31
Panel board took a dive mid-install yesterday in Phoenix
I was wiring up a brand new DSC panel in a 3,000 square foot house near Moon Valley when the main board just stopped taking power. No beeps, no lights, nothing after I connected the transformer. Turns out there was a hairline crack in the solder near the terminal block, probably from shipping. Had to swap it with a spare from my van (thankfully I carry one) and reset all 12 zones from scratch. Has anyone else run into factory defects on fresh equipment?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
young.emma6d ago
That hairline crack near the terminal block got me too on a Vista panel back in March. @anderson.spencer I actually started carrying a spare power supply board in my van after that happened, saved me on a similar job where the solder joint was barely visible except under a bright flashlight. I also started using a multimeter on the AC input first thing before even connecting the transformer now, just to rule out any board level issues. It adds two minutes but beats resetting every zone from memory in a 115 degree attic.
5
Had a buddy run into almost the exact same thing on a Honeywell panel out in Glendale last summer. He was stoked because it was a simple trim-out on a new build, then the board just went dark after he hooked up the transformer. He spent like an hour checking voltage and swapping wires before he noticed a tiny crack near where the AC plugs in. He said it was so small you'd miss it if you weren't looking for it. Ended up having to drive all the way back to his shop for a spare, and the homeowner was standing there watching the whole time. I guess it's become more common with these boards getting shipped across the country and then sitting in hot warehouses here in Phoenix.
4