Getting the Telguard GDC1 working

Other Devices & Integrations Door Locks & Sensors
1

I am trying to install the GDC1… have all the wires connected. It’s paired with the system.

If the door is closed, I see the light on the GDC as I would expect, and when it’s open, it flashes. If the door is closed, and I try to open it from Vera, I hear the GDC make a click, and that’s it. If the door is open, and I use vera to close it, nothing happens. Wondering what I can do… doesn’t seem like I messed up the install, but who knows.

2

If you use the wall control, will it close or open? If not, it’s most likely the sensors that check the door. Cabling may be loose or they got out of alignment. If they are next to the control wires, like on mine, that’s a distinct possibility

If that is not it,

Seeing the lights on the GDC, it seems the sensor is working correctly. You did use the long set of wires to connect to the sensor and the short set to connect to your GDO where your wall control connects? You did confirm sensor functionality as described in the installation manual I assume?

Have you checked the GDC control wires that go to the GDO where your wall control connects and ensured they are connected correctly and securely? If yes, disconnect both the GDO and the GDC from the power and and swap the control wires around on the GDO side just in case it likes a certain polarity. After doing so and verifying they are connected securely, plug in your GDO and then the GDC and see if you have more luck.

I have one installed on a Craftsman opener and that was all it took. Pair, mount and connect GDC sensor and connect GDC to GDO control connections. Push ‘On’ button on GDC device to open the door and ‘Off’ to close it (UI5)

3

Yep, wall control works. Sensors work. Cabling not loose…

[quote=“BOFH, post:2, topic:186260”]If that is not it,

Seeing the lights on the GDC, it seems the sensor is working correctly. You did use the long set of wires to connect to the sensor and the short set to connect to your GDO where your wall control connects? You did confirm sensor functionality as described in the installation manual I assume?[/quote]

yep…

[quote=“BOFH, post:2, topic:186260”]Have you checked the GDC control wires that go to the GDO where your wall control connects and ensured they are connected correctly and securely? If yes, disconnect both the GDO and the GDC from the power and and swap the control wires around on the GDO side just in case it likes a certain polarity. After doing so and verifying they are connected securely, plug in your GDO and then the GDC and see if you have more luck.

I have one installed on a Craftsman opener and that was all it took. Pair, mount and connect GDC sensor and connect GDC to GDO control connections. Push ‘On’ button on GDC device to open the door and ‘Off’ to close it (UI5)[/quote]
You lost me at GDO/GDC.

4

GDC = the Telegard device
GDO = the god *;:)%)_! Opener

5

So I swapped the black wires that go from the GCD1 to the opener unit (red/white). Same thing. Not really sure what else to do.

On a side note, it would have been nice for the unit to have come w/ longer gray wires.

6

The only other thing I can think of is that all the trying has engaged the safety lockout on the Telguard and that is messing with you.

Try Custom Error and scroll down to the bottom. Then look for the ‘The GDC1 safety lockout explained’ link and click it to view.

If that doesn’t solve it you may want to contact Telguard support on this issue. It’s probably something really simple that we are overlooking.

Telguard Technical Service & Registration Departments
Available Monday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Phone 1-800-229-2326 Option 9

7

I just posted a review of the Telguard GDC1 on my website at http://www.myzwave.net

If you have questions, I may be able to help you as well

8

So calling Telguard was a complete waste of time… first person didn’t even know what the device was. Then I talked to 2 other people, one of whom just got the device today to play with and another person who had no idea other than to tell me that they only support security companies, and that the device won’t work unless it is plugged into a security panel. I’m just at a complete loss at this point since there is no other support they seem to be able to offer.

So if anyone has any ideas, let me know. I do note that on my craftsman opener, there is a series of 4 holes: red white white green (the left two, the red and white, are what I’ve got the existing opener plugged into as well as the GDC1.)

9

So does my craftsman opener. The one set is for the door sensor beams that you mount near the floor. The other set is for the wall control panel (and the GDC1). If you still have your craftsman manual (or can download it) do verify the correct connections. The GDC1 works with Craftsman openers that have the multifunction wall control (eg door and and light switches) as well as the Assurelink wall control.

