Security keypads, card readers and access codes

You don’t “change” a code – you delete the old code and add a new one, both from the keypad with the master control code 33 and the # (pound) key as Enter.

The LED should be steady amber at idle. Press the buttons firmly; the keys are durable and a light press often does not register.

Delete the old code

1. 33 # – LED blinks green (programming mode).
2. 2 # – LED goes solid red (delete function).
3. Old code, then # – LED blinks green.
4. Same old code, then # again – LED blinks amber. The code is deleted.
5. Test it: enter the old code and #. The LED should go red (code rejected).

Add the new code

1. 33 # – LED blinks green.
2. 1 # – LED goes solid green (add function).
3. New code, then # – LED blinks green.
4. Same new code, then # again – LED goes solid amber. (If it goes red here, that code already exists – delete it first.)
5. Relay number, then # – LED blinks green. Same relay number and # again – LED goes solid amber. Repeat for every relay (floor) this code should open.
6. 0 # – LED blinks green. 0 # again – LED blinks amber. This stores the code.
7. Press * (star) to exit, or let it time out. LED returns to steady amber.
8. Test it: enter the new code and #. The LED should go green and the car call (or hall call) button should accept the call for a few seconds.

Codes can be up to 6 digits. Most sites use 4.

Use the verify function (4) and step through the relay numbers until the LED goes solid amber.

1. 33 # – LED blinks green.
2. 4 # – LED goes solid green.
3. The user code, then # – solid green means the code exists; blinking red means the code was not found.
4. 1 #, then 2 #, and so on. Alternating amber/red means the code does not have access to that relay; solid amber means it does.
5. 0 # to end the search, then * to exit.

Do this before deleting a code you want to replace so you know which relay number(s) to give the new code. Without looking at the relay board while the code is entered, there is no other way to tell.

Create it like any other user code and give it every relay. There is no separate “master code” type.

1. 33 #, then 1 #, then the new code and # twice (solid amber).
2. Enter 1 #, 1 #, 2 #, 2 #, and so on through 8 #, 8 # – each relay number twice, for all eight relays on an SEC08 board.
3. 0 #, 0 # to store (blinking amber), then *.
4. Entering the code and # should now drop all eight relays.

If the LED sequence does not match the steps above, the most common reasons are a key press that did not register (press harder) or a code that already exists (red after the second code entry – delete it first).

Enter the clear-all function from the keypad; you do not need the old user codes and you do not need to power anything down.

1. 33 # – LED blinks green.
2. 5 # – LED blinks alternating red/amber.
3. 0 0 0 0 0 5 # (five zeros, then 5, then pound) – LED blinks green.
4. 0 0 0 0 0 5 # again – LED blinks amber. All codes are now erased.
5. * – LED returns to steady amber.
6. Test: the previous code and # should go red.
7. Add new codes as described above.

CE ships every system with a few test codes pre-installed. The quick reference page near the end of the security manual tells you to clear them with this same 33 #, 5 # sequence when you commission the system. Power cycling the relay board does not erase or change codes.

Yes. On CE keypad relay boards (for example the 8-contact SEC08 board), all relays are picked (energized) at idle, and entering a valid code drops the relay for about 5 seconds.

• CE’s connector uses the normally closed contacts. When the relay drops, the contact makes up and passes the car call button signal to the controller.
• With all relays energized you should not have free access to any secured floor. If a floor is secured when it should be free, or vice versa, check the controller inputs and how the contacts are wired – the behavior depends on what the controller expects.
• Relay coils are on all the time, so the relays and the transformer will be warm after a few hours. They should never be hot to the touch.

Some other manufacturers’ lockout boards work the opposite way (relays off at idle, picked on a valid code), which is a common source of confusion when a CE board replaces one of them.

Repeated board failures are usually traced to the keypad cable being far longer than it should be, or to a short on the expansion connector.

