I tested this with an electrical socket reader and it chimed, so there is some power to it still. I’d like to remove this, the old keypad, a siren, etc.
Besides shutting off the power while doing it and maybe capping the cable ends, what do I need to think about? I’m just trying to make sure I don’t burn my house down 😅
If it was me I would find the other end of that cable first. Most likely you’ll find it in an attic or crawl space if you have access.
Unless it runs all the way to an electrical panel you can probably shut off your power and disconnect the system yourself.
I wouldn’t leave them in the wall while they are still getting power, even if they are capped off.
The stupid thing to do would be short it and see what breaker trips, too risky for me but some people may recommend it.
Just don’t short them. If you leave the cables in (why not; it sucks to add new ones into walls, if you need them later), make sure the ends are somehow shielded and don’t touch, i.e. add a clamp to the end or wrap it in electrician’s tape.
Is it fed off a security panel? Kill and remove that first
If it’s on a breaker in your main panel, remove it before anything else
Test with an actual voltage meter if possible
If any of this sounds like it might be above your pay grade, an electrician can probably safely demo the whole thing in a couple hours. It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, maybe a few hundred If you go to a small company like mine (little one-man deal, should be plenty of good ones on Angi that are vetted).
Edit: forgot this was DIY for a second, sorry if this violates any rules. I’m an electrician by trade. To be honest, electrical, plumbing, and hvac should be left to professionals in my opinion. Electricity is an invisible death force that starts fires in your sleep. Don’t mess with it if you’re not really solid with the work.
Honestly I have no idea where they terminate. The keypad doesn’t work. I’ve tried pressing buttons on it before and nothing happens. I was going to cut and cap the wires, but figured I’d double check ahead of time.
I have other electrical work I need done, so may just lump this into the same work order.
So usually, there’s a transformer that cuts mains AC at 110ish volts down to 16ish volts. Then this voltage is used to power things like dumb doorbells and alarm panels.
This is mine that powers my doorbell.
You might have an alarm panel, and I think that because the device you have in the picture looks like an old motion detector, or some model I haven’t seen.
You could have a transformer next to your breaker panel like this
If you do, and a white/red/grey/beige square enclosure nearby
You can safely cut or unscrew the wires off the exposed side of the transformer. If you want to be super safe you can turn off that breaker before you do it, but you really just don’t want to bridge the contacts that the wires on the transformer are connected to.
Your electrician eyes would be better than my non-electrician eyes…
But is that home power wiring? That looks closer to thermostat wire to me in that picture. Colors are wrong though so…
No it’s probably 18ga, but it could have 120v on it from the panel, with very little current.
Yeah test across the terminals first
Edit: yeah looks like 18/4 shielded I think
It’s “station Z” wire which is 4c/22awg, which has been super common in residential alarm installation for forever.
There’s the stuff my company orders en mass.
Edit: forgot this was DIY for a second, sorry if this violates any rules. I’m an electrician by trade. To be honest, electrical, plumbing, and hvac should be left to professionals in my opinion.
I feel like it depends on the scope of the thing. I’ve done things such as like-for-like replacements of outlets and fixtures, soldering plumbing supply lines, and changing out a capacitor and a blower on my HVAC, and felt reasonably comfortable doing so. Things like running an entirely new electrical circuit, doing plumbing drain and vent lines, and diagnosing/fixing/recharging a refrigerant line issue or designing a new system (with Manual J calculations) would be considerably more intimidating.
(Also in the realm of electricity, there’s one thing I’ve done that was ‘on the bubble’ of being beyond my confidence: I replaced a closet wall that had an outlet on it and needed to move it over such that the existing wires no longer reached, so I added a second outlet higher in the wall and facing into the closet so that I could run new wires from the closer box to the further one without burying splices or having a blank box. I think it’s fine, but I’m not 100% sure it’s free of code violations.)
I will never forget this joke told to me by an old shop master.
What do you call an electrician that does a carpenters job?
A bad carpenter.
What do you call a carpenter that does an electricians job?
Dead.
When it comes to electricity I think any rule discouraging calling a professional would be irresponsible and dangerous. DIY advice can absolutely include info on how to hire and ensure you get a good honest deal from a contractor IMO.
Isn’t that an older thermostat?
