Re: First Alert FA-210 panel keeps beeping

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Aug 25, 5:53=A0pm, "dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx" <dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Aug 25, 2:50=A0pm, "dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx" <dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Aug 25, 1:35=A0pm, ransley <Mark_Rans...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > > On Aug 25, 2:39=A0pm, Dennis <dcho...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > > > Hi, I have a 10 year old First Alert FA-210 panel which shows LO BA=
T
> > > > off and on, but there is no zone number info. Sometimes the panel w=
ill
> > > > keep beeping until I press any key on the keypad to turn the beepin=
g
> > > > off. According to the manual, it says it is due to low system power
> > > > condition. But I checked the AC power and it seems to be feeding th=
e
> > > > correct voltage to the control box. Any clue?
>
> > > > Thanks
> > > > Dennis
>
> > > Good systems have backup batteries so a thief cant just disable the
> > > power, or come by during a power outage, mine has a 12v lead acid
> > > battery I can get at Ace, open the panel and see, and google for an
> > > instruction manual.
>
> > So does the board in the box run off the battery even when A/C power
> > is functional? I always thought the board is running off the A/C power
> > and the battery is used only when A/C power is disabled.
>
> > Thanks again for all your help
>
> By the way, I used a voltmeter to measure the voltage on the battery
> and it seems OK. I measure the battery voltage with A/C power adapter
> connected to the wall outlet.
> Just wondering how the battery may be bad if the voltmeter indicates
> an acceptable battery voltage at its leads.-


Dennis Dennis Dennis.

You're asking questions and making assumptions and getting answers by
the hunt and peck method and you're not going to solve your situation
without the full understanding of what you're dealing with.

The panel is powered from a  plugin transformer that supplies the
board with somewhere around 12 to 18 volt AC. The board operates on 12
volts DC. The battery is being charged all the time but is actually in
the circuit full time. This is so that when you have a power failure,
there is no "switch over" time-lag where the panel may not have any
voltage for a brief second during a power failure or a brown out
situation. That is, the board always sees the battery voltage. So ....
even though the battery is called a "standby" battery, it's .... in
effect .... powering the board all the time. When you put in a new
battery, your standby time is at it's maximum and the time it will be
able to keep your system operating without AC power is determined by
the size/capacity/Ampere hour rating of the battery and the amount of
current your system needs to operate during an alarm condition. As the
battery gets older ( usual life expectancy is 3 to 5 years... but some
go for much longer) the standby time gets less and less. When the
battery gets down to a pre-ordained level of standby capability, you
will get an alert at your keypad that it's time to change the battery.
The system will still function with a "low" battery, it's just that
you will only have a very short standby time before the panel goes
dead.

The fact that you can put a meter on the battery terminals and read a
good voltage, while it's connected to the panel is because you're
reading the battery charge voltage being put out by the panel. The
fact that you can disconnect the battery from the panel and get a good
reading is because the meter doesn't put any load on the battery so
you're just reading the "surface charge" of the cells. If you were to
put your meter across the battery terminals while it's connected to
the board, pull out the plugin transformer and cause an alarm
condition with the siren blowing ( ie. put a load on the battery)
you'd see the meter drop to some reading below 12 volts DC. This is
what the panel is trying to tell you. That in an alarm condition,
you're not going to have enough power to blow the siren, send a signal
to central and keep your panel going for an length of time.

If  you'd call in someone from an alarm company you'd be a lot better
off than trying to futz with something that you don't have a complete
understading about. This is security for your home and family. It's
serious. It's important. How would you feel if you did something to
the panel based on an "assumption" such as you've done with this
situation and your system didn't work because of what  you did or
didn't do and your family suffered, were harmed or worse, or your home
burned down?

I mean, I don't mind helping someone out but the questions you're
asking and are confused about are very VERY basic and it's actually
scary to think of what else  you might have done or might do to your
system. Like, do you know what kind of battery your system MUST have?
Alkaline? Ni Cad? Lead acid? Lithium? Do you know what could happen if
you put the wrong battery on your panel?