Alarm Sets Itself Off - Veritas 8c Compact

[Guest BizzyB]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone out there can help and put me back in my neighbours goodbooks quickly and save me some sleep!!!!

We have an exisiting Veritas 8c compact installed in our home - it was a preinstalled unit prior to us moving in a month or so ago.

Anyway a couple of nights ago we went to bed as normal and set the alarm for the night, we were woken by this extremely loud repetative noise at 3am which lasted for about 15-20 secs (a repepative beeping- but the noise was accompanied by an intermitant sound that i can only describe as a a crackly whinging noise, probably similar to when a doorbell battery is running out and you set that off to ring!! ) - the sound was not familar to us in terms off it being the alarm noise when that goes off and we were at a loss to explain it - initially we had not attributed the noise to the alarm but possible to one of the childrens "inter-active talking" teddy bears and the fact that maybe a battery was dying in them!!

Wellllll, this happened for another couple of nights - and as normal 10-15 seconds then it would stop - by the time we had awoken up and got our senses, it was normally finished (always seemed to be around the same time 2-3am, after we had been armed for about 3-4 hours) - until tonight!!!!

We have just be woken by this noise again - the normal 10-15 secs blast, then silence- this repeated about every 15-20mins just as we were getting back to sleep (alarm was still left in full set mode during this time, as we hadnt put it down to the alarm at this stage) - then about 3am we have just had the noise come on continously for 15-20 mins solid - OMG - half the street was woken up, i guess we are going to be popular given its now a Saturday morning!!!!!!!!

Anyway, this gave me enough time to look and locate the noise and it was indeed coming from our alarm box on the front of the house - again it was not the sound the alarm makes when it activates itself and goes off - more a regular pronounced high pitched beeping. I noted that there were no strobe lights flashing as they do when the alarm sounds and the leds were still showing as they do when the alarm is armed. Hanging out the bedroom window at this time is not good!!!!

I then went downstairs and unset the alarm - but the beeping continued I then switched off the mains power and it continued - then finally after 15-20 mins or so - it stopped, admittedly I was pressing all manor of keys on the display at the time to try and get it to stop in a blind panic - unarming/re-arming - the last key i pressed was "reset" - so i dont know if i stopped it or it did it itself.

I cant go on like this.............its driving me mad, not to mention my new neighbours

A bit of background info -

I did ask the previous owner about the alarm when we were looking at the house to buy it - it was installed as new in 1997, no service or changes have been done on the alarm in that time (as it run ok - was the reason) - my intentions were to have it serviced at some point in the next month or so once we are settled in the new home, but it looks like I may have to now pay to fix it and not service it as i know the importance of regular servcing!!!

Another point, I dont know if it is relevant but there are very slight black marks (about 3/4 inch high from the top of the box)on the wallpaper directly above the control panel - i asked the previous owner and they said it was only due to the continually heat from the alarm box internals and battery ? owing to the fact that it has been continously on since 1997!!???!!!??? I dont know - should i be concerned?

I apologise for the essay and hopefully someone can point me in the right direction, i am guessing that my first choice is going to be replacing the battery - any ideas of fair cost for a new one and where i could get one from - I live in Chester?

Does it sound like a battery issue or a techy issue?

Can we still use it in the interim, till we get a fix?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Karen

[avcctv]

Hi Karen

This could be caused by a vast array of things, your best option is to give your location and I'm sure someone on here would come and have look for you.

[j.paul]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone out there can help and put me back in my neighbours goodbooks quickly and save me some sleep!!!!

We have an exisiting Veritas 8c compact installed in our home - it was a preinstalled unit prior to us moving in a month or so ago.

Anyway a couple of nights ago we went to bed as normal and set the alarm for the night, we were woken by this extremely loud repetative noise at 3am which lasted for about 15-20 secs (a repepative beeping- but the noise was accompanied by an intermitant sound that i can only describe as a a crackly whinging noise, probably similar to when a doorbell battery is running out and you set that off to ring!! ) - the sound was not familar to us in terms off it being the alarm noise when that goes off and

/snip.....

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Karen

Hi Karen

It sounds (sorry) like your external sounder is going faulty. which normally happens at 3am when its raining

Would recommend you get a local company to check it out for you

[Service Engineer]

an intermitant sound that i can only describe as a a crackly whinging noise

Although doubtful given the panel, this sounds like the noise given off by a Toplock Bellbox when it needs attention (usually a new 2.1Ah battery).

[whistle]

99% sure it will be a corroded SAB unit in your Bell Box.

I would get it checked out ASAP as even with the mains turned off it could still start to ring, and as others say normaly at 3 am. The battery in the main panel sounds like its 9 years old aswell this should be replaced ever 5 years.

Post your location and i am sure there is an engineer on here local to you.

[Guest Alarm Guard]

You need to get an engineer out asap .. for 2 reasons

1. The nuisance is likely to re-occur, and not only will it deisturb neighbours, but it is also against noise regulations so your local council could take action against you. And of course if your alarm is a nuisance, no-one will react to it if you ever have an intruder.

2. The black marks on the wall above the control panel are caused by heat, and it could be that your battery is faulty causing the charging circuit to be damaged.

It may cost extra to get an engineer at the weekend, but you should do it anyway.

Paul

[Guest BizzyB]

Thanks all for your comments - obviously its a "techy" problem and not a simple swopping of the battery - if I have read the comments right.

Given some of the suggestions:

1. What would be a rough idea for prices for replacement of those parts inc. a replacement battery and probable cost to repair the system?

2. Would it be cheaper to put in a new installation?

3. What sort of premium would I expect to have for a weekend "emergency" callout as opposed to a Monday call?

4. Do you have any recommendations for Engineers in the Chester/Wirral area?

5. In the meantime, should we remove the battery and remove the fuse for the alarm ?

Thanks once again for your help.

K

[Guest Alarm Guard]

Thanks all for your comments - obviously its a "techy" problem and not a simple swopping of the battery - if I have read the comments right.

Given some of the suggestions:

1. What would be a rough idea for prices for replacement of those parts inc. a replacement battery and probable cost to repair the system?

2. Would it be cheaper to put in a new installation?

Almost certainly not

3. What sort of premium would I expect to have for a weekend "emergency" callout as opposed to a Monday call?

Others will vary, but just to give you an idea: We would charge

[Guest BizzyB]

Thanks once more -

Just an update - I have tried to replicate the noise we heard to help in sorting the problem by doing a sytem test (as in manual)

The noise we heard was definately the external sounder (I know some of you mentioned this before) - dont know if this helps possibly identify what it could be.

Even without arming the alarm - could it now still go off?

Any recommendations on engineers in the Chester/Wirral/Merseyside areas??

K

[Guest Alarm Guard]

Thanks once more -

Just an update - I have tried to replicate the noise we heard to help in sorting the problem by doing a sytem test (as in manual)

The noise we heard was definately the external sounder (I know some of you mentioned this before) - dont know if this helps possibly identify what it could be.

Even without arming the alarm - could it now still go off?

Any recommendations on engineers in the Chester/Wirral/Merseyside areas??

K

Yep, it could sound even if the alarm is not set...

As for a local engineer, it doesn't appear that any near to you are on this site currently, so Yellow pages may be the best bet. Try to find a company who is SSAIB registered. (Or NSI if you prefer ... I don't)