one zone NOT READY will *not* trigger "say" message

[chrisdias]

i have my doorbell hooked up as an auxiliary zone.   when someone rings the doorbell, i want the whole house audio to announce "visitor at front door".
 
 
1. WHEN Doorbell NOT READY
THEN SAY (Beep) VISITOR AT FRONT DOOR (Beep)
 
This used to work, and recently stopped working for no apparent reason (no wiring or programming changes), so I've been trying to debug it.
 
to narrow down the problem, i asked myself a few questions:
 
- does anything happen when the doorbell zone is NOT READY?  Answer yes, if i set it up to toggle a light for example, it will toggle the light (but not say the message)
- will another AUX zone is NOT READY, will a message be announced?  Answer yes, if i set up a motion detector (set as AUXILIARY) to announce when it is triggered, it announces the message.
 
Ok, so the zone NOT READY trigger works and the message system works, but together, it doesn't work for this zone.  
 
thoughts?

 

[chrisdias]

More information ... i discovered that if i actually disconnect one of the wires on the panel to create the "NOT READY" status, the message is said on the whole house audio system.  the loop reading in dealer access is 254  in either NOT READY case (when i push the doorbell and when i disconnect the wires).  the loop reading for SECURE is 128.
 
The doorbell is triggered by Viking C-200 single entry phone controller. http://www.ttechnologyinc.com/entry_systems/c-200.asp.  I've verified that it is hooked up as Normally Closed, and I've verified that the 2nd dip switch is in the "On" position to keep the relay open for the whole time.  
 
Again, it has worked in the past.  If i disconnect one of the wires from the Viking that leads to the OPII Zone, i get the message to play as expected (same as disconnecting a wire at the panel).  I'm still not sure why it will trigger some activities (e.g. lights) but not others such as the say message...
 
Chris

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I don't have an HAI, but I would try to eliminate the panel itself.
 
This is a normally closed loop.  Do you have an EOL installed? You may want to disconnect the wiring from the panel and perform a resistance reading on the two wires.
 
Also, if this is an EOL, while the sensor is disconnected, put an EOL resistor between the terminals, then remove it.  See if this triggers your system properly.  If no EOL is used, just short the two terminals with a wire.

 

[chrisdias]

ok, I figured it out.  well, "figuring it out" would be strong.  Really, I flipped enough stuff around to make it work again
 
i swapped the two wires coming in from the doorbell, and that did the trick. Not sure when/why they were "backwards", unless i messed with them a few months back trying to get the phone to work...  also i'm not sure why this makes a difference, so if anyone has insight that would be great to learn about.

 

[ano]

Does the doorbell button lighted with an LED light?  That could cause problems.