Time to replace?


  #1  
Old 01-13-17, 10:24 PM
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Time to replace?

Hi all,

I have a question for you guys. We have a VISTA 15P system in the house and lately its being very worn out. Lets start with one of the zones. Zone 3 is basically nonfunctional. All 3 of the magnets for the hardwired sensor (and sometimes even the hardwire sensor on certain doors) is either missing or damaged. Some of the other security points on the system are starting to fail to. And today, upon arming the system it threw a bat trouble. When I got back home I checked everything and the battery connections were snug TIGHT. The battery terminals however, were corroded. So my question is. Should I spend money on doing a total upgrade to the system? This system is about 15 years old.

Thanks
 
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Old 01-13-17, 10:50 PM
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Your zones have to be working for any alarm panel to work correctly. Whether you change the panel or not.... you'll need to replace the damaged and non working contacts.

The battery is fairly inexpensive and will only last 3-5 years.

I see no reason to change the panel out.
 
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Old 01-14-17, 11:31 AM
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Whoops, I must've not explained that part properly. The wires that connect the battery to the board are corroded. I also would replace the damaged hardwired zones with wireless zones.
 
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Old 01-14-17, 12:21 PM
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The battery wires are a common repair item, because people often let the batteries go far too long before replacement. You just cut the wire back to clean wire, and crimp new wire and a new slip on connector to the end. with a tube crimp, or even a pigtail crimp. (all readily available at auto part and hardware stores).

The hardwired contacts are just magnetic switches. They are inexpensive to replace, and easy to find. The replacements can be gotten with screw terminals that make the swap easier. The hardest ones are the flush mount ones used in door frames, and they generally take a bit of finesse to work them out of their holes for the replacement (and hope the installer left a little wire slack to work with).

Repairing the hardwired zones (assuming no actual wire damage in the walls or attic) will cost about $10 per opening. Replacing your hardwired contacts with wireless will cost 30-40 dollars per opening plus the cost of the receiver hardware.
 
 

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