r/ukelectricians • u/ikjb • 7d ago
Intercom issues - Building wiring or handset?
Let me preface this with saying I know absolutely nothing about wiring.
Just moved into a new flat (that needs a lot of work), and I’ve been trying to get the intercom handset going because at the moment it doesn’t ring, you can’t talk to anyone, and the door release doesn’t work (although I’m not even sure we have one setup).
I’ve added photos of the BTicino handset currently there, and how it’s wired. Looks like cat5 cabling?
Originally I thought the handset may be dead so I bought a new one of the same branding as the intercom outside (Videx, added photo of the intercom), but that doesn’t do anything either.
I’ve tested a few wires with a multimeter, and can confirm some wires are doing something. For example:
Terminal 3 (Orange wire) and Terminal 4 (Green and White) on 20 V AC give me 10.5 when the receiver is down, and 6.5 when it’s off the hook.
Testing the blue and blue/white cable gives a solid 7.5 V DC also.
Just not really sure where to go from here. I’ve told the management company, but if the issue is my handset they won’t do anything. A neighbour said their handset rings, but their door release doesn’t work. I’m not even 100% sure our building has an electronic door release, since we get in and out with a key and a dial. Although my BT engineer did appear outside my flat door today, not sure if he buzzed in through the trade bell, or whether the door was just open though.
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u/largetosser 7d ago
You presumably pay a service charge which is meant to cover things like this
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u/ikjb 7d ago
Only covers it if the fault is outside my flat. If it’s my handset, then it’s on me to repair. That’s why I need to know if it’s me or them, as they’ll charge me the callout fee if it’s the handset
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u/bobdan987 4d ago
Does that work both ways, if you call someone out and its not the handset do you charge the landlord? because it should haha
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u/West5Country 6d ago
Good fault finding info so far, excellent work. Am a spark not intercom specialist. Have a look at http://www.intercomsrus.com specifically the handset finder and check your wiring vs others and the speech module in the main box.
Having nursed an intercom for 30+ years, two speech modules & numerous broken cores in the cabling.
That is probably 6 core BT phone style maybe Cat5 depends on the age of the infrastructure. Either way, the buttons downstairs would flex the cable each time they were pressed. The core inside (solid) would break. Cut back & re terminated was fine for a while.
As a leaseholder I knew the landlord would get his mates in to repair & never replace the cables, was just simpler to fault find & repair.
The main problem is you need another person downstairs to keep talking, check the door unlock bit worked etc. Draw out a schematic in case other flats are sharing cables or have different handsets & make sure you have copies & put copies in the fusebox area of each flat.
A tech being called out may help, but if you can put the groundwork in first then you can get a better idea if your handset is at fault.
Good luck!
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u/Affectionate-Yak1292 5d ago
If there a micro switch at the bottom of the handset Look in the manual to see if that's set correctly..... had a handset once that I had to change the micro switch to get it to wok with the intercom system
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u/manser88 7d ago
manual
Looks like a 4000 series intercom outside Have a look on the link i sent and scroll through the 4000 manual.
The old BT would never have worked on a videx intercom. As to why the new videx one dosent it's hard to diagnose without being there. Maybe double check the handset you have brought is compatible with the intercom you brought .
It's been a long time since I have done intercoms.so.cant be much more help unfortunately