I didn’t realize this panel might be in such bad condition. Please advise. Is it still usable. The CPU looks beat up and the hinge on the bottom of the door is missing a screw and the CPU is held on only by the top two screws to the cabinet; the bottom ones are missing.
Please help! Also I have no idea what connections to make to give it AC power so I cannot verify if it works at this time. Thanks. I’m so scared right now.
It’s a bad idea in general to purchase a control panel without reading all of its associated documentation because without a thorough understanding of the control panel, you cannot be sure that what you’re buying
Now since you have already got the panel, here are my recommendations:
First off, DO NOT give this panel power before you can verify where the AC connections are. Aside from being incredibly dangerous to you, if you apply AC improperly, or to the wrong terminals, or without the proper grounding, you WILL kill the panel.
Second off, DO NOT apply battery power to this panel either. Starting the panel on batteries can and will destroy the charging circuit. Most modern panels won’t do anything with the batteries unless there’s AC, but you can never be sure.
Third off, BEFORE you even open the panel again, OR even CONSIDER applying power, I HIGHLY encourage you to find the manual online, and read it cover to cover.
I encourage you to read this post:
<URL url="So you want to buy a FACP...]So you want to buy a FACP...]
And gain some insight into some of the principles of control panels.
Finally, here’s a manual for your panel:
http://firealarmresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Simplex-4004+Installation++Operating+Manual+Rev+C.pdf
I recommend you read it cover to cover, and pay close attention to the circuit diagram in section 1-3. Let us know what you think it’s telling you, and we will be happy to help you try to get this panel operational 
*my only edit was to fix a typo at the top
The membrane keyboard has a self adhesive backing. It is not unusual for the adhesive to dry out over time. You can wrap a little electrical tape around the edge to keep the keypad attached to the metal frame. The noise you hear when pushing a button is the adhesive sticking and unsticking to the metal keypad frame. That usually does not effect the operation. As the previous poster stated stop bending it!
There is not a screw terminal for the AC power connection. The AC power connection goes to the loose black and white wires coming out of the transformer. Below is a picture of a 4004 connected to a 3 wire power cord. It takes a wire nut each for the black and white wires. The green ground wire goes to the screw on the cabinet.
In addition to the installation instructions you must get familiar with the Field Wiring Diagrams. This shows details of the connections to the panel. Be sure to have the power off when making connections. One slip and you have a door stop.
Dropbox link to FWD.
Thanks for the information! I think I understand this better now that I have read the manual and gone over the diagram a couple times. I’m not completely familiar with them yet, so I will read them again. I also have to obtain a power cord still, so I won’t be able to power the panel up until I get that. Another question I have is: If the FACP came without a grounding screw, can I use a regular old grounding screw or is a special type required?
For a hobby system any screw that goes into the metal box will ground the panel. That is necessary for safety and supplies the reference for the ground fault sensor circuit in the panel. In a system installed in a protected building the green screw does have significance and a sharp eyed inspector will look for it. The green screws are available in electrical departments of home centers.
Find a conductive metal screw that will fit in the hole. You may need a locknut on the other side to get it to secure. Retired STR-SG may be able to help you out more with that.
As for the AC Power, I know a bit more. Go to your local Lowe’s or Home Depot, and the electrical aisle will have extension cords. Right around there they’ll also have “replacement” appliance cords. These have a traditional 3-prong plug at one end, and at the other end have 3 exposed wire leads: black, white, and green. Black is hot, white is neutral, green is ground. Use wire nuts to connect the black lead of the cord to the black lead of the panel’s AC transformer, the white lead of the cord to the white lead of the AC transformer, and the green lead to the grounding stud. You may need to strip off the thick outer rubber layer of the cord to have enough length on the wires to reach the different spots but be careful! Make sure you do not nick the rubber insulation of the actual conductors when you remove the outer sheathing!
If your panel cannot reach the wall, purchase 25-50 feet of 12/3 Romex cable (found in the same area of Lowe’s or Home Depot) and a junction box. Connect the leads of the Romex to the leads of the plug’s cord, and keep that inside the junction box. Then run the Romex inside the panel and hook it up the same way you would have connected the other power cord to the transformer. Also, use a proper wire clamp/conduit nipple to prevent the sharp edges of the panel’s cable holes from slicing through the outer sheathing of the cable.
