Please note: Dry Contact Sensor function has been upgraded and added to Door / Window Sensor 7. Please consider purchasing this newer sensor if looking for a Z-Wave dry contact sensor. 


Aeotec Dry Contact Sensor Gen5.



Aeotec Dry Contact Sensor Gen5 was developed to integrate external switching outputs into a Z-Wave Plus network. It is powered by Aeotec’s Gen5 technology.


To see whether Dry Contact Sensor Gen5 is known to be compatible with your Z-Wave system or not, please reference our Z-Wave gateway comparison listing. The technical specifications of Dry Contact Sensor Gen5 can be viewed at that link.


Get to Know Your Dry Contact Sensor.


Package contents:


1. Sensor Unit.
2. Back Mounting Plate. 

3. CR123A Battery.
4. Double-Sided Tape(×2).

5. Screws (×2).





Quick start.


Installing your Dry Contact Sensor.


The installation of your Dry Contact Sensor has two major steps: the Main Sensor and the External Sensor. Powered by batteries, your Dry Contact Sensor will use wireless technology to talk to your Z-Wave network once installed.


The Dry Contact Sensor should be installed inside your home and should not be installed outdoors in elements such as rain and snow. 


1. Press and hold the Latch Button to unlock the Sensor Unit from the Back Mounting Plate: 





2. Affix your Back Mounting Plate to a surface. The Back Mounting Plate can be affixed using screws or double-sided tape. If you are using screws, attach the Back Mounting Plate to the respective surface using the two 20mm screws provided.




3. If you are using double-sided tape, wipe the two surfaces clean of any oil or dust with a damp towel. When the surface has completely dried, peel one side of the tape back and attach it to the corresponding section on the rear side of the Back Mounting Plate.




Adding your Sensor to your Z-Wave network.


The following instructions will tell you how to link your Dry Contact Sensor to your Z-Wave network via an Aeotec Z-Stick or Minimote controller. If you are using another Z-Wave controller as your main controller, please refer to their respective manual on how add new devices to your network.


If you're using an existing gateway/hub/controller.


1. Place your gateway or controller into Z-Wave pair or inclusion mode. (Please refer to your controller/gateway manual on how to do this)

2. Press the Action Button on your Sensor.

3. If your Sensor has been successfully linked to your network, its LED will become solid for 2 seconds then disappear. If linking was unsuccessful, the LED will continue to blink if you tap its button.



If you’re using a Z-Stick.




1. Remove the spacing tab to connect the batteries on your Dry Contact Sensor. Its Network LED will begin to blink when you short press the Action Button on the back of Sensor.

2. If your Z-Stick is plugged into a gateway or a computer, unplug it.

3. Take your Z-Stick to your Dry Contact Sensor.

4. Press the Action Button on your Z-Stick. The LED on your Z-Stick should begin to blink slowly.

5. Press the Action Button on your Dry Contact Sensor.

6. If your Dry Contact Sensor has been successfully added to your Z-Wave network, its Network LED will fast blink for 2 seconds and then be solid for 2 seconds when you press the Action Button again. If the adding was unsuccessful and the Network LED continues to fast blink for 8 seconds and then slow blink for 3 seconds, repeat the above steps.

7. Press the Action Button on the Z-Stick to take it out of inclusion mode.


If you’re using a Minimote.




1. Remove the spacing tab to connect the batteries on your Dry Contact Sensor. Its Network LED will begin to blink when you short press the Action Button on the back of Sensor.

2. Take your Minimote to your Dry Contact Sensor.

3. Press the Include button on your Minimote.

4. Press the Action Button on your Dry Contact Sensor.

5. If your Dry Contact Sensor has been successfully added to your Z-Wave network, its Network LED will fast blink for 2 seconds and then be solid for 2 seconds when you press the Action Button again. If the adding was unsuccessful and the Network LED continues to fast blink for 8 seconds and then slow blink for 3 seconds, repeat the above steps.

6. Press any button on your Minimote to take it out of inclusion mode.


With your Dry Contact Sensor now working as a part of your smart home, you’ll be able to configure it from your home control software or phone application. Please refer to your software’s user guide for precise instructions on configuring Dry Contact Sensor to your needs.


Connect the External Sensor to your Dry Contact Sensor.


You can choose an External Sensor to be connected to your Dry Contact Sensor according to your needs or main application.


Compatible Devices.


You can wire up any button or switch to your Dry Contact Sensor to use Dry Contact Sensor as a button or switch type device to trigger your scenes. Or you can use it for a current application that you have in which the technology or sensor you are using is based on dry contact output.

  • Any dry contact based sensor
  • Push Buttons
  • 2-way toggle switch


Quick test using a single wire.


You can quickly test if the sensor is working by using a single wire as a method to trigger the sensor.

  1. Quickly cut a short wire and strip ~1cm on both ends.
  2. Push down on one of the terminal tabs and place one end of the wire into the terminal
  3. Take the other end and do the same thing.
  4. If your sensor is working, as soon as you fit in both ends of the wire, the LED on the sensor should blink, and it should change to a CLOSE or OPEN status depending on how your sensor is setup.
  5. Once you remove one part of the wire from the terminal, the LED on the sensor should blink, and it should change to a CLOSE or OPEN status depending on how your sensor is setup.


