We’ve got an old security system from the late 90s that we don’t really use for alarms anymore, but the door and window chimes are still helpful to know when something opens. One of the door sensors has started acting up, randomly going off at times.
I added a picture below. There’s a magnet embedded in the door, and on the door frame side, there’s this ‘pad’ that I’m not sure what it does. It’s stuck on with adhesive, and I haven’t pulled it off yet to see what’s under it.
Any ideas on what might be going on or how to fix this?
It looks like a recessed magnetic reed switch. The magnet goes in the door, and the sensor is set into the frame. The sensor is usually a cylinder tucked into a hole in the door frame, and wires from the sensor connect to your alarm system. The head of the sensor is the part you’re seeing. If the wires get cut or the sensor fails, you might need to replace it.
Wireless options are available if you can’t reach the old wires or if they’ve been lost. It could be easier to switch to a wireless version.
Try moving a magnet in front of the sensor a few times to check if it responds consistently. If it doesn’t work reliably, the sensor could be faulty or misaligned. You can also try pulling the sensor out to check the wiring or shorting the wires to see if that solves the issue.
Never seen a setup like that before. Looks like they might have put that there to cover some damage when installing a switch. You might want to pull it off and see what’s underneath.
Ibrahim said:
Never seen a setup like that before. Looks like they might have put that there to cover some damage when installing a switch. You might want to pull it off and see what’s underneath.
I pulled it off and found some damage, but I don’t see the sensor you’re talking about. Any idea what I should look for?
@SecureSentrySam
If the cable has enough slack, you might be able to pull it out with a screwdriver. Hopefully, you won’t need to go into the crawlspace unless you can’t get enough wire.
Ibrahim said: @SecureSentrySam
If the cable has enough slack, you might be able to pull it out with a screwdriver. Hopefully, you won’t need to go into the crawlspace unless you can’t get enough wire.
I got the sensor out, but there’s not much slack on the wire:
@SecureSentrySam
You could put the sensor back until you have a replacement. It might be worth checking if you can pull a bit more wire out before heading into the crawlspace.
Ibrahim said: @SecureSentrySam
You could put the sensor back until you have a replacement. It might be worth checking if you can pull a bit more wire out before heading into the crawlspace.
Just to be sure, there’s no power running to these sensors, right? I’m thinking about soldering a new one in, but I want to make sure I don’t need wire nuts.