Visonic PowerMaxComplete - SO1 Battery Low :- PLEASE HELP

[Harry Kerr]

I got fitted by a local electrician about two years ago a Visonic PowerMaxComplete Burgular Alarm to an apartment I own in Belfast which my daughter uses. It has been working well until about 3 weeks ago when it developed a fault where it showed a warning in the central display "SO1 Battery Low" and every minute it sounded an internal bleep. This can be silenced by the keyfob but it returns every 4 hrs. This is extremely annoying my young daughter but as she is out at work during the day she only hears it when she returns at 5 oclock. I tracked the Fault down to the external Siren and ordered up the two special batteries for the External Siren from Batteries Plus.co.uk. About a week later they arrived and I installed the new batteries but the Fault is still there. I have read a number of comments on here and other forums about this fault and it appears this fault is common but usually goes away after the batteries are replaced. Can anyone suggest how I solve this problem?

Trying to solve this problem myself I had a quick look at the new batteries and I see a date of July 2019 printed on them......could this be the date that these batteries expire (which means I have been sold old batteries)? Surely not, or could that date be the date they where made?

If this is a fault with the control panel in it's memory can I erase the fault by some code or is this the task for an Engineer to deal with and if so can anyone suggest a good Alarm Installer in the Belfast Area that installs or services Visonic PowerMaxComplete Burgular Alarms? I am desperate to get this solved for my daughter. I have texted a number of times the electrician that installed the equipment and it appears he doesn't want to know about the problem. It's a case of he has been paid his money (with a tip) and now isn't interested in fixing the fault or doesn't know how to fix it....whatever way I'll never use him again for anything. I have asked another local electrician could he fix it but he says he doesn't install burglar alarms for the very reason that they can be troublesome (which doesn't really help me but I understand....better to tell me that at the start before I end up paying loads for something he can't fix).

 

So I would be very grateful if someone could help ....thanks

[sixwheeledbeast]

Flat external siren battery.

Alarms need maintenance, wireless alarms need batteries.

Unlock paddock on keyfob will silence for 4 hours or if you home set it the default setting will not beep.

[james.wilson]

On that panel if you do a successful arm disarm it clears. Hate the stuff personally. Why you looking at another electrician rather than an an alarm specialist? 

[Harry Kerr]

57 minutes ago, sixwheeledbeast said:

Flat external siren battery.

Alarms need maintenance, wireless alarms need batteries.

Unlock paddock on keyfob will silence for 4 hours or if you home set it the default setting will not beep.

Thanks sixwheeledbeast but as I said "This can be silenced by the keyfob but it returns every 4 hrs."

Plus as you said "wireless alarms need batteries" but as you can see I replaced the Batteries "I tracked the Fault down to the external Siren and ordered up the two special batteries for the External Siren" and STILL the Fault is there showing up the SO1 - Low Battery. So I have done all that you said and still the fault is there and yes the bleeping can be stopped for up to 4 hours but that doesn't get rid of the fault. So do you have any other suggestions that you can make? I had researched this problem quite thoroughly before coming on to here and in most cases (about 6. cases on different forums) people have suggested that the problem will go once you replace the batteries but in a couple of cases that hasn't been the answer and nobody has been able to answer this question. In fact some of these questioners have been rudely ridiculed and told that they need to read the answers and simply change the batteries ( which the guys have done and like me the fault is still there but nobody has come up with a solution)

 

[Harry Kerr]

 

53 minutes ago, james.wilson said:

On that panel if you do a successful arm disarm it clears. Hate the stuff personally. Why you looking at another electrician rather than an an alarm specialist? 

