The system was running flawless for over a year and then on Friday our image sensor started acting up. Spooked us when Monitoring America contacted us because it was sending an alarm. We had them dispatch the police. Luckily it was false but the problem continued through the night. I replaced the lithium batteries in the sensor but haven’t tested it in away mode yet because our daughter has been sick so someone has been home at all times this week. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Do you see image sensors fail over time?
Image sensors are prone to the same false alarm hazards as other PIR detectors.
These include: pets, air vents, portable heaters, etc. A quick change in heat signature within the detection range will cause an alarm. This is even possible with things like insects or spiders crawling across the face of the detector (less common of course) but if you notice any webs or dust you’ll want to clean off the sensor. This is of course more of a problem if using a PIR in a basement.
If the issue continues and external causes can be ruled out, there are some further troubleshooting options.
Out of curiosity…
You say you got spooked when the IS sent an alarm to ADC/CS (Monitoring America), and that you had them dispatch…that it was a false alarm…that it continued throughout the night…
Did you not view the Image captured by IS? If the device went into alarm, it would have captured at least the motion that triggered the events… I assume no one was home and all events were when panel was armed away?
The panel will notify you when the IS batteries are low and need replacement, the panel will also tell you when there is a loss of supervision or malfunction.
Very annoyed, I finally set the panel to away and 10 minutes later received a call from the Central Monitoring station. We never had a problem with any part of the alarm system until the image sensor problems last week. The battery replacement didn’t fix anything. Is there a warranty on the image sensor if bought through Surety? Any suggestions on what to do next?
Note: We don’t have pets walking around the house and it has been mounted at same location for over a year at 7’4 inches in corner of room.
I do see you have the sensor set at High sensitivity. Just to clarify, was this sensitivity changed recently or has it always been set that way?
As Rive pointed out, you can check any associated images on ADC for clues if it was an environmental reason for the alarm. If nothing is apparent, reducing the sensitivity and testing is a good next step.
suretyDIY offers the full manufacturer’s warranty on all equipment. For the Image Sensor this is 1-year.
Hi Jason,
Prior to the false alarm last week, the sensor had only been touched once since installation to replace batteries. None of the settings anywhere in the 2GIG alarm system have been adjusted in over a year.
Have you tried a reset of the Image sensor? (Use a toothpick, push and hold in for approx 45sec)
I would definitely suggest reducing the sensitivity, testing to make sure you will still pick up an intruder, and then testing to see if false alarms occur.
You can place that zone on test with the central station to avoid false alarm calls while you test.
Rive, I have a 2GIG image sensor. Pictures capture nothing because they were false alarms. I have it set to turn on all z-wave lights when the alarm is tripped. Just empty rooms!
Try reset…
You should also check signal…and settings. There was an issue with these about a yr ago where they kept malfunctioning…aparrently ADC resolved it by messing with the “rules status”
As you can see, panel reports “not completed”, but ADC reports that it is completed. The issue causing the malfunctions was never to my understanding really fixed.
I have had malfunctions, but never false alarms, and I use High sensitivity to get full PIR lens range.
I have to do periodic IS resets otherwise my signal goes weak “red” for no reason at all…
Rive my rule status also says not completed. My PIR sensitivity was originally set to high but after reseting the image sensor and rebooting the GoControl, it has defaulted to Normal and will not allow me to change it to low or high. Any suggestions?
My GoControl firmware is currently 1.10.
I have had a few rules confirmation commands sent to the Image Sensor, so please advise whether this has been received at the panel. Your panel should report Rules confirmed, and you should be able to adjust sensitivity.
This is dealing with the malfunctions, and false alarms of the IS (see post #6):
http://www.2gigforum.com/threads/80-Image-Sensor-malfunction-(2GIG-Image1)
To update, I pressed the reset button on the image sensor and changed the sensitively to normal and haven’t had a false alarm. When I get some time this week, I hope raise sensitively to high and see if the image sensor reset was enough to fix the problem.
Jason, my rules also show completed now.