Pro tip: Using a multimeter on the siren wires saved me 2 hours of troubleshooting

Was working on a DSC system last week in a house near Austin. The keypad was showing trouble but no zone was open. Spent an hour checking sensors, then remembered an old guy told me to check voltage on the siren wires. Found the tamper switch on the siren was loose. Hit it with the meter first next time. Anyone else skip the obvious stuff and waste time?

3 comments

3 Comments

jasonallen1mo ago

Man I've been there! The siren tamper is literally the sneakiest thing on a DSC panel. It'll sit there flashing trouble all day while you chase ghosts on every zone. What gets me is how the siren itself is usually mounted in some attic or garage where nobody ever looks. You check all the door and window contacts, maybe even pull up the keypad history, but that little tamper switch just sits there mocking you. Now every time I get a trouble light with no open zone I just walk straight to the siren and pop the cover off. Saves me at least an hour every time. The multimeter trick is solid too, I never thought to check voltage on the wires themselves.

spencer_coleman1mo ago

The siren tamper is always the one I forget about too...

oliverhernandez1mo ago

Ha! Yeah I read somewhere that's like the number one missed device during testing.