1. Keypad cable length. The relay board should be mounted right behind the keypad or on the car top, not in the machine room with 130–150 ft of keypad cable running down the hoistway. Runs under about 20 ft are fine; around 100 ft or more you start running into trouble and risk damage from noise or faults picked up on the cable. If you cannot move the board, CE offers a remote single-relay board that mounts at the keypad and talks to the main board over two twisted shielded pairs.
2. Security 16 main board failing at JP10. JP10 is the connector that feeds the expansion relay board. Shorted pins on JP10 have been found on returned boards. A short there loads down the power supply and transformer and causes heating. Measure the transformer secondary with the board powered: about 22–24 VAC out with 120 VAC in is normal; if it reads under 20 VAC under load, the board is drawing too much current. Relay contact rating is not the issue – while the relays are energized no current flows through the contacts, and car call button signals are low voltage.
3. Return failed boards to CE so they can be checked; replacing the same board repeatedly without finding the cause does not solve it.

Verify with CE support.

Check the three DIP switch banks on the back of the keypad against the job print – the lowest floor stops working when the banks are set in the wrong order.

• On the keypad, S3 is the top bank, S2 the middle, S1 the bottom. On the print they are shown left to right, which is easy to misread.
• Example settings: S1 all OFF; S2 positions 1 and 8 OFF, 2 through 7 ON; S3 all OFF. Use the settings on your own print; they can differ per job.
• Disconnect power to the keypad, set the switches, then reconnect power.
• Entering - then 1 on the keypad should then register the cellar call correctly.

If jumping the input on the CE board from common sends the car to the floor, the wiring to the controller is good and the problem is on the keypad side.

No. Once the code is accepted and the relay drops, the CE board is out of the picture; what happens to the registered car call afterward is controller logic.

• The SEC08 drops its relay for about 5 seconds after code #, which is time to press the car call button. Then the relay picks again and the board does nothing else.
• If a second code is entered right after the first, the board responds to the most recent code only – the first relay is released. Standard software does not hold multiple codes at once.
• If the controller cancels the car call when a hall call is answered, the passenger will have to re-enter the code. Ask the controller manufacturer why the car call is being cancelled; shutting off the security unit only removes the interruption of the button signal.
• Make sure the SEC08 is only interrupting the car call button signal (normally open contact between the button and the controller) and is not also feeding a separate security input on the controller.

Verify with CE support.

The two EPROMs on that security relay board are bad. Plug the SECMP handheld programmer into the other car’s board: if it shows “ENTER CODE” normally there, the handheld is fine and the problem is the board.

1. Replace the two EPROMs labeled 1 and 2 on the affected board.
2. The board will then have to be reprogrammed (codes re-entered).
3. When ordering, give CE the serial number from the board label and a photo of the board so the correct EPROMs are supplied.

Verify with CE support.

The serial number from the car-top unit label, how many cards you need, and whether the new cards should be added to the existing set or replace it.

A CER system consists of a car-top relay box (one board per four floors), a hall interface unit at each floor, and a supply/programming box in the machine room with a transformer, several output ports and a matching PRG (program) port. The hall units are daisy-chained with two power wires and two twisted shielded pairs; those pairs can only originate from the machine room box. A handheld programmer was supplied with the original order.

• The interface boxes normally carry the same serial number as the car-top unit; the car-top serial is enough to look up the order.
• Each card has a number printed on it. CE uses the last five digits to generate the card code and can tell you whether a given card belongs to the batch shipped with your order.
• CE cannot program cards into the system remotely. There are two ways to add cards:
  1. Program them into each unit with the handheld programmer.
  2. Have CE supply pre-programmed chip sets – one set for the car-top box and one for each hall unit – together with the new cards. You swap the chips. This is the quicker option, especially when the handheld is missing.
• Tell CE whether to keep the old cards in the new program or to wipe them. Replacing all cards is the safer choice when old cards are unaccounted for.
• The system holds a maximum of 600 cards.
• Reference the car-top serial number on the request so CE knows the hardware and card type; the original job name does not matter.

Ask CE support for the security system manual; the quick reference on the next-to-last page covers everything in this topic (clear pre-installed codes, add, delete and verify codes).

Give CE the serial number from the keypad or relay board so they can identify the model (for example SEC01-LAXX single relay, SEC08 eight relay) and send the matching manual. If you have Security Manager software or an SECMP handheld programmer, say so – the programming method differs.