House Alarm - DIY

wroenaldinho

Hi All

About to fit a diy house alarm in my house. The house was already wired when built about 4 years ago. The wires are all ready to be wired into the box, siren and keypad. Only issue is the wires arent marked so i cant see what goes to the keypad and which goes to the bell box. Is there anyway to check or is it trial and error?

Thanks

Myser

Borrow or buy yourself a cheap multimeter like this:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p98689

It will help you identify which wires go where. If you don't have any manuals for the previous hardware, it will involve some trial and error and possibly someone to help you out to listen for the continuity beep on the multimeter.

Surprised that the wire cores aren't marked, what kind of wire was used? :shocked:

victor2

On our old wired system, 4 core wire was used throughout, even though the sensors only needed two wires. The "spare" pair were shorted at the each sensor, forming a continuous circuit from the main panel through each sensor. If any one of those leads was cut, the tamper alarm would trigger.
The installer told me that there was no defined colour pair for the tamper circuit - each installer tended to have a preferred pair he would use.
Wires went all over the house, through the loft, under floors etc. Good luck tracing them, but a meter as suggested above, and a lot of patience, may help.

wroenaldinho

There is 7 white sheathed wires in total. 6 coloured wires inside each. 5 which must be pirs and 2 which will be one fot the keypad and 1 for siren.

Thanks

wroenaldinho

Whats the best way for checking which wire is which with multimeter? Connecting one end to alarm panel then going around house touching black and red on each black and red cable coming out ofthe wall or is there an easier way?

Thanks

Myser

wroenaldinho wrote: »

Whats the best way for checking which wire is which with multimeter? Connecting one end to alarm panel then going around house touching black and red on each black and red cable coming out ofthe wall or is there an easier way?

Thanks

Yes, that's how you would typically test each cable unless, some of them are already marked?

Are there only 4 wires per cable?

WobblyDog

I used a "Cable Finder with tone generator" from Maplin to trackdown the various wires (some of them buried in the wall) when repairing the wired alarm when I moved into my house.

wroenaldinho

Myser wrote: »

Yes, that's how you would typically test each cable unless, some of them are already marked?

Are there only 4 wires per cable?

No there is 6 wires per cable. Do you only need to connect the red and black wire of each set of wires to the control panel to find out which is which and not the other 4?

Thanks

wroenaldinho

WobblyDog wrote: »

I used a "Cable Finder with tone generator" from Maplin to trackdown the various wires (some of them buried in the wall) when repairing the wired alarm when I moved into my house.

Will one of these gadgets work without connecting wires to the panel. Can you just use these one on end and a tester on the other or dont they generate power themselves?

Thanks

victor2

wroenaldinho wrote: »

No there is 6 wires per cable. Do you only need to connect the red and black wire of each set of wires to the control panel to find out which is which and not the other 4?

Thanks

I would guess one pair (red & black) is for power, another pair is for signalling (sensor open or closed) and another pair is the tamper circuit.
You really need to find out which cable goes where. It will not be enough to just connect red & black to the panel - you will probably establish that the other wires have +ve and -ve on their red & black, but little more.
I would disconnect all cables from the panel, short one pair on one cable together and then check the other ends to find a pair with continuity through the same coloured pair. Check all cables, don't stop after you've found one, as there could easily be a junction box hidden somewhere, like under the floorboards. Number each cable as you identify it and verify every pair in that cable by shorting the other end out.
Very time consuming, but can be done without anything more than a multimeter.

Note that some switches and sensors have 3 states across their connection - open circuit (tampered), a resistance when sensor is open and current goes through a resistor in parallel, and shorted when the sensor is tripped. It eliminates the need for a separate tamper circuit, but can add to the confusion when you get to that stage.

SailorSam

I think you're better buying a new solar wireless alarm. Much easier to fit.