the_elliot•3d agoMost Upvoted

Old school panel swap turned into a mess last Thursday

I was swapping out an old Ademco 4110 in a house near Elm Street, thought it would be a quick hour job. Got the new Vista panel up but somehow crossed the zone wires on the keypad bus, tripped the entire alarm at 2 in the morning. Owner called me screaming, had to drive back out at 3 AM and re-run the 4-wire cable from scratch. Anyone else had a late night panic fix like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

kais6717h ago

Nah, multimeter beats tape every time.

the_sean3d ago

Right, because nothing says "professional" like a 3 AM alarm concert for the whole neighborhood.

wright.taylor3d ago

Had the exact same thing happen with a DSC system last year. Thought I had the zones labeled right but swapped two wires on the keypad bus. Whole thing went off at 1 AM. Owner was pissed, I just pulled the battery and transformer first thing next visit. Now I always label every single wire with tape before I touch anything. Takes an extra five minutes but saves your night. Also started using a multimeter to test continuity on the bus before powering up. Never trust my memory on those old panel swaps. That 3 AM drive back is brutal. Coffee and a backup cable kit in the van are my only advice. Learned that one the hard way.