Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Concord 4 Supervisory Error

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and am looking for help.

I have a GE Concord 4 security system that until recently was managed by Vector Security. After my 3-year contract was up, I canceled the monitoring service. I paid for the system up front though, so I continue to use it except without any monitoring right now.

This morning without any warning, both my keypads showed "Supervisory Error" and they were unresponsive. I could push buttons and get the "beep" feedback, but neither keypad would do anything.

Some Googling brought me here, where I found a thread about conflicts between panels. Following the suggestion to check this, I removed both commercial and battery power to the basement panel, waited about 60 seconds, reapplied power, then checked the keypads. They both showed two rows of *****. I was able to check the numbers using D+6. They were different numbers (000 and 001) so that's not a problem. Now they just display "Done".

I still can't seem to do anything on the keypads, my doors and windows no longer beep, and I have no idea what to do next. Like I said I no longer pay for monitoring and therefore any service, so I need some direction on how to troubleshoot.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Check the wiring connections at the control (the motherboard) end. By the symptoms it's a wiring connection issue.

Simple test: Connect the keypads with a couple of short lengths of 4 conductor wire directly to the proper terminals on the main board. If they work correctly, then you have wiring issues.

Here, the manual should help:
http://www.sdilink.com/GE%20Manuals/Concord%204%20Installation%20Manual.pdf

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and am looking for help.

I have a GE Concord 4 security system that until recently was managed by Vector Security. After my 3-year contract was up, I canceled the monitoring service. I paid for the system up front though, so I continue to use it except without any monitoring right now.

This morning without any warning, both my keypads showed "Supervisory Error" and they were unresponsive. I could push buttons and get the "beep" feedback, but neither keypad would do anything.

Some Googling brought me here, where I found a thread about conflicts between panels. Following the suggestion to check this, I removed both commercial and battery power to the basement panel, waited about 60 seconds, reapplied power, then checked the keypads. They both showed two rows of *****. I was able to check the numbers using D+6. They were different numbers (000 and 001) so that's not a problem. Now they just display "Done".

I still can't seem to do anything on the keypads, my doors and windows no longer beep, and I have no idea what to do next. Like I said I no longer pay for monitoring and therefore any service, so I need some direction on how to troubleshoot.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

When they display "done", hit *. Like MrRON says, sounds like a wiring issue...

Thanks for the tip and the installation guide MrRon! Now that I have to manage the panel myself that will certainly come in handy.

I don't know how or why the wiring would have disconnected as nothing in our home has changed. Mice perhaps? I'll go and trace the wire as best I can to both keypads and see what I find. If I don't see any problems from the visible wires I'll take your suggestion of removing a keypad, taking it to the panel and hooking it up right there to see if I get a correct display.

I may be back with more questions after I finish that task though. :-)

GeGuy - After some time (don't know how long since we left the house for a bit today) the display changed back to the "Supervisory Error". Pressing the * when it was on Done before we left didn't do anything, and neither does it do anything now that it's back with the error display.

Thanks again!

Ok, so after disconnecting the touchpads one at a time, I found that our bedroom touchpad is the one with a fault. The other touchpad is reconnected and working fine.

Now I want to determine if it's the actual touchpad or the wiring to the touchpad. Visually inspecting the wiring I can see 90% of it and it looks fine. I can't see the few spots where it goes through the walls, of course.

So I'd like to remove the touchpad and connect it right at the panel with a short piece of 4-conductor wire.

However -- I can't seem to figure out how to remove the touchpad from the wall. I'm sure there's a simple trick and I'd rather not keep messing with it until I put a hole in the wall or scratch the crud out of the touchpad.

It's the alphanumeric touchpad as shown in the picture on page 24 of the Installation Instructions guide that MrRon kindkly linked to.

Can anyone tell me how to easily remove the touchpad from the wall retainer?

Thanks!

Look at the bottom edge of the keypad. There are a couple of slots that you gently but firmly use a flat screwdriver blade to release, then you pivot it off the base. Some models have a setscrew on the bottom edge.

