adt low battery won't go away on keypad

[mark]

I have an adt safemanager 2000 / safewatch 2000 (keypad) system in my
house. It's about 3.5 years old. Recently the power was off for a
long time and since it's come back on the low battery "bat" message
continually shows up in the keypad. I've checked the battery voltage
and the fuse with a multimeter. All is great. I even tried a new
battery (before the multimeter) and the problem persists.

The real trouble is that every so often the keypad beeps continuously
until some keys are pressed to stop it.

How can I reset this low battery message on the keypad?

[Frank Olson]

"mark" <markrs...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:818b20c4.04113...@posting.google.com...

You probably have wireless devices on your system (door contacts, motions,
etc.). The message you're seeing relates to these, not the common control
battery.

--
Frank Olson
http://www.yoursecuritysource.com
Free listings for qualified dealers and industry professionals
You can read the ASA FAQ at
http://www.yoursecuritysource.com/asafaq.htm

[Joe]

I have had a hard time getting lo batt messages to go away on those
types of panels too.
I have had pretty good success making them go away by entering into
programming and then getting right back out.

You may try poering completely down for a few minutes, power back up and
see what happens... Couldn't hurt.

[G. Morgan]

On 30 Nov 2004 06:26:39 -0800 "mark"
used 11 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.security.alarms

>How can I reset this low battery message on the keypad?

try [master code] +5

[master code] + 1 two times

--
-Graham

Remove the 'snails' from my email

[mark]

Everything in the system is wired. There are no motion sensors, just
glass break detectors apart from the normal door / window contacts.

[mark]

One more bit of info which may help ... the keypads no longer light up
when you press keys. I opened them up and they don't have batteries
in them.

[Crash Gordon®]

You have to replace the main system battery first, otherwise the low batt display will keep coming back. The battery is in the main box, not in the keypad...unless it's an rather old ademco with the little 4 amp battery on a hanging holder down in the wall (rare).

After you replace the system battery and the keypads should responsive - if not you may have fried the transformer.

Code + Off, Code + Off is how you usually silence Ademco trouble indications/sounders.

"mark" <markrs...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:818b20c4.04113...@posting.google.com...

[Crash Gordon®]

code + off, code + off

and measuring the battery with a multimeter will tell you nothing real.
your panel is testing the battery under load and it is failing the test that's WHY you are seeing a low battery...replace the battery!

a new battery may have to be in the system for an hour or so before it charges. give it time...then;

code + off, code + off

if it still is displaying low batt after installing a new batt and won't clear, measure the transformer voltage (AC) should be around 13 VAC but anywhere from 12-19 is common.

if AC is ok and still have prob...it could be a number of other thangs..bad charging circuit on main board would be my next guess...but haven't seen that much in Ademco stuff.

my money is still on battery being bad

good luck!

"mark" <markrs...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:818b20c4.04113...@posting.google.com...

[James B]

Panel takes a 16.5 Ac transformer, so the AC had better measure at least
that but between 17 and 18 ac is normal.. :) Sounds like the battery
needs to be replaced though.

James

"Crash Gordon®" <NOVIAGRAPLE...@siriussystems.com> wrote in message
news:imard.21$io4....@news.uswest.net...

[mark]

Ok ... it WAS the battery. I installed a new one and waited an hour
or so and it went away.

So if I take a multimeter and measure the voltage while the battery is
in place what should I see? I measured it across the terminals while
the battery was installed and it was something like 13.5

"James B" <ja...@dencosecurity.com> wrote in message news:<47OdnSihEr2...@comcast.com>...

[Alarminex]

In article <818b20c4.04120...@posting.google.com>,
markrs...@gmail.com (mark) writes:

>Subject: Re: adt low battery won't go away on keypad
>From: markrs...@gmail.com (mark)
>Date: 1 Dec 2004 07:13:27 -0800

>
>Ok ... it WAS the battery. I installed a new one and waited an hour
>or so and it went away.
>
>So if I take a multimeter and measure the voltage while the battery is
>in place what should I see? I measured it across the terminals while
>the battery was installed and it was something like 13.5
>

Even if the battery is bad, if you leave the panel powered up from the
transformer and the leads from the panel attached to the battery, while you put
a meter on it, you're going to measure the output of the leads from the panel,
not the voltage of the battery. Even if you take the leads off the battery, and
measure the voltage of the battery terminals, you're not going to necessasarily
be able to tell if the battery is bad. With nothing drawing power from the
battery, it can still retain a "surface charge" until you put a load across the
terminals. That would be a relatively heavy load like one amp, or so.

