Stumped On Ts500

[mark auto]

hi guys, havin a few problems with the shed alarm at home, had been problematic a few months ago but settled down. went off a few times durin the week on zone 1, opened the panel to find the E/E contact and a pir on same zone in series on zone 1, nothing in zone 2, and the shockgard on the rear door on zone 3. split the contact and passive up (put the pir on zone 2) hoping to narrow down which it was, now it activated today on zone 3! am i better off changing the detectors ( they are well over 10yrs old) or is the panel dying on its //.B.W.F.// causing the activations? any help is appreciated guys, im gettin it in the neck over the bloody thing!!!

[arfur mo]

hi guys, havin a few problems with the shed alarm at home, had been problematic a few months ago but settled down. went off a few times durin the week on zone 1, opened the panel to find the E/E contact and a pir on same zone in series on zone 1, nothing in zone 2, and the shockgard on the rear door on zone 3. split the contact and passive up (put the pir on zone 2) hoping to narrow down which it was, now it activated today on zone 3! am i better off changing the detectors ( they are well over 10yrs old) or is the panel dying on its //.B.W.F.// causing the activations? any help is appreciated guys, im gettin it in the neck over the bloody thing!!!

always start with the basics,

check every connection, including those inside detectors, look for water and insect ingress, look for rodent damage to cables.

is battery over 3 years old? replace it if so.

report back

regs

alan

[mark auto]

can a battery really cause that many problems?

[kka]

it certainly will not help.. if you renew it, then you can eliminate it (in theory). but if the charging circuit is done in, then you are wasting you time (new panel). anyway buying a new battery you cannot lose, cause it can always fit in the nice new panel....like alan is suggesting, give it a good look over, ten years is a canny run for some panels.....rodents love cables, it helps keeps their teeth sharpe....and spiders and insects just love the warmth inside a pir...and no they do not tiptoe around the sensor once inside, as if not to get caught

[arfur mo]

can a battery really cause that many problems?

just trust me, the list is way too long but one example,

if the battery is not up to par when the panel is on standby due to mains failure, the voltage will gradually drop at a rate depending on load and condition, the most sensitive detector to low voltage will trip out 1st. but nothing iis actually wrong with it. you change it because that was shown as the alarm cause but it is the battery at fault.

taking all safety precautions when dealing with mains powered equipment with battery disconnected check the charging voltage, expect 13.65v (ideal for most batts) but can be between 13.4 to 13.9 before worrying to much. now reconnect the battery and note again, the voltage dropping markedly might show the battery is drawing too much current due to internal shorting.

if i were on site i'd test it with a meter soley designed to test these batteries, my best advice is to replace it if over 2 years old, because at 2 years old its only going to deteriorate faster than it has in the past anyway.

should add here if the battery is more than mildly warm that is usually a good sign of failure or the panel over voltage while charging, which is panel terminal

regs

alan

[CompostCORNER]

Anyone remember the Menvier TS400 panel? When the battery dropped below a certain voltage, I think it was 11.0V, the panel would go into tamper. Quite an odd symptom for a simple problem. Caught me out a few times in my early days too.

[Guest anguscanplay]

should add here if the battery is more than mildly warm that is usually a good sign of failure or the panel over voltage while charging, which is panel battery terminal

regs

alan

[arfur mo]

so Angus,

should add here if the battery is more than mildly warm that is usually a good sign of failure or the panel over voltage while charging, which is panel battery terminal

regs

alan

i read your edit of my input as the panel going over voltage = you would change the battery?

oh deary me! i would be just so wrong to change out the panel then - and the battery of course

regs

alan

[Guest anguscanplay]

so Angus,

should add here if the battery is more than mildly warm that is usually a good sign of failure or the panel over voltage while charging, which is panel battery terminal

regs

alan

i read your edit of my input as the panel going over voltage = you would change the battery?

oh deary me! i would be just so wrong to change out the panel then - and the battery of course

regs

alan

yep - theres far too much "your charging circuit will be stuffed ..........." posted on here, batteries go hot all the time but it doesnt follow the panel needs changing too

[lawandorder]

yep - theres far too much "your charging circuit will be stuffed ..........." posted on here, batteries go hot all the time but it doesnt follow the panel needs changing too

I would tend to agree that a warm battery doesn't always mean it's overcharging.

The warmth generated by a battery is dictated by the current flowing through it, obviously a rise in charging voltage will lead to a proportional rise in battery current but so will a drop in battery resistance.

I have come across many old A&G panels which charged at 17+ volts (they had no voltage regulation) and the batteries didn't get hot when new though it is true to say they didn't tend too last long!

Equally, a shorted battery will draw more charging current which will increase it's temprature and will in some cases damage the voltage regulator in the panel, thankfully all you need is a mutimeter to test that though.