I recently installed a hardwire 16 and Iq panel 2. Everything works well expect for 1 group of sensors for my dining room. Several times a day the panel will alert me that the sensor is open and then will says its closed after a few minutes. Sometimes it will say its left open and then a few minutes later will say its closed. Ive checked the sensors on the windows(5) and the connections on the hardwire 16 are fine. I deleted this group and relearned them yesterday and im having the same issue today. I seems to happen around the same time each day (10am , 12pm , 2pm, 7pm) though not at the exact minute each time. I never had this issue with my old concord 4 until i started using the hardwire 16. Any help would be appreciated.
One major difference between the Hardwire 16 and other panels/takeover modules is that the Hardwire 16 learns in the zone’s resistance as you learn in the sensor. It is generally pretty sensitive to resistance change, and if the resistance fluctuates a little over the margin of error it may report open. This is most often the result of cable damage, corrosion, or loose splicing.
What did you use to connect resistors? Did you make any changes to the resistor on that circuit? Is it using B-Wire Connectors or wire nuts, etc.? Check that none of the sensors or magnets were loosened or widened during testing/install.
Typically trimming back a bit of wire and re-splicing/reconnecting wires to terminals is a good way to find and fix both loose wires and corrosion/wire damage.
I used the resistors that where already on my concord 4. the sensors groups where using the blue crimping connectors.
So are you suggesting i check each for loose wires or wire damage in the group for that room? When installing the hardwire 16 i did have to tug a little on all the groups in order for it to reach the hardwire.
So are you suggesting i check each for loose wires or wire damage in the group for that room? When installing the hardwire 16 i did have to tug a little on all the groups in order for it to reach the hardwire.
Yes. If all other zones behave normally but you have an intermittent issue of errant opening and closing for one circuit you will typically have a physical problem on that circuit.
Are these recessed or surface mount sensors? How far is each magnet from the sensors? Are any of the windows looser than others?
Physical troubles are most often found near where the latest work has been done on the system, meaning at the panel/hardwire 16 end. Remove the wires from that Zone on the Hardwire 16. If you just used the existing bared cable, cut it and expose fresh cable, especially if it is solid cable instead of stranded. Solid cable has a much higher chance of becoming brittle. Make sure everything is tightened down when reconnecting.
Does this help?
If not, ideally you would be able to remove the wire connections at each sensor and check for damage and corrosion. If you have enough slack, cut and expose fresh wire to reconnect.
Also would you have any idea as to why it only happen during certain times of the day?Today we had multiple open/close notifications for 1 hour. Then all is fine until maybe 7pm. No issues throughout the night just during the day.
That’s actually not too uncommon for an intermittent physical issue, as they are often exacerbated by a routine of some kind. Slamming doors or other vibration, sunlight, temperature change, moisture. It would be somewhat easier to suggest with more description.
Are these recessed or surface mount sensors?
How far is each magnet from the sensors?
Are any of the windows physically looser than others?
Has the open/close signal occurred since installing the device, or did it start later?
No, non of the sensors are recessed.
Each sensors is no more than 1/4" from each other. 1 sensors is not exactly parallel to the other. So its it looks off centers.
No window is looser than the other.
The open/close signal happened since installing the device. It started about 4 days after installing it. At first i had a fault signal on my IQ 2. I deleted it and then relearned it and no more fault signal. The was not much time between deleting the fault signal and relearning it to see if there was an issue with this group of sensors.
1 sensors is not exactly parallel to the other. So its it looks off centers.
I would start with this sensor/magnet pair. If it is misaligned a good deal it is the likeliest culprit.
So i realigned the sensor/magnet pair. Deleted the group and relearned them. I still have the issue. I also re spliced the wires. Qolsys customer support says " It’s quite possible the 5 windows tied into one is causing too much resistance on the line, or there is an actual short somewhere causing the system to send an open or a tamper signal to the translator and the panel. " Then they say for me to get a professional installer or to replace the sensors with new wireless ones. So they are not much help and you guys have been very helpful in trying to diagnose this issue. Any other advice?
It’s quite possible the 5 windows tied into one is causing too much resistance on the line, or there is an actual short somewhere causing the system to send an open or a tamper signal to the translator and the panel.
It would not matter that there are 5 windows, naturally there will be a little higher resistance, yes, but the Hardwire 16 is designed to remove this as an effect.
When learning in a zone, the Hardwire 16 gauges the current resistance on that circuit and that is the resistance set for that zone. It can be between 1 and 10 kohms, but it does not need to be the same as other zones.
Corrosion can cause fluctuations in resistance, or increase it over time. Brittle wires can thin or snap. The prior troubleshooting was intended to catch this possibility.
The issue here may in fact be that the zone may have been learned in at a different resistance. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to relearn that circuit. If you have an extra unused zone on the Hardwire 16, you could as a test move that circuit’s wires to that zone, then learn it in by opening a window. Test on that zone for a while to see if the issue still occurs.
To relearn the resistance for same zone inputs I believe you’ll need to wipe the Hardwire 16 memory and start over per installation guide.
If completely relearning the zone does not resolve the issue, then it is likely a physical fault. This could be an issue with an individual sensor or with wiring.
Do you have a multimeter you can use to test the resistance on that circuit?