So ............. a way to test your battery would be ( after putting the system
on test with central) .......... Put your meter across the battery terminals
with the leads from the panel attached. Pull the AC transformer. Do not
disconnect the standby battery. Note what the meter reading is ** now **. If
it's below 12 volts and seems to be dropping, the battery is "very" bad. If it
stays a 12 volts however, it doens't necessarily mean the battery is good.
Check the keypad to see if the system remains on. If it is, cause an alarm
condition with the siren sounding. If the siren can remain sounding for about
10 minutes being powered only from the battery, and the meter stays at 12
volts, then your battery condition is acceptable. But there's no way for you to
know how much life is left in it. That's why periodic testing is recommended .
If the siren stops sounding or gets pretty weak sounding .... and/or the
voltage reading on the meter keeps dropping further below 12 volts, while the
siren is sounding, then the battery needs replacement. The battery should be
able to sustain at least a 10 minute ring off with out going below 12 volts.
Again, the reason periodic testing is highly recommended.

You realize, of course, that a new battery will give you a longer standby
period than an older battery. Thus there is a distinct reason and advantage for
changing the battery *sooner* than waiting for it to run completely down. You
should also consider that the number of powered devices that your panel is
powering, (keypads, motion detectors, speakers, etc) has an effect on how long
a standby period you will have.

Also, when you change the battery, mark the date that you changed it, right on
the side of the battery. That way, three, four, five years from now, if you
start have similar or other problems, you'll have a guage and you'll know it's
time to change the battery again.
>
>
Jim

(Email accepted only upon request.)

Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints...

[John O]

>>So if I take a multimeter and measure the voltage while the battery is
>>in place what should I see? I measured it across the terminals while
>>the battery was installed and it was something like 13.5
>>
>
> Even if the battery is bad, if you leave the panel powered up from the
> transformer and the leads from the panel attached to the battery, while
> you put
> a meter on it, you're going to measure the output of the leads from the
> panel,
> not the voltage of the battery. Even if you take the leads off the
> battery, and
> measure the voltage of the battery terminals, you're not going to
> necessasarily
> be able to tell if the battery is bad. With nothing drawing power from the
> battery, it can still retain a "surface charge" until you put a load
> across the
> terminals. That would be a relatively heavy load like one amp, or so.

That's a great procedure for *any* device that runs off a battery, except
maybe the load requirements. Just for grins, there's a great site out there
that explains all types of rechargeable batteries in more detail than
anybody really needs, and it's in layman's terms. Check out www.buchmann.ca

BTW, that surface charge problem is classic for NiCd cells that need
rejuvenated. I use 2000 uF charged to 50 volts, and discharge it through the
battery 5-10 times. If that--and an amp or two directly through the cell for
good measure--doesn't fix them, nothing will. And that fixes a lot of
supposedly-bad NiCd cells...

-John O

[Dave Bannerman]

The way we test batteries is by using a ELK-BLT Mhos Meter, by ELK
Products. It will show the voltage of the battery and then will put a
load on the battery and give a digital readout of the result. The
resulting number can be compared to the chart on the back of the
meter. Its a great way to check the health of your batteries. Voltage
alone just wont cut it.

[Crash Gordon®]

its cheaper to replace the battery than buy a 175$ battery tester.

"Dave Bannerman" <da...@fbhs.com> wrote in message news:84bb83ae.04120...@posting.google.com...

[Alarminex]

In article <cVwrd.61$A81....@news.uswest.net>,
=?Windows-1252?Q?Crash_Gordon=AE?= <NOVIAGRAPLE...@siriussystems.com>
writes:

>Subject: Re: adt low battery won't go away on keypad

>From: =?Windows-1252?Q?Crash_Gordon=AE?=
><NOVIAGRAPLE...@siriussystems.com>
>Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 21:32:06 -0700

>
>its cheaper to replace the battery than buy a 175$ battery tester.
>
>

It's much less expensive to buy a 10 ohm, 25 watt wirewound resistor. Attach it
to the battery for about 10 minutes. If the voltage drops to or below 11 volts,
change the battery. Don't touch the resistor for about 10 minutes afterwards
:->

[mark]

Thanks for all your help guys!

[Brian]

I noticed when I was installing my Ademco system that sometimes it would
take a second power cycle to get the low battery warning to go away. Also,
going into and coming out of programming with *99 would do it.

Brian.

"mark" <markrs...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:818b20c4.04113...@posting.google.com...

[Crash Gordon®]

I guess...

But if you're familiar with the type of panel (and how rough the charging circuit is on batts) and have been putting alarms in for 900 years...and the alarm is sending a low battery signal everyday for 2 weeks and the date stamp on the battery (or the date you wrote on it last time it was replaced) indicates the battery is 9 years old...well ya kinda sorta don't need a battery tester :-)

"Alarminex" <alar...@aol.comQzap> wrote in message news:20041202014034...@mb-m25.aol.com...