Took 4 hours to figure out a loose ground wire on a DSC panel

I was installing a DSC PC1616 in a new build in Tacoma last Tuesday. All the zones were showing open no matter what I did, even after checking each sensor. Spent 4 hours re-terminating wires, swapping zones, and testing continuity. Finally noticed the ground screw on the transformer terminal wasn't quite snug. Tightened it up and everything worked instantly. Anyone else waste a whole afternoon on something that simple?

2 comments

2 Comments

annajenkins9d ago

Tbh I read somewhere this is super common with DSC panels.

the_anthony9d ago

Funny you mention that, because I actually had a buddy who ran a small security company and he told me DSC panels have this weird glitch where they'll trip false alarms if you plug a certain model of battery charger into the same circuit. He had to swap out three panels in one month before he figured it out. The fix was stupid simple too, just used a different outlet for the charger and the problems stopped cold. Made me wonder how many people just chalk it up to "bad panels" when it's really something in the wiring setup causing the headache.