On that note, what color buttons do your car remotes have? Trying to find out which series Craftsman your have as they ID them by button color.

You may want to send a PM to ShawnWelsh who is a Telguard rep that frequents the boards. he should be able to get your issue looked at.

10

The click is the relay in the GDC1 making momentary contact. It would seem for some reason that momentary contact is not resulting in a connection that activates your garage door opener. Could there possibly be a broken conductor in the control wires between the GDC1 and your garage door opener pushbutton? Or possibly a loose connection where the control wires attached to the connector on the GDC1’s internal circuit board (open up the GDC1 to examine it)?

11

I agree, sounds like something with a relay. I installed this and it was super easy. I’d open it up and look at the jumpers I had a problem with my review unit having the test jumper ON, and for some reason that caused a problem with mine. I removed that jumper. You can try that, or, try removing it and re-adding it. All the relay does is close that connection temporarily. You connect the RED and WHITE connections if it’s a craftsman.

See my review, at the bottom are the install pics I took, and the video shows how it works. My example may be a little different since I removed my test jumper due to the siren going off for no reason.

[url=http://www.myzwave.net/index.php/category/z-wave-product-reviews/]http://www.myzwave.net/index.php/category/z-wave-product-reviews/[/url]

12

[quote=“BOFH, post:9, topic:186260”]So does my craftsman opener. The one set is for the door sensor beams that you mount near the floor. The other set is for the wall control panel (and the GDC1). If you still have your craftsman manual (or can download it) do verify the correct connections. The GDC1 works with Craftsman openers that have the multifunction wall control (eg door and and light switches) as well as the Assurelink wall control.

On that note, what color buttons do your car remotes have? Trying to find out which series Craftsman your have as they ID them by button color.

You may want to send a PM to ShawnWelsh who is a Telguard rep that frequents the boards. he should be able to get your issue looked at.[/quote]

So mine is actually a liftmaster. And it also has the wall control that has a separate door and light button.

13

The click is the relay in the GDC1 making momentary contact. It would seem for some reason that momentary contact is not resulting in a connection that activates your garage door opener. Could there possibly be a broken conductor in the control wires between the GDC1 and your garage door opener pushbutton? Or possibly a loose connection where the control wires attached to the connector on the GDC1’s internal circuit board (open up the GDC1 to examine it)?[/quote]

Yeah, I guess I’ll be opening it up later today…

14

I also tried removing the test jumper. But that had no effect. Would be nice to know what the settings are/should be…

15

LiftMaster/Chamberlain is the same company. Who also makes openers for the Sears Craftsman brand. All 3 are pretty much the same inside. It’s just the label and the case/colors that make the difference. Even Chamberlain’s MyQ system has a Craftsman clone called Assurelink. Same hardware, different branding and Id. They even go to the same server, just ID themselves slightly different. Which is why the MyQGateway plugin works with both My! and Assurelink.

Again, if the relay is clicking, the GDC1 is talking and listening to Vera and trying to do what it’s being told. As said, it could be as simple as a bad solder joint or a break in one of the 2 wires that connect the GDC to the GDO. If you are familiar with how to use a multimeter, you could connect one to the two solder points of the wires and tell Vera to open the door. You should see a momentary peak. If you do, repeat this exercise at the side of the wires where they plug into the GDO.

Did you PM shawnwelsh (the Telguard rep) to see if he can help?

16

Thanks… I’ll try the multimeter aspect in the AM.

No, I haven’t pinged the telguard rep. After a couple of calls with them, I am completely turned off by them:

  • This product has been available for weeks now and they have no idea a) what it is, b) they havent been able to play with it, c) they don’t want to be in the business of supporting end users.
  • I really want to like this thing, but telguard doesn’t have the mindset to put out a device. It’s clear that it’s half-baked, the way it appears in the UI speaks tons to me, but that’s really minor. The fact that the customer rep told me a bunch of times that they can only support security companies, that the product only works with security systems. Huh.

I mean, I was explaining what zwave was to them.

Anyway, it seems that this might be a simple elect. issue, so I’ll play with it tomorrow and see if I can’t figure it out. Really appreciate the help, tips, and ideas.