james wilson, thanks for replying but  I have done as you say "arm disarm" but in my case the warning does NOT go away. Plus as I said "can anyone suggest a good Alarm Installer in the Belfast Area that installs or services Visonic PowerMaxComplete Burgular Alarms? " as you can clearly see I am NOT looking for a electrician but the reason I went to another electrician was because he was fitting a "Nest" Heating Thermostat in my own house and I thought I would just ask his opinion but as he said "he doesn't do alarms especially alarms that are fitted by other tradesmen because you end up trying to track a fault down and taking a long time to find" and as he said "it just isn't worth my while and just isn't economical to try and fix". So NO I am NOT trying to track another electrician but trying to either fix it myself by getting suggestions from this forum or trying to find and pay a good reliable Alarm Installer from the Belfast Region and if that doesn't work then I will remove it totally from the apartment myself and try and get a Security Firm to fit a good reliable Burglar Alarm that doesn't annoyingly bleep every four hours.

Edited September 23, 2019 by Harry Kerr
repeat sentence

[al-yeti]

6 hours ago, Harry Kerr said:

 

james wilson, thanks for replying but  I have done as you say "arm disarm" but in my case the warning does NOT go away. Plus as I said "can anyone suggest a good Alarm Installer in the Belfast Area that installs or services Visonic PowerMaxComplete Burgular Alarms? " as you can clearly see I am NOT looking for a electrician but the reason I went to another electrician was because he was fitting a "Nest" Heating Thermostat in my own house and I thought I would just ask his opinion but as he said "he doesn't do alarms especially alarms that are fitted by other tradesmen because you end up trying to track a fault down and taking a long time to find" and as he said "it just isn't worth my while and just isn't economical to try and fix". So NO I am NOT trying to track another electrician but trying to either fix it myself by getting suggestions from this forum or trying to find and pay a good reliable Alarm Installer from the Belfast Region and if that doesn't work then I will remove it totally from the apartment myself and try and get a Security Firm to fit a good reliable Burglar Alarm that doesn't annoyingly bleep every four hours.

http://www.realsecurity.ie

 

not sure if he is close to you

6 hours ago, Harry Kerr said:

Thanks sixwheeledbeast but as I said "This can be silenced by the keyfob but it returns every 4 hrs."

Plus as you said "wireless alarms need batteries" but as you can see I replaced the Batteries "I tracked the Fault down to the external Siren and ordered up the two special batteries for the External Siren" and STILL the Fault is there showing up the SO1 - Low Battery. So I have done all that you said and still the fault is there and yes the bleeping can be stopped for up to 4 hours but that doesn't get rid of the fault. So do you have any other suggestions that you can make? I had researched this problem quite thoroughly before coming on to here and in most cases (about 6. cases on different forums) people have suggested that the problem will go once you replace the batteries but in a couple of cases that hasn't been the answer and nobody has been able to answer this question. In fact some of these questioners have been rudely ridiculed and told that they need to read the answers and simply change the batteries ( which the guys have done and like me the fault is still there but nobody has come up with a solution)

 

Wouldn't be surprised if something is damaged when you changed battery I have come across a number of these with damaged plastics and PCB battery connection and so on 

 

Maybe need new bell but scrap this panel if you can and get something better

[james.wilson]

Are you actually completing the arm or just starting it? 

[sixwheeledbeast]

What model siren?

Are the batteries you where sent faulty? Date is manufacture date AFAIK, you would need to meter them.

It's possible the siren is faulty you can normally prove this by deleting the siren from the system and then they won't learn back on again.

You could also have an issue where the siren is out of range of the controls, you could try removing it from the wall outside and try to resolve next to the panel.

They are not the best of things and when fitted by a spark they normally fit and run leaving you with the battery issues. Best to seek an alarm installer.

It's most likely fixable but if you can't fix it yourself I'd say your probably wasting your money getting someone to fix it, pull it out and get something reliable that's 2 way radio.

