewhere. If you want to PM me with contact info, I'll send it for the cost of shipping.

EDIT: I assume you're somewhere in North America. :eek:
Yes, that would be great! I’m having a hard time finding any less than 100’. Next step is to figure out how to program a new control board with a new keypad. I already had zones 10-23 on my old system. Doors, windows, motion, glass break.
replace the cable from Panel to Keypad.
Almost everyone, including ADT, uses 22/4 = 22AWG, 4-conductor. Most dealers use red-black-yellow-green, but ADT used blue instead of green. There's long-standing disagreement over whether solid or stranded wire is better. I personally prefer solid because it makes connections easier, but I won't argue with anyone who advises you to use stranded. As I said, this argument has been going on for a long time.

I have a surfeit of wire scraps that I saved from installations over the years. I probably have at least one 50' length somewhere. If you want to PM me with contact info, I'll send it for the cost of shipping.

EDIT: I assume you're somewhere in North America. :eek:
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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I sent you a PM, just need a response so I know where to send the wire. Miraculously, my wire "scraps" were where I remembered and I didn't have to take half a day searching. I measured the 50' quick and dirty, so it's probably more like 60+ ft.

Expect to have a learning curve when it comes to programming your Panel. The Installation & Programming manual was written for professionals and some of it isn't intuitive for the DIYer. If you want to PM me your phone number, I can assist in walking you through it.
Ademco/Honeywell happily doesn't change its entire platform and format every time they upgrade to a new panel, so your old Panel programming format is much like contemporary Panels, and I'm very familiar with it.
 
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