jezthomp Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 The other day we had a couple of quick power cuts in close to each other, annoying as they were only a couple of seconds each. We were out and the alarm was on, when arriving back home we found the alarm was going off. The panel had power to it as the keypad numbers were lit up but there were not lights below, the TA, PA, Day & Power ones they are not showing at all. I had no idea what to do and just put the code in various times and it eventually went off ( i dont know how many times or if this is even the correct thing to do ). The external strobe light is still flashing now but no alarm annoying everyone at least! I've done some basic research that means it could be the battery that needs replacing in the CPU box thats in the loft? Its the older one that doesn't have a keypad on that particular box. I should turn the power off and remove the cover and look at replacing the battery within it. When it says to turn the power off, is this just literally turning off the whole power to the house via the fuse/junction box in the garage, or can i get away with just removing the fuse thats along side the box in the loft? I replaced the batter in our old house alarm so am keen to give this a go but would like to do it without the alarm going off, i assume if i turn the power off to the whole house (or just remove the fuse) the alarm shouldn't sound? Also am i looking at replacing it with a battery like this on... Many thanks for any thoughts or opinions Quote
Specialist Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 Hi: Yes you can remove the fuse from the spur at the side of the controls. Unfortunately this will set your alarm off, as it did when the mains failed. Do you have the Engineer reset code or just the User code ?. When you remove the box lid to change the battery, this should cause a tamper fault. On some alarms this can only be reset with the Engineer code. Quote Customers Love us, Intruders Hate us.
jezthomp Posted June 4, 2019 Author Posted June 4, 2019 Just now, Specialist said: Hi: Yes you can remove the fuse from the spur at the side of the controls. Unfortunately this will set your alarm off, as it did when the mains failed. Do you have the Engineer reset code or just the User code ?. When you remove the box lid to change the battery, this should cause a tamper fault. On some alarms this can only be reset with the Engineer code. Hi, thanks for your reply. I have the original instructions which mentions about an engineer code, or is this specific to the engineer who originally installed it? I don't think there is a key panel within the box from some initial interest research. Will removing the fuse act as turning power off to enable me to open the box without any danger? Surely if i just turn the power off to the house the alarm will go off? Quote
Specialist Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Hi: Do you mean the Installer or user manuals ? If you take the fuse out at the side of the panel or turn the main house switch off ( Best option) the alarm should sound outside, that's what it's designed to do. Your panel can be set to either user or engineer reset on tamper, if engineer reset is enabled then the Installer will usually have changed the engineer code to one of his own. If he has then entering your code once you change the battery and refitted the panel lid, will silence the alarm but won't let you set it until the engineer code is entered. A tamper light or message will show on the keypad until reset. Edited June 4, 2019 by Specialist Quote Customers Love us, Intruders Hate us.
jezthomp Posted June 4, 2019 Author Posted June 4, 2019 Just now, Specialist said: Hi: Do you mean the Installer or user manuals ? If you take the fuse out at the side of the panel or turn the main house switch off ( Best option) the alarm should go off outside, that's what it's designed to do. Your panel can be set to either user or engineer reset on tamper, if engineer reset is enabled then the Installer will usually have changed the engineer code to one of his own. If he has then entering your code once you change the battery will silence the alarm but won't let you set it until the engineer code is entered and a tamper light or message will show on the keypad. Just the manuals we have, so assume have no idea if an engineer code has been changed. The alarm did silence after the power cut with me putting my code in a few times, so could that be assumed there isn't an engineer code as i've changed that since we moved into the house. Can i ask how it works even though i've turned the power off to the house, what's powering it? Especially if it needs a new batter? Quote
Specialist Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Hi: The power going off just set the alarm off, it never caused a tamper condition so your code would reset the alarm. There's a battery inside your external sounder Which would power the siren in the event of say a cable being cut or the system going into alarm as yours did, in your case the power coming back on would have taken over powering the siren again and kept it running. Edited June 4, 2019 by Specialist Quote Customers Love us, Intruders Hate us.
Specialist Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 Sorry, I missed answering part of your original question. Yes the battery you show should be fine as a replacement in your panel. One other thing: Make sure you have a good torch when going to replace the battery, you'd be surprised how many people forget this. Quote Customers Love us, Intruders Hate us.
jezthomp Posted June 4, 2019 Author Posted June 4, 2019 22 minutes ago, Specialist said: Hi: The power going off just set the alarm off, it never caused a tamper condition so your code would reset the alarm. There's a battery inside your external sounder Which would power the siren in the event of say a cable being cut or the system going into alarm as yours did, in your case the power coming back on would have taken over powering the siren again and kept it running. Ah ok, that makes sense. So I turn power off, alarm goes off I put my code in and nothing happens, what would i do then? Will turning the power back on stop the alarm? Also how will the panel have power if the house power is off and the battery is the problem? Thank you for you help Quote
Specialist Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) The panel won't have power. The external sounder will, via it's own battery. It's the loss of power from the panel to the sounder that causes it to go into alarm. Until you reconnect the battery or apply mains power to the panel, you won't be able to silence the alarm. When all power is removed from the panel the sounder should sound for no more than 15 to 20 minutes, your best option would be to have someone by the keypad to enter the code and silence the alarm as soon as you reconnect the battery. Edited June 4, 2019 by Specialist Quote Customers Love us, Intruders Hate us.
al-yeti Posted June 4, 2019 Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Specialist said: The panel won't have power. The external sounder will, via it's own battery. It's the loss of power from the panel to the sounder that causes it to go into alarm. Until you reconnect the battery or apply mains power to the panel, you won't be able to silence the alarm. When all power is removed from the panel the sounder should sound for no more than 15 to 20 minutes, your best option would be to have someone by the keypad to enter the code and silence the alarm as soon as you reconnect the battery. Some old bells ring like lunatics, as if they getting power from the grid...... Edited June 4, 2019 by al-yeti Quote
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