MS-4 — four-zone conventional fire alarm control panel providing reliable fire signaling protection for small to medium sized commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.
The MS-4 is compatible with System Sensor i3 detectors, microprocessor-based conventional smoke detectors that transmit a maintenance trouble signal indicating the need for cleaning and a supervisory freeze signal when ambient temperature falls below the detector rating. It also accepts conventional input devices such as two-wire smoke detectors, four-wire smoke detectors, pull stations, waterflow devices, tamper switches and other normally-open contact devices. Four Style B initiating device circuits are provided, one of which is programmable for combination supervisory and waterflow, and each zone carries its own Fire Alarm, Supervisory, Trouble and Maintenance LED plus a front-panel Zone Enable/Disable button. Outputs include two Style Y notification appliance circuits, Form-C alarm, trouble and supervisory relays, and both resettable and nonresettable 24 VDC special application power. The panel supervises wiring, AC voltage and battery level, and offers a walktest mode from the front keypad.
Specifications
| Initiating device circuits |
Four IDCs, all Style B (Class B); one zone programmable for combination supervisory and waterflow; power-limited |
| IDC operating voltage |
Nominal 20 VDC, maximum 27 VDC |
| IDC alarm current |
15 mA minimum |
| IDC short circuit current |
40 mA maximum |
| IDC maximum loop resistance |
100 ohms |
| IDC standby current |
4 mA |
| Notification appliance circuits |
Two NACs, Style Y (Class B), power-limited; nominal 24 VDC, maximum 27 VDC |
| Maximum signaling current |
2.5 amps total with the standard transformer; 5.0 amps total with the optional second transformer (2.5 amp special application, 250 mA regulated maximum per NAC), MS-4 only |
| NAC maximum line impedance |
1.5 volt drop end-of-line |
| End-of-line resistor |
4.7K, 1/2 watt (Part #71252) for both IDCs and NACs |
| Total system current |
3.0 amps standard; 6.0 amps available with the optional second transformer |
| Form-C relays |
Alarm relay, fail-safe trouble relay, and supervisory relay (supervisory is MS-4 only); contacts rated 2.0 amps @ 30 VDC (resistive) |
| Resettable special application power |
Nominal 24 VDC, 500 mA maximum, power-limited — appropriate for powering 4-wire smoke detectors |
| Nonresettable special application power |
Nominal 24 VDC, 500 mA maximum, power-limited (MS-4 only) |
| AC power |
120 VAC, 2.3 A (the MS-4E allows connection to 220/240 VAC, 1.15 A); supervised, nonpower-limited |
| Transformer |
One 100 VA transformer standard; an optional second 100 VA transformer is available for the MS-4 to provide maximum accessory power |
| Battery |
24 volt battery charger for batteries up to 18 Amp Hour; cabinet provides space for two 7 Amp Hour batteries; batteries ordered separately |
| Backbox |
14.5" (36.8 cm) × 15.218" (38.65 cm) × 2.875" (7.3 cm) |
| Piezo sounder |
Distinct patterns for alarm (steady), trouble (1 s on / 1 s off), maintenance and supervisory (½ s on / ½ s off) |
| Control buttons |
Acknowledge, Alarm Silence, Reset, Walktest, plus Zone Enable/Disable per zone |
Installation notes
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Class A needs the CAC-4: the IDCs ship as Style B (Class B) and the NACs as Style Y (Class B). The CAC-4 Class A Converter Module — MS-4 only — converts the IDCs to Style D (Class A) and the NACs to Style Z (Class A). It connects to J1 on the MS-4 main circuit board. Class A is not available out of the box.
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5.0 A NAC output requires the second transformer: with the standard transformer the two NACs share 2.5 amps total. The optional second 100 VA transformer is what raises the panel to 5.0 amps of signaling current and 6.0 amps total system current.
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Watch the combined budget: total current for nonresettable power, resettable power and the two notification appliance circuits must not exceed 6.0 amps for the MS-4, and that figure itself requires the optional second transformer.
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Battery sizing: the charger handles up to 18 Amp Hour, but the cabinet only has room for two 7 Amp Hour batteries. Anything larger requires a UL listed battery box such as the BB-17F.
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Ground fault detection: jumper JP3 disables ground fault detection and should only be cut with the approval of the Authority Having Jurisdiction.
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Option module slots: the MS-4 has two sets of option module connectors (J3 & J5 and J4 & J6); the 4XTMF occupies one set. Cut JP1 to supervise a module on J3 & J5, JP2 for J4 & J6.
Related models
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MS-2 — two-zone version with two IDCs and a single NAC; no supervisory relay and no nonresettable power output.
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MS-4E — same features as the MS-4 but allows connection to 220/240 VAC.
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CAC-4 — Class A converter module, MS-4 only.
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4XTMF — transmitter module providing a supervised output for a local energy municipal box transmitter plus alarm and trouble reverse polarity, with disable switch and disable trouble LED.
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DP-MS2/4 — dress panel; TR-1-R optional trim ring for semi-flush mounting the cabinet; BB-17F battery box for batteries above 7 Amp Hour.
Specifications taken from the Fire•Lite Alarms manual "Fire Alarm Control Panels MS-2 & MS-4, MS-2E & MS-4E Instruction Manual," document 51512 Rev. G3 (8/6/2014). Manufacturer specifications are subject to change without notice.
