Installing alarm system on a 'prewired' house

Do you know the name of the installing company responsible for the pre-wire? Wire jacket colors don't tell you much. The easiest way to determine what the wires are are to "tone them out", but since it's likely you don't have a tone set, you're going to have to rely on the old multi-meter (you'll need access to *both* ends of the wire though).

You should have a keypad wire somewhere (it's probably four or six conductor and more than likely located above a light switch). If it's actually buried (and it sounds like it is), the only way to find it will be with the aforementioned tone set. If you don't know the name of the installing company, call around and find a friendly local alarmco. Pay the guy two hours to label all the wires. It'll be well worth the $100 or so dollars it's going to cost you. Chances are he'll give you a deal on the complete system too, but that's jumping the gun so to speak... :-)

One more thing... If the contacts are actually installed in the windows and door frames, are there magnets installed in the windows/doors themselves?? You won't need to "dig" out the wires to find which ones go to the contacts. All you need is a magnet and your multi-meter to determine which one's which. Hold the magnet to the contact and your ohm-meter should drop to close to "zero". Take the magnet away and you'll read infinity (no continuity). If you need more help feel free to email me.

Before you buy an alarm, buy a radio tracer then you can find all the wires.

Be aware that some prewire companies install contact plugs...they may look like contacts but aren't.

I'll bet I'm the only one here that will admit to actually sitting a magnet on one of those things and looking for the short.

Yah probably as bad as one of my salesguys going out to a huge house and bidding the job based on the fact that all doors/windows had contacts. NOT ! They were all plugs. I made HIM install all the contacts while my installers did the rest of the job. You shoulda heard the whining. But...he never did that again!

| > Be aware that some prewire companies install contact plugs...they may look | > like contacts but aren't. | >

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Make that two of us. :^)

One of my favorite sales calls was a couple in a rural town in Connecticut. They'd scheduled an "authorized dealer" sales rep to make his presentation several hours before me. He showed up a little late -- understandable sine the place was somewhat out in the boondocks. He was still there when I arrived.

I got there a few minutes early and saw his car in the driveway so I waited a few minutes and then just walked up and rang the bell. The other guy was miffed that I was interrupting his pitch... er, security survey. Oh, well.

Anyway, the fun part came a few minutes into my presentation. As I walked around the house I explained how we would protect each window and door, where we'd place motion, glass breakage and smoke detectors, etc. The homeowner asked if I was going to use wireless. I said no, we prefer to hard-wire our systems. He said that, "ADT says they can't wire this king of house because it's a raised ranch" with a finished basement.

I had already wired plenty of similar homes so I just said, "Maybe they can't but I've done it plenty of times. It's really not a problem." Needless to say, I got the job. Some of these competing salesman can be real blessing... for their competitors. :^)

I had a very similar sales call once...XXX guy said they'd use a wireless system. I said why spend all that money?..the house is prewired! (I had prewired it)...the XXX guy never even looked! No brainer that I got the job.

You really have to love those guys. :^)

For awhile there they were doing that (selling wireless) even when they knew the house was prewired. Dunno why, maybe they figured most prewires are crap (pot calling the kettle black).

I did a Pro 1 take over Saturday. Prewire was by someone else ( cheap builder job) but there were spare wires in the box. I couldn't figure out why they had sold the owner 1 x 5881L reciever and 1 x 5890 pir...when there was an easily located wire for a wired motion detector 6 inches to the left of where they put the 5890! DUH.

Oh yeah they also had a non-opening window in the garage wired but beanied off in the wall...but in the loop, and described on the keypad as being in the loop.

That reminded me of my all-time favorite nutty customer story. We pre-wired a house for a wealthy doctor and his family during construction and came back when the house was finished to install the hardware. It was always our policy to pull extra cables from the garage and the attic to the alarm control panel location which was usually in the basement.

