Re: Help identifuing a wire

["Jim" <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

JOhn wrote:
> Ive seen my share of poorly done prewires, but this one really has me
> scratching my head. The PIR's are wired at 6ft. The doors are drilled
> through  the casing, not the jamb, so a standard flush mount 3/8 contact
> isnt an option.  The keypads are wired to the same hieght as the swiches
> (not above)
>
>
> all that aside....
> This is a pic of the inside of the mstr bdr walk-in closet, above the door.
> http://www.members.shaw.ca/barnesj/
> The cat5 dangling out of the wall runs to the alarm panel location.  Any
> idea what device it may have been intended for?
>
> ... And whats the 120v duplex outlet for?  In the old days they used to put
> an outlet centred, above a high traffic door for a clock.
>
> Also, wondering if the exposed terminals on the t-stat transformer are a
> violation of code. (this is B.C. Canada)



Your description sounds as if it were something an electrician not
experienced in alarm wiring, would do.

With regard to the Cat 5 wire, perhaps all he wanted was a
"multi-conductor" wire and used his Cat 5 that he'd normally use for
telephone wire, because thats all he had. It's possible that the wire
is for a "trap" door contact and a cut-off switch for the closet door.
I couldn't pull up your pic, so I don't know what it looks like. The
contact would only be cut into the loop, with a toggle switch, when the
homeowner left the house or went away on vacation. A long, long time
ago, in the "Pre-motion detector era", we'd do this all the time.

Prior to that, we'd simply wedge a large bolder over the cave doorway
attached to a vine, that someone would trip over when they entered the
cave.

The AC outlet probably had nothing to do with the alarm. It may be for
one of those door switches that turns on a light when the door opens.