Honeywell panel programming: Resetting zone types vs. rewiring saved me 3 hours on a commercial job in Phoenix

Old school guys swear by rewiring everything for zone changes. I tried just resetting zone types through the programming menu on a Vista 128 and it worked perfectly. Has anyone else found programming shortcuts that beat the traditional hands-on fixes?

3 comments

3 Comments

tyler626d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, rewiring for zone changes is a total waste of time on a Vista panel. Once you know the programming menu inside out, you can flip zone types in under a minute. I do it all the time on commercial jobs where the customer changes their mind about which zones are fire or burg. The key is to make sure you note the old wiring before you start messing with it in case something goes wrong. Also watch the panel version - older 128s might not take every zone type change without a full reset. But yeah, learn the menu and you'll cut your labor in half on most commercial change orders.

ruby_rivera7626d ago

Older 128s not taking every zone type change? That's a huge gotcha I never considered.

miamitchell18d ago

That zone type lockout on older 128s is a real pain, especially when you've got everything mapped out in your head. Quick heads up - run a full test cycle after any zone changes on those older boards before you button it up, saves a call back later.