Hardwire 16 Siren Setup Help

I had a false alarm and I noticed none of the external sirens hooked up to the Hardwire 16 were working. Doing some research on the forum, it looks like I made a mistake many others have made.

Apparently from the Qolsys IQ2 Panel, a wire from “EXT Siren” should be running to “ENB” on the Hardwire 16. And the Siren “GND” from the IQ2 should be running to the “GND” next to “ENB” on the Hardwire 16.

If I understand correctly, when an alarm is triggered, the IQ2 then sends a signal to the Hardwire 16 to turn on the siren.

Is that all I have to do? Or do I also need to run a jumper wire from “AUX OUT” to “IN” on the HW16? Thanks for the help!

This thread goes over a similar question regarding the IQ Panel 2

Note that unlike the original IQ panel, the IQ Panel 2 siren output is just a relay, it does not produce voltage itself. The ENB terminal is looking for a voltage trigger.

This is not a big deal and still just requires two conductors run to the panel, as you can use the aux output on the hardwire 16 as the power supply to trigger the ENB.

On the IQ Panel 2, wire the two terminals to ENB and the first AUX. This will deliver voltage to ENB when siren is engaged as GNDs on the Hardwire 16 are all connected already.

You would then need a jumper between the second AUX and IN. Wire the siren + to OUT and the siren - to GND.

There is actually an easier way to do this since the IQ Panel 2 terminals themselves are just a relay, you can wire AUX directly to the siren +, then GND to the panel EXT Siren GND, then the panel EXT siren to the siren -

This is just applying power at all times, switched by the panel relay. It may be easier, depending on your wiring. The power circuit might be a lot longer this way so it may not be best in all scenarios depending on distance and wire gauge.

There is actually an easier way to do this since the IQ Panel 2 terminals themselves are just a relay, you can wire AUX directly to the siren +, then GND to the panel EXT Siren GND, then the panel EXT siren to the siren –

This is just applying power at all times, switched by the panel relay. It may be easier, depending on your wiring. The power circuit might be a lot longer this way so it may not be best in all scenarios depending on distance and wire gauge.

I’ve attached the image to see if I am following you correctly. Thanks!

No, that wouldn’t work. The panel terminal labels are misleading as they are just a relay.

See the attached image for options. In the second one the wire between the panel relay and the siren - would be spliced at the hardwire location.

So I didn’t have the additional wires I needed ran from the panel to the HW16. Luckily I had some smurf tube and had my low voltage guy do a bit of fishing and we ran an additional wire.

Reviewing what you posted, I just wanted to confirm…

  1. It looks like my external siren is setup as shown on the left image.
  2. I would run the jumper wire from AUX to In on the Hardwire 16.
  3. Then from the panel I have EXT SIREN and ground. If I’m understanding your image correctly. EXT SIREN on the IQ2 panel would go to AUX on the HW16, and GND on the IQ2 panel would go to ENB on the HW16?

Also, once everything is connected, how can I test it? Do I have to call and put the alarm in Test Mode with SuretyDIY and then set the alarm off?

Thanks for the help!

Ok, I called the monitoring station, put in test mode and set the alarm off. All the sirens work now. Thanks for the help on this! (Let me know if I need to change polarity on anything in the above post).

Much appreciated!

1. It looks like my external siren is setup as shown on the left image. 2. I would run the jumper wire from AUX to In on the Hardwire 16. 3. Then from the panel I have EXT SIREN and ground. If I’m understanding your image correctly. EXT SIREN on the IQ2 panel would go to AUX on the HW16, and GND on the IQ2 panel would go to ENB on the HW16?

Yes, that sounds right based on the wiring.

Ok, I called the monitoring station, put in test mode and set the alarm off. All the sirens work now. Thanks for the help on this!

Glad to hear it worked out! Let us know if you have any further questions on it.

And yes, always be sure to place the account in test mode before setting off test alarm signals, just to ensure that dispatch isn’t accidentally sent due to missed phone call etc.