New battery but low battery warning

Support
21

ok. I just checked on the battery and it is holding a charge, it was at 0 when I took it in and now is at 7. I’ll let it get fully charged, reinstall it and power up as instructed above.

The ct30 thermostats are wired…at least wires are going into the drywall. When I changed the batteries power remained. I would say the main level ct30 is 35 feet and the upstairs ct30 is 20 feet from the CP. The CP is in the kitchen by the garage door and next to it is a microwave and across from it is the fridge. Ive lived in the home for 1 year and have always had problems as I have discussed. It was originally installed by Vivint so I would think the placement and relation of things “should” be ok. The furthest distance between any of the 3 is about 35 feet, and one of the CT30 thermostats is the farthest away. However I also have other Z Wave devices such as a kwikset door lock and another one or two switches in between all this.

I can move the panel closer to the center of the house in an attempt to eliminate the z wave issues if you think that may help.

22

Metallic interference can cause communication issues. If the panel has always been in the kitchen and you have always experienced these issues, this could be an indicator that your panel’s location is less than ideal. Moving it to test might be a worthwhile endeavor.

23

I will try that and report back. In the process of removing devices from the network, 1 of my 2 thermostats would not remove itself from the network. I had to reset the thermostat and then I was able to remove it from the network. Any ideas why this happened?

24

Removal, like adding devices, is often affected by distance. If the panel was in its original location interference is possible.

25

I had the panel in my hand on the internal battery power standing directly in front of the thermostat.

Also, to note…When I first moved in I had a Vivint panel that was locked so I bought a refurbished panel from another online retailer/monitoring company. Unfortunately, their support is nothing even close to what I am finding helpful here. So, let me thank you for that and state my sadness that I wish I knew now what I didn’t know then with the help your forum has provided. I am trying to get credit for this refurbished panel and get a new panel.

I would to think that perhaps all these z wave issues are related to a bad panel maybe.

26

Rediscovery after adding any z wave device back in the panel is failing. I can add all day, but rediscovery cannot find them. Based on the problems you know I have had, what do you think?

27
If you drew only battery power for a long time, the battery may be unable to fully charge again, although one likely thing to check:

The 2GIG Go!Control Panel should be powered up after the TAKE-345 in order to properly register status. Low battery alerts are a common response if powered in the reverse order.

Try just power cycling your 2GIG panel. Unplug power, unplug the internal battery, wait a minute, then power back up, battery first, then transformer.

After a brand new battery from Batteries Plus, following the instructions from Warren I am STILL getting low battery status. I’m really confused now. If my wiring is correct, and I am cycling in the specified order…then why is this happening?

If I suspect my panel to have a hardware issue causing Z Wave issues could that also be the cause for the low battery problems?

28
I would to think that perhaps all these z wave issues are related to a bad panel maybe.

It is always a possibility that hardware failure is at fault. It is typically much more likely to be an environmental/distance/directions issue, so it’s best to try to rule everything out first. If you have interference, for example, or too much distance between nodes, a new panel would not fix the problem.

It sounds like from your description that you have brought the panel to each device to learn them in, moved the panel back to its permanent spot, ran a network rediscovery, and are still encountering problems?

When you say rediscovery is failing, what are you seeing on the panel after running the rediscovery? Note that a network rediscovery can sometimes take 5+ minutes to complete.

Do you mean you still show failed nodes (highlighted on the panel)?

Do you have any cordless phones or baby monitors in use at your location? These are known to cause interference.

After a brand new battery from Batteries Plus, following the instructions from Warren I am STILL getting low battery status. I’m really confused now. If my wiring is correct, and I am cycling in the specified order…then why is this happening?

If I suspect my panel to have a hardware issue causing Z Wave issues could that also be the cause for the low battery problems?

The TAKE zone low battery issue is highly unlikely to be caused by the panel. There is likely something in your wiring/equipment that is causing an issue. Some things to check below:

Just for clarity, make sure always to have the TAKE powered up before the panel is powered up. Any time you remove power/change battery from the TAKE, afterward power cycle the alarm panel.

If possible, since things have been replaced, can you post a new photo of the wiring? Check for loose wires (it looks like the G to DC- wire may be loose at the power supply, for example)

Do you have a multimeter or voltmeter to test your AL624 power supply connections? It is hard to tell from the photos, is the AC LED on on your AL624?

