Recently I have been receiving several notifications about low batteries then more recently malfunction of devices. Most notably I received low battery notice on 2 fire fetectors and right after changing the batteries started receiving malfunction notices on the same devives. Could I be experiencing some sort of problem with the panel or does this pattern of malfunction seem normal?
Could I be experiencing some sort of problem with the panel or does this pattern of malfunction seem normal?
That would depend on the circumstances, but there are normal explanations for the behavior precluding any issue with the panel as a whole.
To help troubleshoot: how soon after the battery swap did you notice the malfunction?
Can you check the date code on the batteries you used to replace the ones reporting low?
Double check the orientation of the batteries as well, as they may be reversed.
Did you successfully test the sensors after replacing the batteries?
Have you noticed corresponding alerts on the 2GIG panel itself? Do they read “Loss of Supervision?”
The malfunction alert occurred about 24 hours after I replaced the batteries. The date code on the batteries was well out into the future, I made sure of that when purchasing new batteries to install. The orientation of batteries was double checked and correct.
The Loss of Supervision notice appears on both the panel and through my login on alarm.com.
Are there any open/close sensors which are showing this, or just smoke detectors?
If you tamper one of the sensors, removing it from its back-plate, does the panel report the tamper? Smoke detectors may need to remain off the mounting plate for 5-10 seconds.
The panel shows with open/close sensors are open but does not report a malfunction.
I do not recall the panel reporting tamper when I removed either one of them. It did report a tamper when I recently replaced a battery on a glass break sensor however.
The smoke detector has a label on it that indicates that you must wait for a period of time before inserting new batteries. I don’t recall the exact time but it is 30 or 60 seconds I believe. I followed this instruction so the detectors were off of the mounting plate for significantly more than 5-10 seconds.
The smoke detector has a label on it that indicates that you must wait for a period of time before inserting new batteries. I don’t recall the exact time but it is 30 or 60 seconds I believe. I followed this instruction so the detectors were off of the mounting plate for significantly more than 5-10 seconds.
I’m referring to trying this now.
Take one of the smoke detectors off the mounting plate and set it nearby. Leave the batteries in, as we want it to be powered and communicating. Does the panel report a tamper now? We want to verify signalling can reach the panel.
Loss of Supervision indicates the panel is not receiving the periodic “heartbeat” signals from the sensor indicating it is accounted for and communicating. We want to verify whether the sensors can clear the Loss of Supervision by reporting a status to the panel.
No luck. Tried removing each of the detectors and neither one triggered a tamper notification nor did it fix the loss of supervision notice on the panel.
Alright, that would indicate one of a couple things:
- Batteries may not be good. If you have a tester, you can check voltage.
- Remove the batteries and check the connection terminals in the sensors. Is there any corrosion which might prevent a solid connection to battery?
- Signal is simply too weak from their current location. Are these sensors very far from the panel? Do you have a signal repeater at the location which may have been unplugged?
Testing whether the units have power is easy enough. If you call the central station and place your account on test mode, then press and hold the test button on the smoke detectors, do their local sounders go off?
Hi Jason - I haven’t had time to try to deal with this issue further since your last reply on 7/5, but the problem persists.
I’ve triple checked that the batteries are good, there is no corrosion at all on the connection terminals and the batteries are in the smoke detector exactly as indicated on the device and exactly as the previous batteries were. The location of the devices are both quite close to the main panel, one is one the floor below the panel and directly beneath it with an open staircase between the panel and the device. The other is located directly above the panel on the next floor up. The only repeaters I have in the house are to get a signal to a strobe light at the top of the front or our house and the repeaters are quite a bit further from the panel than either of these devices. I have not taken the step of placing the account in test mode but I have pressed and held the button on the smoke detectors several times and each time the sounders go off.
Now I am faced with an additional problem of a similar nature. Two more smoke detectors have indicated low battery. I replaced batteries in one of the two detectors with brand new batteries and the system and the panel are still indicating low battery despite the fact that the light is blinking on the device and the sounders go off when the test button is pushed. In this device, the battery was low enough prior to replacement that the device was beeping and that stopped immediately when the batteries were replaced but still the panel and system (when I log in) indicate low battery.
It seems that there has to be some connection between these three device problems that goes beyond battery as this is too many times/devices for this to simply be coincidence. Is there possibly a firm where update that I need to perform or some other step I need to take with the panel to get it to correct the communication problem?
While logged into my system a few moments ago there was a message at the top of the Security page indicating that a refresh (or something like that) was sent to my system. Then I was required to reenter my user name and password. Once I logged back in the smoke detector malfunction and the smoke detector low batter (on the one that I had just changed the battery) disappeared and all three sensors now have a status of OK. I replaced the batteries in the other detector that was indicating low battery and by the time I got back to my computer to look at the system that detector also had a status of OK.
Did something occur on your end that would have cause the system to reset?
An Updated system status was requested again and it looks like the issues have cleared. It looks like the new batteries did resolve the issue.
Keep in mind the sensors will need to send a signal to the panel in order for it to determine the updated status, which typically coincides with a supervision check. (Supervision is a roughly hourly signal)
Is there possibly a firm where update that I need to perform
The firmware version reported from the panel is a few years old (1.9.6) so keeping updated is always a good idea, though I do not know of an issue with that firmware version regarding what you were seeing.
If you do update firmware, make sure to upgrade to 1.13 first before going any higher.