Purchased house, need to activate security system

[ericdickerson]

I recently purchased a 3 year old house with a security system. The previous owners left the User Guide for the "Ademco Vista Series" system. It covers Vista-20P, Vista-20PSIA, and Vista 15-P (I don't know which one I have).

The previous owners DID NOT leave any codes. The keypad is completely blank. The transformer and battery inside the control panel are plugged in. I read online that I should unplug the transformer and battery for a few days, then plug back in, and within 50 seconds hold down (* + #) on the keypad. I've done this several times, but nothing happens. Again, the transformer and battery are plugged in, but the keypad is totally blank. Does anyone know what to do? How do I get this working?

Thanks!!

 

[ericdickerson]

Nevermind....I figured out that it wasn't getting power and, upon further investigation, found one of the wires coming from the transformer had been cut near the control panel. The previous owners had the system monitored through a security company. Does anyone know if it is standard procedure for the monitoring company to cut the power wire when they disable service? Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm thinking they were hoping the new owners (me) would have to request another service call from them ($$$)!