Pro tip: skipping the resistor on window sensors saved me 2 hours but is it risky?

I was wiring up a house last week in Phoenix and kept getting false alarms on these old Honeywell window contacts. After testing everything I just left the 2.2k resistor off one sensor and the panel stopped complaining. The system has been stable for 5 days now with no trouble. On one hand it feels like a hack that works on stubborn installs but on the other hand I'm worried about violating UL standards. Has anyone else tried this shortcut and had it hold up long term or did it bite you later?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael80315d ago

You lost me at 'skipping the resistor' - isn't that resistor what tells the panel if the wire's been cut or tampered with? Five days isn't exactly a long-term test for a security system.

tessap9715d ago

Honestly @michael803 has a point, a five day test doesn't prove a security system is reliable long term.

zaranelson15d ago

Totally agree with you both. A five day window for a security system test is basically like test driving a car around the block once and saying it's reliable forever. You would want to see how it holds up in actual weather changes, power fluctuations, and all the random stuff that happens over months.