Install an External Sensor to your Dry Contact


Step1. Use the wire stripper cut the metallic part of External Sensor wire and make sure the length of metallic part is about 8mm to 9mm.



Step2. Press and hold the Fast Wiring Button and then put the External Sensor wires into the connectors. Release the Fast Wiring Button, the external sensor wires will be clamped with the Dry Contact Sensor.




Note:
1. The External Sensor should base on 
the principle of dry contact but not wet contact.

2. The length of External Sensor wire not more than 5 meters and the size of wire should between 18AWG to 20AWG that can bear the tension of 25N.

3. The frequency of state change for the external sensor should be less than 4Hz or the minimum triggering time should be more than 250ms.


Attach your Sensor to its External Mounting Plate.


Press and hold the Latch Button, and then push the Sensor into the Back Mounting Plate.





Advanced functions.


Send a Wake-Up notification.


In order to send your Sensor new configuration commands from your Z-Wave controller or gateway, it will need to be woken up.


1. Remove your Sensor unit from its Back Mounting Plate, press the Action Button on the back of the Sensor unit and then release the Action Button. This will trigger and send a wake up notification command to your controller/gateway.


2. If you want your Sensor to keep awake for a longer time, press and hold the Action Button on the back of the Sensor unit for 3 seconds, then your Sensor will wake up for 10 minutes and the Network LED will fast blink while it is awake.


Removing your Sensor from your Z-Wave network.


Your sensor can be removed from your Z-Wave network at any time. You'll need to use your Z-Wave network's main controller to do this. The following instructions tell you how to do this using Aeotec Z-Stick and Minimote controller. If you are using other products as your main Z-Wave controller, please refer to the part of their respective manuals that tell you how to remove devices from your network.


If you're using an existing gateway/hub/controller.


1. Place your gateway or controller into Z-Wave unpair or exclusion mode. (Please refer to your controller/gateway manual on how to do this)

2. Press the Action Button on your Sensor.

3. If your switch has been successfully unlinked to your network, its LED will begin to blink for a short time. If linking was unsuccessful, the LED will return to its last state. Tap the button to confirm if it has been unpaired, if unpaired successfully, the LED will blink when tapped.



If you’re using a Z-Stick:




1. If your Z-Stick is plugged into a gateway or a computer, unplug it.

2. Take your Z-Stick to your Dry Contact Sensor. Press and hold the Action Button on your Z-Stick for 3 seconds then let go.

3. Press the Action Button on your Dry Contact Sensor.

4. If your Dry Contact Sensor has been successfully removed from your Z-Wave network, its Network LED will fast blink for 8 seconds and then slow blink for 3 seconds when you press the Action Button again. If the removing was unsuccessful, the Network LED will fast blink for 2 seconds and then be solid for 2 seconds when you press the Action Button, repeat the above steps.

5. Press the Action Button on your Z-Stick to take it out of removal mode.



If you’re using a Minimote:




1. Take your Minimote to your Dry Contact Sensor.

2. Press the Remove button on your Minimote.

3. Press the Action Button on your Dry Contact Sensor.

4. If your Dry Contact Sensor has been successfully removed from your Z-Wave network, its Network LED will fast blink for 8 seconds and then slow blink for 3 seconds when you press the Action Button again. If the removing was unsuccessful, the Network LED will fast blink for 2 seconds and then be solid for 2 seconds when you press the Action Button, repeat the above steps.

5. Press any button on your Minimote to take it out of removal mode.


Security or Non-security feature of your Sensor in Z-wave network.


If you want your Sensor as a non- security device in your Z-wave network, you just need to press the Action Button once on Dry Contact Sensor when you use a controller/gateway to add/include your Sensor.


In order to take full advantage of all functionality the Dry Contact Sensor, you may want your Sensor is a security device that uses secure/encrypted message to communicate in Z-wave network, so a security enabled controller/gateway is needed for the Dry Contact Sensor to be used as a security device. 


You need to press the Sensor’s Action Button 2 times within 1 second when your security controller/ gateway starts the network inclusion.


Manually Factory Reset your Sensor.


If your primary controller is missing or inoperable, you may wish to reset all of your Dry Contact Sensor’s settings to their factory defaults. To do this: 

  • Press and hold the Action Button for 20 seconds and Network LED will be solid for 2 seconds to confirm a success.


It is advised that you do not do a manual factory reset unless your gateway is no longer working or does not show the Dry Contact Sensor node. Doing a factory reset while your gateway still has the sensor paired will leave a Zombie Node which can be annoying to remove.


More Advanced Configurations.


Recessed Door Sensor Gen5 has a longer list of device configurations that you can do with Recessed Door Sensor Gen5. These are not exposed well in most gateways, but at the least you can manually set configurations through most Z-Wave gateways available. These configuration options may not be available in a few gateways.


You can find the configuration sheet here: https://aeotec.freshdesk.com/helpdesk/attachments/6102434966


If you have any questions on how to set these, please contact support and let them know what gateway you are using.