Re: New House Alarm - Am I locked out?

[JoeRaisin <joeraisin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

jasonextras@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Alright.  I called the monitoring company.  I'd call them out by name,
> but since the news is not good I think it might be wise to keep it to
> myself at this point.  According to them, the previous owner purchased
> and owns outright the entire system, including wiring, panels,
> keypads, and sensors.  They supposedly never rent or lease equipment,
> only sell it.  The company does, however, claim to own the programming
> of the unit itself and will under no circumstances allow the unit to
> function locally.  Not even if I pay for a tech to come out and make
> the necessary changes to the unit.  Nor will they provide the
> installer code to allow me to reset the unit to default values (which
> I checked and am locked out of).  How they are allowed to disable a
> functional alarm system that they do not own is beyond me.  If they
> want to wipe the programming since they claim they own it fine, but
> they won't even allow me to reprogram my own unit.  I got a supervisor
> involved, but they wouldn't budge.
>
> It sounds like my options are limited at this point.  I don't think I
> should have to buy a new panel, but it looks like I may have to.
>
> As far as the smoke detectors go, it appears they are wired in through
> the 110V system (I looked at this previously), but I can't be sure.
> They are First Alert detectors, and the system itself has fire
> monitoring capabilities, but I have no idea if the detectors are wired
> through the security system because the system does not work at all.
> The wires appear to go back towards the security system's mounting
> box, but there's insulation behind foil there and I can't trace their
> route.  Is there a way for me to find out for sure if they'll function
> without the alarm system enabled?
>

If not already done, remove all power from the alarm panel (AC and
Battery) and test one of the smoke detectors Using either the push to
test button or by using canned smoke (check at a hardware store or maybe
a "different" local alarm company.

Most first alert smoke detectors that wire to an alarm panel do not have
a battery in the unit itself but use the back up power from the panel.
I could be wrong since I am not all that familiar with devices dating
back to the FA147 era.  (any help here?)

You haven't said if there is a spouse or family involved here but I
recommend that you don't allow your family to spend even one night in a
house without functioning smoke detectors.

One night is all it takes.