moose z1100 - false alarms.
bugsy
i've been getting false alarms the last few days. i was at home and
around 11:45pm the alarm went off. scare the s____ out of me. i
checked every door/window and all were secure. today i get a call at
work and they tell me that my alarm went off and they are dispatching
the police. great, i'm going to get a warning etc. i set the pad to go
into monitor mode. i started checking out all of the doors/windows. i
found a window that it would not sense when i opened it. i noticed that
the little 1 inch long sensor the two wires are attached to, when
jiggled, the alarm monitor would go on. now what can it be??? the
magnet is getting weak? the little 1 inch sensor is bad and needs to be
replaced? should i just pull the sensor off and tie the two wires
together? when i checked the alarm memory, it did not show which zone
was violated. is there something else wrong??? please e-mail your
replies, thank you for your time.
Robert L Bass
It sounds like your system was improperly installed or serviced. You
mention that one of the window sensors doesn't sense an opening. If this
is the case, there may be a short or you may have a contact (magnetic
sensor) that is "frozen." This can sometimes occur due to lightning.
The other issue -- that of the sensor tripping when wiggled --
indicated either a loose connection, a poorly installed sensor or both.
In any case, the solution is not to short the wires out. This would
render the protection useless (if it isn't already). Instead, replace
the sensor and make a good, soldered splice. The magnetic sensors
themselves only cost from $3.50 to $5 retail and the repair is a simple
matter.
While you are at it, I suggest you go around and test each sensor in the
system. Do this with the monitor (chime) function on. Anything that
doesn't respond properly or that goes into alarm without the door or
window being opened needs to be dealt with.
You did not mention what type of system you have. If it's one of the
major brands, like Napco, DSC, Moose, etc., I can do remote diagnostics
via modem for you. I don't usually charge for that. Please contact me
via private e-mail and I'll see if I can help you further.
Blue Skies,
RLBass
.............................................
. Bass Home Electronics .
. 80 Bentwood Road, W Hartford, CT 06107 .
. http://www.BassHome.com .
. Voice (860) 561-2020 | Fax (860) 521-2143 .
.............................................
VSS DOUG
If you are having problems with intermitent false alarms or if you think your
system has been poorly installed, I would go further than testing the zones
with the chime mode(unless you are sure you have found the problem).
I would disconnect each wire in turn at the control panel and measure the loop
resistance of each loop, the resistance of each loop should be about the
same, if you find any that have a resistance reading substantially higher than
the others, I would then remove that contact, twist the two wires together and
retest the loop, if the resistance is still high, that would indicate the wire
is at fault.
I would then test the contact, with a magnet held against it , for resistance,
if the reading is high the problem is the contact.
Another thing to look for is how sensitive are the contacts, does the chime
mode sound when you barely touch the window(not good) or do you need to open
the window slightly to activate the alarm.
In general the magnet and the sensor should be lined up and as close as
possible to provide the greatest operating distance.
If your system is monitored at a central station, call them and ask what zone
has been activated, they should be able to provide you with a complete history
of any dispatch, IE: time, date, zone, etc
Doug L
PS: RLBass wrote (amongst other stuff)
>You did not mention what type of system you have. If it's one of the
>major brands, like Napco, DSC, Moose,
Look at the subject Robert "Moose Z 1100-false alarms"
chust pikking on yu !
Doug Winslow
bugsy wrote:
(etc.)
> into monitor mode. i started checking out all of the doors/windows. i
> found a window that it would not sense when i opened it.
Is this a window that is seldom opened? If so it may be that the contact
"fused" itself together. A light tap with a solid object may "wake it
up".
If after it's "awakened" one should open that opening about once a month
to
insure it's reliability. Of course as RLB suggested, changing it with a
new
one is an inexpensive way to solve your problem. If the window is opened
alot
then replace it by all means.
> i noticed that
> the little 1 inch long sensor the two wires are attached to, when
> jiggled, the alarm monitor would go on. now what can it be??? the
> magnet is getting weak? the little 1 inch sensor is bad and needs to be
> replaced?
Unless you can jiggle it more than an inch or two I would doubt the
magnet is
getting weak unless your window frame is steel and a spacer wasn't used
when
mounting the magnet. You didn't mention wether the wire going to the
contact is
connected to a couple of screw terminals or there's a wire comming out
from the
contact where it connects to the wire "feeding" the control set
elsewhere. If the
contact has screw terminals on it there might be a loose screw which
holds the
wire in place or there's a loose connection inside the contact
connecting the
screw terminal to the reed switch. If that's the case, buy a new
contact. BTW,
if you can jiggle the contact, first tighten the mounting screws because
it or
any others you have shouldn't jiggle.
