Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Ademco Vista 20se alarm system. Zone 05 stays "not ready".

I have an Ademco Vista 20se alarm system. Zone 05 (kitchen door) stays "not ready". I removed the leads from zone 05 in the control panel in the basement, and connected to a continuity checker. Magnetic door switch works normal; i.e., open (no continuity) with door open, and closed (continuity) with door closed. Does this mean that control panel board is no good for zone 05? Reconnected zone 05 leads, but zone 05 remains "not ready". If zone 05 is bad, can I connect zone 05 door leads to one of unused zones; i.e., zone 07 or 08? These zones currently have a resistor connected across their contacts in the control panel. If I can use one of these unused zones, how do I get them programmed into the system? Any help I can get will certainly be appreciated.

Yeah, that's a known failure mode for Vista panels. If that zone will not close with a dummy resistor (just like the two unused zones) then there's really no fix for it. While you can delete the zone in programming (if you have a 6139 or 6160 two line alpha keypad), in my experience, this failure starts spreading to other zones on the panel.

Your system is on borrowed time. It might last a month before the next zone failure or it might last a couple of years. There's no predicting when.

Try shorting out at the panel zone 5 with a jumper wire to see if it clears. If not the try shorting it out with a 2K resistor to see if it clears. Some companys program zones for normally closed or end of line resistors. If the problem clears then it is a wiring problem. If not the it is a panel or programming problem