[Harry Kerr]

Guys, thanks for your help but I contacted Visonic who gave me the name of a company that was about a couple of hundred yds from my apartment. Unfortunately, when I phoned them they said that because they didn't fit the alarm they wouldn't look at it, even for a minor fault like this....totally unhelpful. They where more interested in selling me on door security. I then phoned another local Security company and when they heard the name of the system they, like yourselves told me it was a total load of rubbish. They said that they would look at it but that more than likely the outside Siren was faulty because this is a common fault with them. They said that if I have replaced the battery then the fault should have cleared so more than likely the siren would need to be replaced but going forward the Visonic Alarm Systems where not user friendly nor engineer friendly and once one problem would go wrong then probably a heap of problems would start to happen. Obviously, they where wanting to sell me a new system. So biting the bullet and after hearing all the problems and all the bad reviews online I have decided to put it into the hands of the professionals and get a new system Pyronix Enforcer....I think it is a entry level system but it is linked to an app which let me know if the premises is alarmed or if the premises has been broken into. £500 for taking out the Visonic System and installing the Pyronix system.....I don't know if that is a good price or not!!!!....what do you think? 

Hopefully I have done the right thing but it appears it is a much more professional system than the Visonic....at least we will get rid of  the beeping and it will be guaranteed for a year with 24 hr protection.

Thanks

 

PS James Wilson....the answer is yes I was arming it but that didn't get rid of the fault

Al-Yeti....thanks for your suggestion but that firm you recommended was at the other end of Ireland. Our location was Belfast....this was nowhere near Belfast, it wasn't even near Dublin...lol

sixwheeledbeast....yes you are right the Visonic is a bundle of rubbish and I should have never got a electrician to put it in but then I know nothing about alarms and I thought as the electrician had fitted other equipment in my own house and he was updating electrical sockets in the apartment he would have known what he was doing but it appears now that he bought a cheap of the shelf bundle of rubbish.....you live and learn the hard way. Hopefully you approve the way I have gone forward with this problem (Hopefully you wont tell me the Pyronix System is a bundle of rubbish)

[al-yeti]

2 hours ago, Harry Kerr said:

Guys, thanks for your help but I contacted Visonic who gave me the name of a company that was about a couple of hundred yds from my apartment. Unfortunately, when I phoned them they said that because they didn't fit the alarm they wouldn't look at it, even for a minor fault like this....totally unhelpful. They where more interested in selling me on door security. I then phoned another local Security company and when they heard the name of the system they, like yourselves told me it was a total load of rubbish. They said that they would look at it but that more than likely the outside Siren was faulty because this is a common fault with them. They said that if I have replaced the battery then the fault should have cleared so more than likely the siren would need to be replaced but going forward the Visonic Alarm Systems where not user friendly nor engineer friendly and once one problem would go wrong then probably a heap of problems would start to happen. Obviously, they where wanting to sell me a new system. So biting the bullet and after hearing all the problems and all the bad reviews online I have decided to put it into the hands of the professionals and get a new system Pyronix Enforcer....I think it is a entry level system but it is linked to an app which let me know if the premises is alarmed or if the premises has been broken into. £500 for taking out the Visonic System and installing the Pyronix system.....I don't know if that is a good price or not!!!!....what do you think? 

Hopefully I have done the right thing but it appears it is a much more professional system than the Visonic....at least we will get rid of  the beeping and it will be guaranteed for a year with 24 hr protection.

Thanks

 

PS James Wilson....the answer is yes I was arming it but that didn't get rid of the fault

Al-Yeti....thanks for your suggestion but that firm you recommended was at the other end of Ireland. Our location was Belfast....this was nowhere near Belfast, it wasn't even near Dublin...lol

sixwheeledbeast....yes you are right the Visonic is a bundle of rubbish and I should have never got a electrician to put it in but then I know nothing about alarms and I thought as the electrician had fitted other equipment in my own house and he was updating electrical sockets in the apartment he would have known what he was doing but it appears now that he bought a cheap of the shelf bundle of rubbish.....you live and learn the hard way. Hopefully you approve the way I have gone forward with this problem (Hopefully you wont tell me the Pyronix System is a bundle of rubbish)

£500 cheap , remember app will have costs later if not at beginning

 

Enforcer will do much better than what you have