Why Is The 2-Wire Smoke Zone On My Hardwire 16-F Not Working Correctly?

There are a few possible reasons why the 2-wire smoke zone on your Hardwire 16-F is not working correctly. It might be improperly wired. It's also possible that the converter recognizes the zone as Normally Closed. You must memory reset the module and reconfigure the zone as Normally Open.

The most obvious thing to make sure when using a 2-wire smoke detector with a Qolsys Hardwire 16-F is that the device is wired correctly. It must use Zone 16, as that is the only zone that can be used for 2-wire smoke detectors. The sensor must be wired in parallel, and it must have a 4.7k end of line resistor. The color code for a 4.7k resistor is Yellow-Violet-Black-Brown-Brown. You can use multiple 2-wire smoke detectors if you want, but they must be in a parallel wiring configuration. Check and make sure all of this is true when troubleshooting a 2-wire smoke used with a Hardwire 16-F.

The other major problem that people often run into when trying to use a 2-wire smoke detector with a Qolsys Hardwire 16-F is that the module recognizes Zone 16 as a Normally Closed zone. This can be the case even if it technically has a Normally Open wiring configuration. This normally occurs because Zone 16 was unused or used with a Normally Closed sensor when the Hardwire 16-F module was initially enrolled. For a 2-wire smoke detector to work properly, the Hardwire 16-F must properly recognize Zone 16 as Normally Open.

The only way to get the Hardwire 16-F to acknowledge that Zone 16 is a Normally Open zone is by having a 2-wire smoke detector already correctly wired in when the module is initially enrolled with the system. If the Hardwire 16-F was enrolled with zone 16 improperly wired, then you will need to perform a memory reset for the device. More information can be found in the Qolsys IQ Hardwire 16-F Install Guide. Then correctly wire the smoke detector to Zone 16, and re-enroll the module. More information on using a 2-wire smoke with the Hardwire 16-F can be found in this helpful FAQ.