> should i just pull the sensor off and tie the two wires
> together?
Yes, by all means do that! Then put the control set in monitor mode and
slightly
move/pull on the spliced wires and see if your system false alarms. If
it does
then you have a problem with the wired comming from the control set to
the contact
in close proximity of the contact itself. If the feed wire connecting to
the contact
has two wires (single conductors) then you might have a problem abit
down the
insulation of one (or both, doubt both) of them being broken where you
can't see the
break. If the two conductors connecting to the contact have many little
wires (called
stranded wire) then you probably won't have this problem but if by
slightly pulling
on the wire itself (instead of pulling on the spliced conductors) causes
a the
problem then your problem is where it's connected to the wire comming
from the
control set. Now that you're done working with the spiced wires, put
them back on
the contact before you forget. If you don't, as posted earlier, then
that window
will never work even with a new contact. :-)
Hope this helps! Doug
Irv Fisher
What's wrong with getting a service call to fix the system? No wonder the
cops have a love/hate relationship with alarms.
Robert L Bass wrote:
> bugsy wrote:
> >
> > i've been getting false alarms the last few days. i was at home and
> > around 11:45pm the alarm went off. scare the s____ out of me. i
Robert Dolph
Robert Dolph
Robert L Bass
Irv Fisher wrote:
>
> What's wrong with getting a service call to fix the system? No wonder the
> cops have a love/hate relationship with alarms.
I'd say it's more like a hate/hate relationship. Many times the client
can do certain things himself without assistance from an alarm company.
Also, if it's not monitored, most alarm companies will decline to
service it. They (reasonably) need to use their staff to care for
regular clients.
If the gentleman had an alarm company in whose services he was
confident, he would not have come here asking questions. The questions
he asked were reasonable and the replies we gave were intended to help.
Only he can decide if he's competent to wiggle a sensor or tighten a
screw terminal.
Also, replacing a non-polarized, 2-conductor magnetic contact is about
the easiest job in the business. I doubt anyone who is bright enough to
find his way into this NG will have trouble accomplishing the task.
Now, as to the police attitude, I would like to draw your attention to a
few things. First, the vast majority of security systems in this country
are professionally installed and professionally maintained. By
professional I mean the work is done by someone who gets paid for it. If
there is blame to be laid for the sorry state of affairs we are in
concerning false alarms, then it must surely be placed squarely at the
feet of the professional alarm companies.
You may be the finest of technicians, sir. No doubt you have every
confidence in your skill at solving this man's problems. I will assume
your confidence is well-founded. However, there is such a dearth of
quality workmanship in so many firms that we should not be surprised
that homeowners and small business-persons are looking to provide for
their own protection. Also, not everyone can afford the $40 to $90
hourly rate that many firms charge.
Since I cater to do-it-yourself installers, I should and I do try to
help anyone who asks for assistance designing, installing or servicing
an alarm system. I hope you won't begrudge me the privilege of sharing
about the proper techniques in this news group.
Mark
Possible problems:
1: Bad magnets (depends on the age of the system)
2: Door or Window becoming mis-aligned, this happens with temperature
changes, the wood in the windows swell or contract depending on the
temperature, a weak or misplaced magnet will work fine for a long time
then BAM!. Also many new doors have metal outsides with wood inside,
after a period of time these type of doors tend to bow inward at the
top and bottom causing false alarms.
3: Bad switch: this isn't as common today but if you have a Moose
Z1100 that was originally made in 1985 then its likely the switches
are rather old.
The switch and magnet may look fine but that doesn't sometimes mean
anything.
On Mon, 29 Sep 1997 22:03:07 -0700, bugsy <wolf...@pacbell.net>
wrote:
>i've been getting false alarms the last few days. i was at home and
>around 11:45pm the alarm went off. scare the s____ out of me. i
>checked every door/window and all were secure. today i get a call at
>work and they tell me that my alarm went off and they are dispatching
>the police. great, i'm going to get a warning etc. i set the pad to go
>into monitor mode. i started checking out all of the doors/windows. i
>found a window that it would not sense when i opened it. i noticed that
>the little 1 inch long sensor the two wires are attached to, when
>jiggled, the alarm monitor would go on. now what can it be??? the
>magnet is getting weak? the little 1 inch sensor is bad and needs to be