I have a problem with my Qolsys panel: About once per hour, it is reporting the battery unplugged. I ran a system test, and I see both the battery test and the system integrity test failing. The panel is otherwise working as expected, and will continue to work with the power supply is unplugged. I am therefore sure that the battery is plugged in and working fine.
Any help on this would be appreciated.
We’ve seen similar alerts a few times before. One thing that can help determine whether it is a physical loss of charge capacity at the battery or other issue is to drain the battery for a while then let it recharge.
Unplug power and let the IQ panel run on battery only for 8 hours or so (best to do while at home) then plug back in and let it charge back up. This has been beneficial in some other cases.
^ That never worked for me, however once I updated to 1.6.2, that issue resolved itself.
however once I updated to 1.6.2, that issue resolved itself.
Interesting. I wonder if the panel was a bit overzealous in reporting battery charge capacity loss, which will naturally happen of course. That is speculation though. 1.6.2 should still be available for users without an IQ2, however since 1.6 has been pulled for improvement, if you have an IQ2, it may be best to wait for the replacement release.
Hi Jason,
thanks a lot for your reply. Here is a quick rundown of what I saw when following your instructions:
Jason, please let me know how to proceed from here. As the system is only 10 months old, I feel that this shouldn’t happen.
Thank you,
best regards, Felix
received text regarding power failure at 2:41. somehow I believe to remember that I used to receive a text almost instantaneously after power failure.
All panels have a power loss delay set in programming. You would have never received an instantaneous alert upon unplugging the device.
I can see in history that the panel reported power loss to ADC at 2:41:10.
after powering it back on, date and time were set to 1970
This is simply the default time/date for the IQ Panel. Like a clock flashing 12:00. Simply means it hadn’t received time from ADC yet.
received text regarding low battery at 3:15, the monitoring company also called at that time. The panel log shows the battery status at 6%
I would not expect to see a low battery alert that quickly unless the battery was severely undercharged. Down to 6% after a half hour or so should not occur.
There are a couple possible issues. One, the battery may be ineffective itself, and two, the panel power saving features or battery management may have malfunctioned.
When running on battery, the panel is designed to limit itself to only necessary functions.
I see shortly after 4 the battery reports an end of low battery, presumably very shortly after the system was plugged back in. This also is an anomaly, and makes me suspect the panel firmware above the battery at first.
I would recommend, considering this system does not appear to have an IQ2, to update the firmware to 1.6.2, as the previous user described this resolving similar issues.
In the Upgrade Software section of your settings, enter the patch tag “systest162” then upgrade using network.
Interesting. I wonder if the panel was a bit overzealous in reporting battery charge capacity loss, which will naturally happen of course. That is speculation though. 1.6.2 should still be available for users without an IQ2, however since 1.6 has been pulled for improvement, if you have an IQ2, it may be best to wait for the replacement release.
If you remember, the voltage showed normal and charge levels too during that whole ordeal. The panel kept reporting a good voltage and an unplugged battery. Go figure.
I don’t have any IQ2s so the 1.6.x firmware didn’t break anything for me.
I updated my panel firmware to 1.6.2.
The good news: the system integrity test now passes.
The bad news: the battery test still fails. The battery doesn’t charge. After 5 hours, it still reports 7.91V and 17%, which is exactly the same values it showed immediately after upgrading the firmware.
Please let me know if you have any other suggestions. Let’s also please not forget that this panel is less than one year old and should be covered under warranty.
Thank you,
best regards, Felix
After 5 hours, it still reports 7.91V and 17%, which is exactly the same values it showed immediately after upgrading the firmware.Please let me know if you have any other suggestions. Let’s also please not forget that this panel is less than one year old and should be covered under warranty.
Devices within their warranty period are of course under warranty. However, it is not a good idea to simply seek replacement if the issue is not clear and likely influenced by a local variable. Testing is always needed to determine best course, unless the issue is known and clear-cut.
That said, based on the fact that 1.6.2 should be reporting battery levels and errors accurately, this was a good test and pretty effectively points to the battery having trouble with its capacity if you are still seeing the battery reporting a low percentage. In this case the battery should be replaced.
Our warranty policy can be found here.
I believe the battery itself is not a store item, but if you would like to use the second warranty option and purchase the replacement prior to shipping the defective battery for refund, please email customerservice@suretyDIY.com and reference this thread. They’ll be able to help take care of it.