Ok, so after disconnecting the touchpads one at a time, I found that our bedroom touchpad is the one with a fault. The other touchpad is reconnected and working fine.

Now I want to determine if it's the actual touchpad or the wiring to the touchpad. Visually inspecting the wiring I can see 90% of it and it looks fine. I can't see the few spots where it goes through the walls, of course.

So I'd like to remove the touchpad and connect it right at the panel with a short piece of 4-conductor wire.

However -- I can't seem to figure out how to remove the touchpad from the wall. I'm sure there's a simple trick and I'd rather not keep messing with it until I put a hole in the wall or scratch the crud out of the touchpad.

It's the alphanumeric touchpad as shown in the picture on page 24 of the Installation Instructions guide that MrRon kindkly linked to.

Can anyone tell me how to easily remove the touchpad from the wall retainer?

Thanks!

Grab the keypad like your palming a basketball....push skyward, it'll pop off it's base.

Thanks to you both I was able to get the touchpad off the wall and test it directly on the panel.

It works just fine.

So that means I'm looking at a wiring issue, it would seem.

Of course, this is the touchpad that's from our 2nd floor master and goes to the basement, through multiple floors, walls, etc. Luckily I can eyeball about 90% of it though, but I can't see any breaks.

Any suggestions on how to track down where in the wire the problem may be? Maybe I could then simply splice in a new short section. Or am I simply stuck with trying to run an entirely new wire?

Okay, now this doesn't make any sense to me now.

To test the wires and verify there really is a break, I took a simply continuity tester and checked all four wires (in two pairs). For instance, on the green wire from the basement to the bedroom, then the yellow wire back down to the basement. Did the same for the red and blue wires.

My little light bulb lit up each time. Wire continuity is intact.

So there is no break in the wires and the touchpad works just fine when plugged directly into the panel.

What gives???

Any clues?

Even more confused now that both the touchpad and the wiring prove to work fine by themselves, but not together.

Let me recap:

1. One morning both my touchpads displayed "Supervisory Error" and were unresponsive.

2. Unplugged both commercial and battery power, then plugged both back in.

3. Then both then showed two rows of *****

4. Pressing D + 6 on both touchpads gave me their panel IDs, which were different as expected.

5. Both panels then displayed "Done" and are unresponsive to key touches - they beep and light up, but don't do anything.

6. Disconnected power to the panel and disconnected each touchpad at the panel side, one at a time. Found that with the bedroom touchpad disconnected the system came back up just fine - although it complained about missing a touchpad. With the bedroom touchpad connected the system was in the previously explained "hung" mode.

7. Today - removed the touchpad from the bedroom and connected it directly to the panel. System came up perfectly fine. Seems to indicate a wiring problem in the house.

8. Checked wiring using a simple continuity tester. All four wires to bedroom actually conduct electricity, proving that there's no break in the wires after all. hmmmm....

9. Reconnected the touchpad back in the bedroom after freshly stripping the ends of the wires and using new wire connectors.

10. System displays **** and then "Supervisory Error" as before. Back to square one.

So....the touchpad works fine at the panel and the wires can run low current electricity just fine, indicating no breaks. Nothing else changed before this happened - we didn't hang any pictures (therefore puncturing the wire in the wall) or do anything else that would come close to the wiring.

I'm totally at a loss now.

*scratching head in bewilderment*

Thoughts, suggestions, or feedback from anyone here??? What am I missing here?

So I decided I needed to trace the wire as much as possible and what do I find...the wire pushed down onto a carpet tack that was then crossing the wires.

Looks like the installer tried to hide the wire along the baseboard in the sitting room outside our bedroom. No big deal, except that the wire obviously snaked out across the carpet tack board.

One of us or the pets must have stepped on the carpet just right recently and pushed the wire down on the tack - which then just barely pushed into the wire covering, crossing two of the wires.

Mystery solved!

Thanks to all that helped me meander my way through this!