Scantronics 9448+ Service and Fault LEDs blinking - internal and external sounders randomly going off

[GregTK]

Dear All,

 

Really hoping you can help me...

 

Yesterday upon coming back home, I noticed that the Z1, Service and Fault LEDS were blinking on the remote control panel of my Scantronics 9448+ and the control panel didn't react to the code I use to switch the alarm off (or on for that matter).

I was welcomed by a cacophony of different internal alarm sounds. 

Nothing I tried seemed to help. I quickly researched other default codes, engineer codes, etc but the control panel didn't react to any of it. Neither the control panel of the main 9448+ unit or the remote were reacting to key strokes / codes.

 

As it was getting late and I couldn't see myself enduring this all night I took out the fuse (3A, mains to the unit) which silenced the internal sounders but then activated the external sounder (the latter I assume is normal).

Oddly the PIR detectors around the house were then reacting to movement by sounding internal short audible alarms (as if in a sort of Walk Test Mode). The Z1 PIR detector that I use for the main Entry/Exit however triggers the Exit and Entry audible signal that is heard after fully setting the Alarm or upon entering via the main entry (short successive beeps).

 

However, throughout the night - and for no apparent reason - the internal and external sounders would all of a sudden be triggered for mainly short bursts and then continuously around 5:30am... my neighbours must have really loved me this morning :-S

 

The only solution I found to remedy this was pulling the 3A fuse out, putting it back into place, pulling it out again, etc. Basically faffing with the fuse until the system seemingly reverted into some sort of Walk Test Mode, but still not reacting to anything?!

 

Remark:

Mea culpa... I bought this property over 5 years ago and haven't changed the battery since then. Nor did I have the alarm serviced :-S  It was just one of those things that always worked and I never took the inner workings into consideration... until last night that is. I obviously should have changed the battery and I should probably also have had the alarm serviced. I definitely learned my lesson!

 

Any feedback on how to solve this in the short-term would be much appreciated. Even just being able to switch everything off without driving the neighbours insane would be a start really.

(I have a second wireless alarm anyhow, but I like having both alarms operational)

 

Many thanks in advance :-)

 

Greg

 

 

 

[GregTK]

I have actually taken out the battery during my lunch break... at first it didn't seem to make any difference but now all of a sudden the default "1234" code worked on the main console and I managed to switch all the audible alarms off. Result!

(the battery unit dated back to 1st July 2005... Over 11 years old! Oops!)

 

With all my previous faffing I have seemingly reset the entire alarm system. Guess that will be an interesting learning curve trying to set everything up again ;-)

 

The remote console now shows another fault with the Z7 LED continuously on and the Fault LED blinking.

Might that get fixed by replacing the battery?

 

Many thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

 

[sixwheeledbeast]

It would appear the battery has gone faulty and used your issue.

It's possible that the unit is faulty, would be best to have it inspected to make sure the panel has kept it's programming and the panel isn't damaged.

A new battery maybe all it needs but without proper testing you will not know if it's likely to do it again.

[james.wilson]

id guess circuit 7 isn't used and has defaulted to in use?

[GregTK]

Hi James, 'sixwheeledbeast',

 

Many thanks for your feedback.

 

Correct, looking at the connectors inside the control panel, there actually is no Zone 7 connector (please see attached image).

Should I use the Engineer Mode to Omit the Zones that are not in use?

 

I should receive my new battery today and am looking forward to seeing how the system will react once I add a battery again.

 

I guess I will have to set all the parameters again since I have had the system without mains and battery power at some point. This will allow me to make some changes and optimise for my own use I guess... silver linings ;-)

 

I could obviously have called a professional to sort it all out for me but then I would not have learned about the inner-workings (and programming) and I do like the feeling of being a bit more knowledgeable in case my alarm starts going bonkers again at night. I had no idea where to start 2 days ago while now I kind of know where to look... I obviously would not be able to deal with major malfunctions and don't feel confident making any major modifications but I superficially understand how it works now.

 

Again, many thanks

Have a great day

 

[GregTK]

Quick update... Everything seems to be working again after inserting the new battery :-)

 

I do have to reconfigure the lot, but at least my Alarm System seems to be stable now!

 

Any tips on how to make sure which specific PIR is linked to a particular Zone?  I obviously only have Zone 2, Zone 3 and EE connected but I just want to make sure that I know which PIR is linked to a specific zone...

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks 

[Rulland]

Do a walk test.

[datadiffusion]

Walk Test function (button 5 after code)

Edited August 2, 2016 by datadiffusion

[sixwheeledbeast]

Erh, telephone cable the sign of a professional installation....

[MrHappy]

10 minutes ago, sixwheeledbeast said:

Erh, telephone cable the sign of a professional installation....

 

I thought that too...

 

But I was trying to take the day off bitching about shit alarm with linked out tamper circuit ect...