That moment when a panel is missing a critical zone resistor

Had a call last week in Nashville where the homeowner kept getting false alarms on zone 3. I spent two hours checking the wiring, the sensor, everything... finally pulled the panel and realized the previous installer never put in the 2.2k end-of-line resistor. They just taped the wires together. It worked fine for a month until the resistance drifted. How often do you guys find this kind of shortcut in new installs?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean_barnes2418d ago

You said "they just taped the wires together" and honestly that hurts my soul a little. I've seen that exact same hack job more times than I can count, usually in houses that got flipped quick. The tape dries out or the connection gets a little corrosion and suddenly you're chasing phantom alarms on a Saturday afternoon. What really gets me is that a pack of resistors costs like three bucks and takes thirty seconds to install. But nah, let's just twist some wires and hope for the best, that always works out great.

harperr8218d ago

Ngl, this kind of lazy wiring drives me nuts too, you're not alone there.

samrodriguez18d ago

I put a multimeter on a friend's system after he kept getting false alarms and it was literally just twisted wires under electrical tape in three different spots. Swapped them all out with proper resistors and a little shrink tube for two bucks and it's been solid for over a year now. Sometimes you just gotta spend the tiny bit extra to save yourself the headache later.