Alarm Systme PIRS Stuck On

somhairle · Post by **somhairle** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:01 am

I have an Optima G3 alarm and following a mains power shut down, the PIRS have all remained stuck on.

I have tried to reset the alarm without success. Can anyone help me to return the PIRS to normal?

: alarm.jpg (71.91 KiB) Viewed 1663 times

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:40 pm

How old is the standby battery? and what happens if you remove it?

somhairle · Post by **somhairle** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 9:09 pm

Someone-Else wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:40 pm How old is the standby battery? and what happens if you remove it?

I don't think the battery has been changed since it was installed which was back in 2004. I was surprised it was that old, but apparently it is.

By setting the alarm and then unsetting it, all but 1 PIR have gone out.

I have not tried to remove it. I don't know how to.

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:04 am

Life expectancy of an "alarm battery" is 5 years. When they go flat the panel is supposed to tell you, but it doesn't always happen and the battery can draw too much current, dragging the voltage down. Temporarily removing the battery usually solves the voltage drop problem.
I would take the battery out and see what happens. (Oh, if all is well when you open the panel the internal sounder should activate, enter your code to silence it.)

mudmouse · Post by **mudmouse** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:05 pm

Have you resolved this yet? I have three similar units in house, garage and outbuilding so may be able to help.
If a light remains on it indicates a fault in that zone.
Do you have the manuals?

somhairle · Post by **somhairle** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:26 pm

mudmouse wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:05 pm Have you resolved this yet? I have three similar units in house, garage and outbuilding so may be able to help.
If a light remains on it indicates a fault in that zone.
Do you have the manuals?

No, I still have 1 PIT glowing. I have yet to take the front of the unit and was going to replace the battery as it clearly failed when the power went off.

I do have the manual, but it does not say anything about this other than contact an installer if you have a fault.

mudmouse · Post by **mudmouse** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:33 pm

Do you know how to put the units in "Engineer" mode?

If not I suggest you read the installation manual (as opposed to the user manual) as when you remove the cover the tamper alarm will go off unless you do this.

somhairle · Post by **somhairle** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:37 pm

mudmouse wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:33 pm Do you know how to put the units in "Engineer" mode?

If not I suggest you read the installation manual (as opposed to the user manual) as when you remove the cover the tamper alarm will go off unless you do this.

Thanks, I do. I also have the code so hopefully I can avoid the alarm going off.

mudmouse · Post by **mudmouse** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:06 pm

Firstly if you are not confident with electricity I would call in someone who knows about the panel you have - it will save a lot of time and money.

If you are electrically competent then proceed as follows, I would point out that I take no responsibility for any actions that you may make, this is just a suggestion, and that you follow the instruction manual supplied with the panel:

OK so when you put the unit in Engineer mode and have removed the front cover (watch you do not lose one of the two front panel screws, very easy to do!!) you need to look at the circuit/zone that has the LED constantly on.

Firstly I would short out the tamper connections to see if it is the tamper loop that has failed.

Be careful as the panel is live.

If it is not the tamper circuit then what I would do is check the resistance between the two trigger wires coming back to the panel for the zone affected. I find it is best to tape a piece of card or paper over all the PIR detectors in that zone so that they cannot activate.

The resistance will depend on the length of the cable run between the PIRs on the zone, in my case the maximum is 65ohms (i have a lot of cable between PIRs with up to four PIR sensors on each zone). The PIRs work by having a low resistance across the sensor when they are not activated and by going open circuit when an alarm condition is triggered.

When you have a measured value of resistance, trigger one of the sensors and you should notice the resistance go into the megaohms or similar region indicating that a detection has occurred. If you get this then all appears to be fine with the PIR circuit

If you do not get a resistance value when all the PIR,s are in a "non-detect" state the there is a break in the wiring or a failure of one of the PIRS. You will then need to go to each PIR in that zone and short it out to determine which one it is.

If all checks out Ok then you may have a dodgy panel.

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:24 pm

First thing to do is to change the battery, since it is way over due to be changed.
It can't be a tamper as the OP clearly said

somhairle wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:26 pmI still have 1 PIT glowing

If it was a tamper the LED adjacent the spanner would be lit.

mudmouse · Post by **mudmouse** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:38 pm

As SE said it is unlikely to be the tamper circuit but it is worth checking anyway.
Whilst the battery needs to be changed it is also unlikely to be the cause if a zone LED light remains on when the power is restored.

somhairle · Post by **somhairle** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:37 pm

Thanks, guys.

I just checked the engineer code noted on the manual and it does not work. Nether does the default engineer code. So this means that I would need to simply use the user code to cancel the alarm when removing the front panel.

However......... can I still carry out the checks suggested by mudmouse if only the user code has been used to cancel the alarm?

mudmouse · Post by **mudmouse** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:51 pm

I do not think so - with my systems you have to put the "engineer" code into it to prevent the tamper alarm from being activated - otherwise any interference with the system when it is in a disarmed state would not activate the alarm.

In your case, if you cannot get the "engineer" code you will probably need to do a factory reset and recommission the system - at least you would get to understand how to set it up and maintain it!!!!

mudmouse · Post by **mudmouse** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:54 pm

As a matter of interest, what is the LED remaining on?

somhairle · Post by **somhairle** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:00 pm

mudmouse wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:54 pm As a matter of interest, what is the LED remaining on?

It is the first one (zone 1) as you come through the front door looking down the hall. There are another 2 - 1 in dining room and1 in living room.