29

I apologize that I had 2 different issues inside this one conversation, but I am glad to report that after some checking on the wiring and power cycling in the correct order the TAKE low battery issue has been resolved.

Do you mean you still show failed nodes (highlighted on the panel)?

Yes, failed nodes after running network rediscovery. I added all devices and after about 5 minutes or even longer the panel displayed the message stating the panel’s z wave status was unavailable, status unknown. Once finished all nodes had failed.

Do you have any cordless phones or baby monitors in use at your location? These are known to cause interference.

No baby monitor, but using Uniden Dect 6.0 cordless phones which I believe uses 1.9GHZ

UPDATE…While “rediscovery” failed all devices, “check network” found all devices and there are currently no failed nodes and all devices are listed. I will update tomorrow after I get into ADC and reassign the devices to my rules and stuff.

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Have you noticed any further issues?

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Have you noticed any further issues?

Yes I have. Everything worked for a few days and then I started to have “malfunction” showing up on my ADC app, some devices would go off-line and then come back online periodically only to malfunction again. Same ole thing day in and day out. Except after a few malfunctions those devices have been not communicating for about a week now.

I really think my panel might be bad. I wish I could test it somehow.

32

Actually, going back and looking at those photos…are you putting the metal cabinet door on the old panel case and closing it?

The TAKE-345 is a wireless signal device. If encased in a metal box, you’ll have continual loss of supervision and malfunctions because the signals won’t reach the panel.

If so, try wiring the TAKE outside the box and mount it to the wall. You should see the issues stop.

33

The TAKE items are only the 3 entry doors and those are not having issues. Its the z wave that’s having issues.

34

Glass break, key fobs and doors work and announce thru the panel just fine

35

What is the firmware version of the panel you are using?

Depending on the version, your provider may be able to see whether lots of communications are failing consistently and the problem is a more general network issue, or if the network issues look more acute and intermittent.

Do the lights show malfunction at the same rate as the rest or is it mostly limited to lock/tstats that malfunction a lot?

Just to make sure, have you re-learned the devices into the panel when the panel was within a few feet of them? This is a deceptively important step. If so, have you tried a controller reset? “Reset Controller” can be found in the advanced Z-wave settings. This will require removing and adding all devices again after the reset.

36
What is the firmware version of the panel you are using?

1.13

Do the lights show malfunction at the same rate as the rest or is it mostly limited to lock/tstats that malfunction a lot?

All devices malfunction at about the same frequency

Just to make sure, have you re-learned the devices into the panel when the panel was within a few feet of them? This is a deceptively important step. If so, have you tried a controller reset? “Reset Controller” can be found in the advanced Z-wave settings. This will require removing and adding all devices again after the reset.

Yes and Yes

Does the panel’s “check network” button being highlighted yellow, go in hand with the failed devices? Or is that indicating more of a root of the problem if there are network issues with my panel?

37

Today I decided to work more on this current issue…so I reset the controller, went round to each device with panel in hand and removed every device, then went back around to each device and re-added. After each device was re-added I ran a “rediscover network” while standing right in front of each device and every time the rediscovery failed but when I selected “check network”, the devices were found and I am able to control them from the panel.

Now, I don’t know if this is a panel problem or what, but seems more than likely since I doubt all my devices are having issues and I am standing within a few feet of each device.

38

I just thought of something that may have been affecting my Z Wave issues. While I do not have any 900 Mhz cordless phones or baby monitors, I realized that my wireless audio surround sound speakers operate on 900 Mhz. I use 3 different sets on various bits of A/V throughout the house and while I may not have the speakers on all the time, the transmitter is always on and actively transmitting if the source has any sound output. The erraticness of my issues could very well have been at the same time the A/V equipment has been on.

I have pulled power supply to all 3 and will see how it goes.

39
I realized that my wireless audio surround sound speakers operate on 900 Mhz.

Interesting. Could you provide the model of the audio system?

That very well could be impacting things. Hopefully testing confirms it.

BTW, you only need to perform one network rediscovery if you are adding multiple devices at a time, and the rediscovery must be performed when the panel is back in its permanent spot.

40
Interesting. Could you provide the model of the audio system?

RCA cat #40-5029 and Accurian AWS-1475. I have 2 different types both operate on 900Mhz.

No issues yet since they’ve all been unplugged.