A few months after we finished installing the system I got a call from the lady of the house. "My alarm is 'broken'. Send someone over here at once!"

I explained that my tech were already out on calls. Could she wait about an hour or so for the next available person? No, she was in a hurry. "Send someone right now!" :^)

I asked what was wrong. She said the little green light is "broken". (For the uninitiated, that's the system ready light which goes out if something is open. She had a Moose Z1100e with Z1100R keypads. I asked her to push "2" for zone status, quickly determined that one of the living room windows was open and told her so. She insisted the windows were shut and refused to even check. "I want someone here NOW!!"

I grabbed my tool belt, hopped in my van and drove several miles to her home on the other side of town. Before ringing the doorbell, I walked over to the side of the front porch in front of the living room. Sure enough, a window was open about 2 inches.

I went inside, showed her again how to check for an open zone and that the problem appeared to be a living room window. Then I walked with her to the living room, drew one curtain aside and pointed out the open window.

She said, "Well that should not prevent me from setting the system. Can you fix it?"

I said, "Sure," closed and locked the window and then walked her back to the keypad. She said something like, "I've never seen such a stupid system."

I asked for a place to sit for a moment, opened my metal flip case and wrote her a bill for the service visit. She said it was under warranty and she was not paying for anything."

I said, "OK" and started to head for the door, making a mental note to cancel her contract ass soon as the term was up.

Now comes the best part. Before I could get out the door, she said that she was very disappointed that we hadn't finished the installation. Knowing full well we had, I asked what she meant. She had me go to the control panel in the basement. There she pointed out three or four *extra* cables we had pulled which were not connected to anything.

I explained that we ran extra cables at no cost to her in order to facilitate future upgrades should the need arise. She was incredulous. "*Nobody EVER* does more work than they're paid for. I want you to finish this job!"

I said I'd talk to the technician (just wanting to leave at that point). Her husband called that night and was very upset about the same nonsense. When their year was up they received a cancellation notice.

I figured that was the last we'd see of them. Wrong! A few years later we bought out another small firm and guess whose system was among the contracts.

I think if that woman was a coyote caught in a trap she'd chew three legs off and still be stuck. :^)

I've had a couple like that too. Easiest way is to just connect those spare wires to anything. I can't tellya how many windows I've gone out and closed because they're too lazy to go check. Usually they pay, if they don't the next service call just costs a bit more.

I didn't realize ADT had the "authorized dealer" program way back when you were installing in Conn.

Nice **story** Robert, but it somehow contadicts all of your recent reasons for bashing professional alarm companies, professional installation methods, service response, monitoring contracts, and service fees charged by the alarm company and the fact that there is value of contacts through acquisitions. It sounds like you operated the same. Or is your story and your opinions just like any other bASS when they are flip flopping on the deck when they get caught.

I did a takeover from ADT where they had installed 6816's (transmitters on the slab and magnet on the jamb)on doors with wired contacts in them and even put wireless smokes on hte back boxes with the fire wire coiled up under it.

Crash Gord> For awhile there they were doing that (selling wireless) even when they knew

Fishermen have big boots too. Ask him the one about him responding as fast as the fire dept did.

You caught that too ..... huh?

These are the things that you just can't explain to people who come here, get taken in by his slimey sweet talk and think that he's really on the up and up.

I wonder if he's got Snake Oil and a bridge or two, on his web site.

I think that happens when a salesguy doesn't have a freekin clue and wants to boost his commish.

| > I did a Pro 1 take over Saturday. Prewire was by someone else ( cheap | > builder job) but there were spare wires in the box. I couldn't figure out | > why they had sold the owner 1 x 5881L reciever and 1 x 5890 pir...when there | > was an easily located wire for a wired motion detector 6 inches to the left | > of where they put the 5890! DUH. | >

| > Oh yeah they also had a non-opening window in the garage wired but beanied | > off in the wall...but in the loop, and described on the keypad as being in | > the loop. | >

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