Door Keypad Upgrade

Iron Man · 10-28-2010, 04:05 PM

My electronic door keypad quit working-again. I called Essex electronics and told them of the problem. They asked if I was in warranty and I asked how to check. On the backside of the keypad is the manufacture date, it was in warranty (Newmar replaced it 6 month earlier). I expressed to them that I have had issues with the keypads and didn't want to keep replacing the keypad. They told me that issues with the keypad had been corrected with their new model AKE-5, it would be a direct replacement or I could upgrade to the KE-1700 for free, the catch the hole in the wall needs to be larger.
I sent them the old keypad and got the KE-1700. I am very pleased with the 1700. The buttons are recessed and are flat. The upgrade was easy. There are 12 wires used and the colors and use are the same as the old keypad. Enlarging the hole was easy, they supplied a template and I used a Dremel tool. It took about 30 minutes to make the hole bigger. I chose to solder the wires together and I was done. The hardest part was removing the old keypad. You have to peel back the rubber cover and drill out 2 rivets on either side of the keypad. Essex was great to work with and if you are having problems with you keypad I recommend upgrading to the KE-1700.
Keyless.com - Vehicle Keyless Entry Systems

Lug_Nut · 10-28-2010, 05:45 PM

Thanks John, great info. I've only had one go down, early in the unit's life. No issues since. But, thanks for your great post.

Peter

footdoc · 10-28-2010, 08:57 PM

I also changed over to the 1700 over a year ago and it's STILL working fine...the original one that I replaced only lasted long enough to die right out of warranty. The 1700 is built better and doesnt flex like the smaller one did, thereby killing the contacts..