House Alarm Fault

[Jim Caldwell]

Hi, new to the forum.

I have a Veritas house alarm supplie by Texecom.

Yesterday the alarm went off whilst we were in the house and the alarm was unset.

Reset the alarm and then 5 minutes later the same thing happened.

I couldn't detect any faults within the zones. This scenario continued until eventually I had to leave it on tamper /unset as that was

the only action that would stop it.

Went to have a look at this morning and there is no lights showing and the system has not got any power.

At first I thought it maybe the battery but I assume the battery would only kick in if there was a power cut which was not the case.

I have checked the small fuse in the main alarm panel and also the fuse from the fixed spur and they are both ok. Checked the voltage in the

battery and it is at 5 volts. Would I be right in assuming that there has been cut in power within the control panel?

There are no lights showing at all on the Control panel or the remote panel. When I removed the front of the main panel there were two lights

showing behind the numbers but they can't be seen when the panel cover is on.

Hope you can help me.

Regards

Jim Caldwell

Email address removed to protect the innocent.

 

[Sharpend]

The fact that no power light is on would suggest an issue with power supply. Did you measure the mains voltage at spur or in the panel? 
it sounds as though you have lost a fuse. There is more than one fuse iirc, so be wise to ensure power is off and check each fuse. 
if battery is low, it may be that it has been on battery back up or the battery is dying and needs replacing. 
1) investigate and restore power supply.

2) see what lights come on. 
3) see if alarm can be reset. 
4) see if alarm sounds again.

5) with all accessories wired and terminated, check for continuity on tamper circuit. 
6) also check tamper to bell box as this is usually on its own tamper circuit. 
 

report back. 

 

[Jim Caldwell]

Thanks for the quick reply.

If I am reading the Installation manual properly is states that it is wired straight into mains 

and then into a spur with a 13 amp fuse in it.

It doesn't appear to go through a breaker fuse.

If I am reading the Installation manual properly is states that it is wired straight into mains 

and then into a spur with a 13 amp fuse in it

Will do what I can with my limited capabilities.

Thanks again.

 

[Sharpend]

Do you have a multimeter? 

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Checked the voltage in the battery and it is at 5 volts.

If the battery is 5v it is absolutely shot..

and needs replacing.

They typically have a recommended lifespan of approx 5years.

I doubt you will get much working without either replacing the battery, or disconnecting it..

Alarms can operate without a back-up battery, (obviously not during power failures),

but a knackerd battery can prevent the alarm power supply from working the rest of the system correctly..

As they are designed to keep a good battery trickle charged..

but 99% of the time cannot cope with a absolutely fried battery..

It just drags the whole supply down.

and/or possibly overheats the supply itself.

Guinness     

 

[Jim Caldwell]

Thanks for that, will try the battery first. I assume it will have to be a rechargeable battery?

 

[Geoff1946]

The replacement battery must be the same type as the old one, - a dry lead acid I would expect.

If I was you I would see if the panel works from mains before spending on the battery.

It may be that the mains transformer or the rectifier have failed,. If that makes the panel an uneconomic repair you might be left with a new battery which won't fit a replacement panel.

 

[Jim Caldwell]

Yes, did wonder about that.

I can get a new control panel for a reasonable price but when it comes to  these kind of things I have limited capabilities and

may have to get a professional in to have a look.

Thanks to you everyone else for your help.

Regards