Wiring junction

[theAberdeenKid]

I was having an alarm installed by a licensed installer. Well he kept standing me up on scheduled appointments over a 4 month period so 'I fired him/and he quit' (without pay). I have about 90% of the wiring complete.
My question is in a closet he ran a few two and four strand wires for window sensors where he said they were to be wired into a junction. he ran a main line from this point back to where the panel would be installed. I have the wiring but no box or junction. Is there a special jucntion box I need to connect these wires or can they be spliced together?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Window and door sensors are typically two wires (one pair) which go to the magnetic sensor at the door/window and then to the zone wiring of the alarm system (zone input). You may "series" these windows and doors if you have a limited amount of zones on your system (for example place two den windows on one zone). Do not parallel them as both would need to be opened instead of just one for an alarm condition.

Glass break sensors, motion sensors, and fire alarms usually take four wires (two pair) as one pair is usually needed for 12 volt power from your alarm system. The other two wires get wired to a zone just like the door/window sensors.

Keypads usually also take four wires (one pair for the power and the other for the data line).

 

[theAberdeenKid]

Some of the 4 wire went to a pair of windows on either side of a bay window. I was assuming one pair for one window and another pair for the other.
Any opinion on the junction box in the closet?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

That would be whatever your alarm panel is housed in and what connection specifics the panel has (screw terminals, etc...). Splicing can be done with solder and shrink tube or very small wire nuts.

 

[theAberdeenKid]

Oh okay.
The panel resides in another room. I just wanted to be sure that I could solder the connections in the closet at the junction box to a seperate run and then run the wire back to the panel.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Now I am lost. Your alarm panel is NOT in the area where all the wiring was home runned?

 

[theAberdeenKid]

Okay, the panel is in room A. The junction box is in closet B.
What he did was he pulled a run from room A to closet B with a thick (maybe 10 wire) wire. He then ran (3) 2 wire runs for window sensors from the windows into closet B. He then ran (1) 4 wire run for a key pad from the door to closet B. I believe his intention was to 'join' these wires from the sensors to the 'thick' wire he ran into closet B from room A. I just wanted to know if it was okay to solder these wires together.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Well, that information would have helped in the beginning.

Anyway, since you have so many "junctions", just buy some screw down terminal strips from Home Depot or Rat Shack, attach them to a wall, and join the wires that way. If you are worried about looks (or protecting the wires from "traffic") then go ahead and place it in a box.

Terminal Strip From Rat Shack

The screw terminals would make it easier to trouble shoot and keep track of the junctions going to your panel.

 

[theAberdeenKid]

Well, that information would have helped in the beginning.

he ran a few two and four strand wires for window sensors where he said they were to be wired into a junction. he ran a main line from this point back to where the panel would be installed

sorry, i guess i should of been more explicit. It was a quick question i posted at work between fires.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Hehe, no problem, if you need any more advice just ask. There are a million ways to do this, a lot will depend on the environment it will be subject to.