17

PM Shawn, he knows what he’s doing with this device. I assume that a solder connection is broken, Z-Wave is working fine from what it appears. You can also maybe try to contact FortrezZ, - they make this device for Telguard and Carl, Stella and Steve over at FortrezZ are always very helpful.

18

Agreed. Shawnwelsh runs the device himself and tweaked files for it so it shows a garage door and opne/close in Ui7. He’s very familiar with the unit.

19

[quote=“johnes, post:16, topic:186260”]Thanks… I’ll try the multimeter aspect in the AM.

No, I haven’t pinged the telguard rep. After a couple of calls with them, I am completely turned off by them:

  • This product has been available for weeks now and they have no idea a) what it is, b) they havent been able to play with it, c) they don’t want to be in the business of supporting end users.
  • I really want to like this thing, but telguard doesn’t have the mindset to put out a device. It’s clear that it’s half-baked, the way it appears in the UI speaks tons to me, but that’s really minor. The fact that the customer rep told me a bunch of times that they can only support security companies, that the product only works with security systems. Huh.

I mean, I was explaining what zwave was to them.

Anyway, it seems that this might be a simple elect. issue, so I’ll play with it tomorrow and see if I can’t figure it out. Really appreciate the help, tips, and ideas.[/quote]

Wow, I really should check this forum more frequently.

No defense for our initial support, your call and our clumsiness was heard loud and clear and everyone is getting better trained on the helping troubleshooting the unit. We partnered with Fortrezz to develop our idea into a device so the Z-Wave wasn’t half-baked. It is a focused effort to turn the Mimolite and Sirens into a UL listed GDO. It is true, that we primarily support security dealers with our telephone support. While we make sure everyone is more trained on the details of the product… consider this: how may other Z-Wave manufacturers could you reach 24x7 to ask for assistance. Sure, it wasn’t good out of the gate, and we’re fixing that; however, given you were literally the first call we received on it, we should get some points for having more than an email address or a never-to-be-returned voice mailbox. :wink:

Now, on the UI. This device is a binary switch (on-off) class pure and simple. The benefit is that it will add GDO control to essentially any device that supports switches. The downside is that you are stuck with on-off lingo. I have posted the JSON files in another thread to make the GDC1 look like a garage door with Open-close and other manufacturers are adding native open-close for this device to their UI’s. Honestly, I have five of GDC1’s connected to my single garage door and through automations-- automatic closings, open and close on geo-location, open and close with car ignition status, etc.–I never use the UI and imagine that the On-Off will rarely be seen after the first couple of days. My garage door opens when I turn my car off at home, always closes 10 minutes after it opens during the work week and closes anytime a member of my family leaves the neighborhood. It is fully automagic. There is no need to ever access the app/UI once tapped into automations.

Now to the potential issues with your system.

  1. First make sure that your GDO supports third party products with one of two methods.
    1a) Read the GDO manual. If you have a LiftMaster, Chamberlain or Sears product that touts Security+ 2.0 then you are out of luck with any product other than the MyQ ones (for now… more on this later). S+2.0 is an encrypted serial protocol that only works with Security+ 2.0 wall consoles. The net effect of connecting any relay-based control is that nothing happens. The Chamberlain manual actually says that their own non-S+2.0 products and third party products won’t work in the section about connecting the wall console.
    1b) Use bare wires in the GDO’s connection and short them. If the door moves then the GDO is compatible with the GDC1, etc., but if it doesn’t move it is likely a 1a issue.
  2. Don’t mess with the jumpers! You should only have JP7 shorted. Removing this reverts it back to older development logic and I don’t know what happens. The other jumpers are there for test, etc. This is why we don’t include the jumpers for the other pins because they don’t do anything but screw it up if you mess with them. :wink:
  3. Recognize that for 30 seconds after a Z-Wave command is received and you hear the “click” of the GDC1 relay, It will ignore further commands because it is waiting for the GDO to close/open. Patience is a virtue here or you’ll drive yourself nuts wondering why all your Mortal Kombat button mashing is doing no good.

At this point, let me pause and have you email me back what you are seeing after the above things are verified. I will review this full chain to see if there is another tidbit I can help with as I haven’t had the opportunity to cull through the full post.

Best regards,
Shawn Welsh