Re: First Alert FA-210 panel keeps beeping

["ABLE1" <royboynospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"nick markowitz" <nmarkowitz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6e22992e-cd14-454b-bda4-427d2f841bce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Aug 26, 12:05 am, "ABLE1" <royboynos...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> "Jim" <alarmi...@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
>
> news:ab070b37-970c-4d77-b404-425b750bbd5e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> On Aug 25, 5:53 pm, "dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx" <dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Aug 25, 2:50 pm, "dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx" <dcho...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > > On Aug 25, 1:35 pm, ransley <Mark_Rans...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > > > On Aug 25, 2:39 pm, Dennis <dcho...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > > > > Hi, I have a 10 year old First Alert FA-210 panel which shows LO
> > > > > BAT
> > > > > off and on, but there is no zone number info. Sometimes the panel
> > > > > will
> > > > > keep beeping until I press any key on the keypad to turn the
> > > > > beeping
> > > > > 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
> > > > > the
> > > > > 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?
>
> Now you went and posted all very good info and messed up the humor.
>
> You only get "one attaboy" for that.
>
> Les

Humor aside
 how many alarm techs do not understand how panels work either  or how
to use there meter properly I see it all
the time.
I have a whole collection of different meters and testers depending
what I work on.
Many of my meters have a cat II or higher rating as I work on 480- 3
phase. as well.


Nick,

I agree, it is scary what others are out there.

When us ol' farts are gone, who will pick up the cause??

I have worked on 480/3 as well, but don't tell to many people since I kinda
prefer the low voltage.  It is fun to watch the Sparky's expression when you
tell them that the alarm guy knows a good bit about why 3 phase motors spins
one direction or another or the difficulty of pulling 500MCM cables.  :-)

Les