Common Problems > Panel Trouble

If a customer has a trouble condition on their keypad, it will be annunciated by the keypad (usually in a rather annoying fashion).

There will be a way of viewing the trouble, See the panel manual for the method (*2 for a DSC).

It will, depending on what type of keypad it is, show the trouble either on a LCD readout, or with a number, lit with an LED.

For an LED, see the manual for the numerical trouble definitions. Keep in mind that some of the numbers will have more than one level. This means that on some systems, (Using a 5010 as an example) an indicator of 1, could mean any of 8 things. Hitting the 1 key while the 1 indicator is displayed, will then show the associated trouble. If the indicator stays 1, this would mean that there is a low battery (Or that this feature is not supported, and it is not a 5010).

For an LCD, it will display the trouble on the screen, you may need to use the Arrow keys to scroll through possible trouble conditions. On some systems may have you scroll through a list of possible conditions, and any that are in trouble with be shown with a *.

Some types of trouble that we can help with on the phone are as follows:

Failure to Communicate

Normally this is caused by an interruption in the phone service when the system tried to send out a signal, and it just needs to send out another signal to clear the trouble.

Do this by arming the system, then setting off an alarm and letting the siren ring for at least 30 seconds. Then disarm the system, and call us back to see if the signals came in.

If the signals came in, then the trouble will have cleared from the keypad.

If the signals did not come in, and the trouble persists, then the client will need to contact their servicing company, as the problem is more serious.

Time and Date

The time and date can get lost if the system is powered down, or for a number of other reasons, and on most systems this is a simple problem to fix. See the specific panel manual for more details.

Low Battery (See: Changing a Low Battery)

If the client has a low battery, determine if it is a general, or a zone (Wireless) battery. Some systems will use the LED method shown above to show the specific zone that has the low battery, or will show the zone on the LCD screen. If not, then there are most likely no wireless zones, and therefore only the main backup battery could possibly be low.

If the client is comfortable changing the battery themselves, put the system on test to avoid any tamper alarms. Otherwise refer them to the service company.