To add, if you happen to pick up a cord based on international wiring color codes, brown will be your hot, blue will be neutral, and green/yellow will be your ground connection.
If you plan to use a kit to make your own cord, be sure to match hot to brass and neutral to silver on the Edison plug terminals.
My dad says I have to tie it in to the actual earth ground in my house so I don’t get electrocuted. I think it’s not necessary because it’s a DEMONSTRATION system, but I don’t know that to do. Is this really necessary? Because my parents think so. I’m just not sure what to do, so if you have a panel please advise about the grounding situation. My dad says it’s an extra wire but I have to do that.
Also the NAC fuses appear to be blown, so those are 3A fuses, correct?
I’m having trouble understanding what he means here. By connecting the green wire from your cord to the grounding screw on the panel, your system is then connected to the earth ground for your house. No additional wiring is necessary. Unless, he wants to run an entirely separate cable out to the ground rod for your home, creating an isolated ground. The only reasonable explanation for this that I can see is if your house is wired using a shared ground/neutral bus, and he wants to bypass the neutral wiring in the panel for additional safety. You’d have to drive a new ground rod to accomplish this, as connecting the ground wire to the existing ground rod in this way would still leave a connection back to the neutral bus and run the risk of creating a ground loop.
To answer your question, yes, you ABSOLUTELY need to ground your equipment before using it, regardless of if it is for “demonstration” or not. This is simply a matter of safety.
Test those with a multimeter before you assume they’re blown by appearance.
Oh, they’re blown. They’re corroded with a fine layer of white powder.
Do the fuses look like the ones in the picture?
The fuses in the picture above are perfectly good.
That is the normal appearance for this type fuse.
Check fuses with a meter.
Yes, actually. I kept them and will put them back in after I check them.
I got the 4004 working after reading thoroughly through the manual and the FWD. The Field Wiring Diagram was my friend throughout this process.
Now, this is what I will be needing help with going forward. I will be using the following setup on my new board, but since the FWD seems to not mention how to wire up multiple devices on the same IDC (or NAC), I’m having trouble drawing this out.
I posted an unlisted video with the 4004 preliminary test and it is embedded below, but before I get into how I want the new system set up, here’s what I did with this setup. IDC 1 is connected to the 4251-21 with appropriate EOLR on the back of the station. IDC 2 is resistored off and is not used. NAC 1 is connected to the horn of the 4903-9427, and NAC 2 is hooked into the strobe circuit. The system worked like it was supposed to in this case, which means I can now go forward on getting the new system ready. Here’s the setup I’d like to have for the new system (types of devices and where they’d be located on the system):
-Pull Station 1: Simplex 2099-9103 (IDC 1)
-Pull Station 2: Simplex 2099-9754 (IDC 1)
-Smoke Detector 1: Simplex 2098-9201 (IDC 2)
-Key Switch 1: Simplex 2098-9806 (IDC 2)
-A/V 1: Simplex 4903-9236 (acting as two wire; NAC 1)
-A/V 2: Simplex 4903-9427 (four-wire; horn on NAC 1 and strobe on NAC 2)
-V/O 1: Simplex 4904-9139 (two wire strobe); (NAC 2)
This is the setup I’d like to use for the new system. However, is this possible to do on a 4004 with 2 IDCs and 2 NACs (no expansion cards)? Also, which devices would be recommended to use the EOL on? Also, how would one wire the LED on the key switch to activate when the system goes into alarm? Do I need to change any IDC types (system was defaulted so they’re all Fire Monitor I believe). Thanks for the continued help! I will continue to look at the FWD, but it was not exactly clear how to set this up so if anyone knows that would be great! Also the preliminary setup video is below so you can get an idea how this setup is drastically different than what I will be setting up in the future. I likely wouldn’t be able to work on it till next Tuesday cause I have to go visit my grandpa. Anyways thanks again everyone!
Video is below:
** The 4903-9236 can be wired as a 4-wire device. If you decide to do that be sure the two jumpers on the circuit board near the terminals are cut. Failure to do this can damage your panel under certain conditions. **
Great! Thanks for the help! I may just end up hooking just the switch portion of the test station to the IDC and leaving the LED disonnected.
