Connecting 2 wired door contacts to a single wirless transmitter


  #1  
Old 03-29-17, 08:44 AM
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Houston
Posts: 41
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Question Connecting 2 wired door contacts to a single wirless transmitter

I have an existing Vista 20p panel with a 6160RF keypad and I want to add contacts for 2 side-by-side overhead garage doors. I would prefer to have both doors on the same zone, and have them trip the alarm if either door is opened.

Would it work if I connect two Honeywell 958 Overhead Wired Door Contacts to a single Honeywell 5816 Wireless Door Transmitter? Is there any special programming needed? My concern is, both doors would have to be opened for the alarm to trip, and that's not what I want.

Thanks,
dw
 
  #2  
Old 03-29-17, 12:21 PM
demetrax1's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 22
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Lightbulb Piece of Cake!

Hello DW,

Thank you for inquiring about this. Fortunately, this is a common question that has a very easy solution. The Ademco/Honeywell #958 overhead door contacts are just like any other magnetic reed switch contacts; the difference being the 958's are made to withstand a little bit more extreme elements (hence the armored flex cable.) Therefore, this procedure of wiring multiple contacts to a single zone is the same for all contacts, assuming the contact is N.C. (normally-closed). In addition, it is an almost identical procedure when wiring these external contacts into the #5816 door/window contact. All you will need to do is bolt the contact side onto the floor, and mount the magnet side onto the overhead door directly above it, with as little space in-between the two as possible. Preferably, you'll want to mount the contacts on both doors as close together as possible. If there is a space in-between your garage doors, mount them on adjacent sides as close to that space as possible (then, you won't have to run significant amounts of cabling to/from contacts.) (If necessary, you'll want to take some standard 2-conductor wire and splice it together with the leads on the contact. Do this for both contacts. Then, run the wiring from both contacts to a common meeting point.) Once the wires are within reach of each other, using either Dolphin™ Type-B crimp-connectors or screw-on wire caps, take one lead from each contact and bridge them together. (Since this is in a garage, you may want to finish it off with some electrical tape.) You should now be left with one free lead from each contact, and the other two leads will be intertwined. Take your free leads and, after running them into the back of your 5816, land them on the two screw terminals. (Polarity does not matter here.) I would have the wires come to an area where the 5816 can be mounted on a wall, not on the floor. Also, I personally wouldn't use resistors here, as I don't believe the 5816's external circuit is EOLR-compatible. The wiring portion is now complete!

Now comes the actual programming/enrolling of your wireless contact into your alarm panel. There is a step here that is crucial for this zone to work properly.

1. Enter installer programming. If you have your installer code, enter it and then press 8 + 00. (The default installer code on Ademco/Honeywell panels is 4112.)
(If you don't have the installer code, you can get into programming mode through a backdoor method; simply unplug the transformer and disconnect the backup battery at your panel box and wait about 30 seconds. Then, power the system back up -- battery first, then AC transformer, as to not cause a trouble message -- then immediately go to a system keypad and hold down the * & # keys until you see Installer Code 20 -- or just 20 on fixed display keypads. Hopefully, this will not trigger a zone 99 police panic alarm, if you do it right. You have now entered programming through the "back door", per-sé.)

2. Enter Programming Field 56. Press * + 56 to enter Zone Programming.

[i] From here, I would use the Ademco/Honeywell Vista 20P Programming Instruction Manual to program this zone into a free slot. My explanation is already too long... :P I believe this section is on page 8. A PDF copy is located here: http://security.livewatch.com/wp-con...ta15p-prog.pdf

After you have finished programming, exit the menu by pressing * + 99.

***IMPORTANT - HERE IS THE CRUCIAL STEP*** It is crucial that you set the loop number to loop number 1. This will tell the panel to monitor the external contact portion of the 5816 instead of it's built-in reed switch for that particular zone. This is about the only "special" programming you'll need to do.

**Also, do not worry. Only one door has to be opened in order to break the circuit and trip the zone on your system.

If you need a more in-depth explanation, this video by Home Security Store should help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Q7tKNXFwo

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Hope this helps!


Sincerely,

Demetri P.
 
  #3  
Old 03-30-17, 08:49 AM
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Houston
Posts: 41
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Hi Demetri,

I actually already tried it, but it didn't work. Both doors had to be opened for the alarm to trip. But, after reading your instructions, I think my problem is how I wired both contacts directly to the transmitter. Based on what you're saying, I should instead bridge one side of the contacts together, and then connect the other side of the contacts to the transmitter. This makes sense.

I'll give it a try this weekend and see if that does the trick.

Thanks for your help.
dw
 
  #4  
Old 03-30-17, 09:50 AM
demetrax1's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 22
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Talking

Hello DW,

Yes, your wiring does seem to be the issue. It sounds like you wired a parallel circuit rather than a series loop. In this setup, one door opening does not completely break the circuit, as the other door remaining closed maintains continuity on the zone. When you get the chance to try a series loop, please let me know how it works out.

Sincerely,

Demetri P.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: