HKC Panel Battery Fault

CBYR1983

Fully wired alarm system, went off in the middle of the night, seemed to suggest a sensor was tripped but nothing doing. But I noticed that I had the amber fault light and saying "Panel Battery Fault".

I went into engineering mode and it says battery is low, I'm not sure whether battery can be recharged but I suspect the battery needs to be replaced. The light has come on and off since then.

I read in old thread that required battery is 12v 7.2AH rechargeable battery.

My local electrical suppliers has a 12v 7.0 AH rechargeable battery (tores.ie). Would this do?

Are these easy to replace? Could anyone talk me through - it's only in about 3 years and the fitter is a very difficult man to get hold off, changes his number regularly, tends to be off fishing most of the time , and doesn't have appetite for small jobs.

Also, the alarm can still be set - is the battery simply for back-up if the mains is cut or what is its purpose?

Thanks

altor

More than happy to talk you through this, I will P.M you my number.

KoolKid

If it say low battery it will not charge back up.
12v 7.2AH rechargeable battery is the correct battery. If in doubt bring the old one with you when getting a new one to check, but I would say the one your suppliers have is the same.

They are very straightforward to change.
Turn off the mains power
Open the panel lid.
The battery will be sitting on the bottom of the enclosure.
Remove the Red & Black (or blue) leads from the existing battery
Connect to the new batterys observing the colours for polarity.
Close up the panel & reapply the mains power & disarm.

CBYR1983

Will probably be Sat before I give this a shot but thanks again, sounds straightforward. By the way, am I right in thinking the battery is purely for back-up? (Not that I would go without battery or anything)

altor

Correct, if the power is off the battery will keep the alarm active.

CBYR1983

Thanks,

I finally got around to doing this. I had to take a cabinet off the wall to get at the control panel, so was waiting until I needed to take it off anyway to get some dry-lining done.

I had a little bit of an issue getting a connector off one of the battery terminals.

The connector was sheathed in plastic - but as I tried to take it off, it was really tight on, and I forced the plastic back, but the connector stayed put underneath.

Got the connector off eventually and replaced battery but couldn't push the hard plastic sheathing back over the connector for fear of damaging the connection.

I presume this isn't a major issue? Should I open her back up and sheath the connection with tape whilst I have the cabinet off the wall or is it safe?

Thanks

KoolKid

Its safe enough , but a bit of tape would do no harm.
I have pleanty of spare battery leads if you want to simply replace it.

athtrasna

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but have basically the same problem. Power cut last night..noticed no light on siren box as I approached the house. Opened the door, total silence. When the power came back on it said battery fault.

Alarm is 7 years old, serviced 15 months ago. Is it just a case of replacing the battery? Any recommendation as to where to buy one. Would prefer a shop to online just so that we can do it immediately.

Thanks

altor

athtrasna wrote: »

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but have basically the same problem. Power cut last night..noticed no light on siren box as I approached the house. Opened the door, total silence. When the power came back on it said battery fault.

Alarm is 7 years old, serviced 15 months ago. Is it just a case of replacing the battery? Any recommendation as to where to buy one. Would prefer a shop to online just so that we can do it immediately.

Thanks

If you have a look at the suppliers list here you might get some one close to you who stock a 12v 7 amp battery that you will need for the alarm. Most electrical wholesalers do.

You will need to turn off the mains, open the control panel. Connect the new battery, close the lid. Turn back on mains. Easy job

athtrasna

Thanks!

Because the siren box was dark, does that mean it's likely that battery also needs replacing. If so any idea what type?

altor

athtrasna wrote: »

Thanks!

Because the siren box was dark, does that mean it's likely that battery also needs replacing. If so any idea what type?

If you down power the alarm completely, the lights go off and there is no sound then the battery in the bell is dead and needs to be replaced. I think its a 8v 4.6 amp battery.

athtrasna

Thanks for your help. Hubby isn't in the least bit technically minded so as ever it's up to me to sort! Fingers crossed.

altor

athtrasna wrote: »

Thanks for your help. Hubby isn't in the least bit technically minded so as ever it's up to me to sort! Fingers crossed.

Safety first, always make sure you turn off the mains before opening the control panel. If you need a battery for the external bell your supplier will have to order one in for you. The battery for the panel can be got easy enough.

If you have any problems, let us know.

athtrasna

altor wrote: »

Safety first, always make sure you turn off the mains before opening the control panel. If you need a battery for the external bell your supplier will have to order one in for you. The battery for the panel can be got easy enough.

If you have any problems, let us know.

Thanks for all your help! I may be female but I'm pretty tech savvy...I come from an electrical/hardware retail family

altor

athtrasna wrote: »

Thanks for all your help! I may be female but I'm pretty tech savvy...I come from an electrical/hardware retail family

I did not mean it that way

Safety was my main concern

No1J

Hi all, have had 3 activations in the last few weeks, never had any problems before. the alarm is in 6 years and is a HKC wirless system. was last serviced 4 years ago but I feel I can do it my self and save some money. there are 2 ITI box's with 8 zones on each. one of the box's (zone 1) is showing red. when I turned off the alarm today it said fault low battery. do I need to replace all the batteries in the sensors on the windows and doors and the battery in the main box.
Any advice, thanks.

altor

No1J wrote: »

Hi all, have had 3 activations in the last few weeks, never had any problems before. the alarm is in 6 years and is a HKC wirless system. was last serviced 4 years ago but I feel I can do it my self and save some money. there are 2 ITI box's with 8 zones on each. one of the box's (zone 1) is showing red. when I turned off the alarm today it said fault low battery. do I need to replace all the batteries in the sensors on the windows and doors and the battery in the main box.
Any advice, thanks.

What you have is a HKC wired panel plus a quick bridge for the wire free sensors. Replacing all the batteries in the sensors when one goes will save you have any more issues with the low battery. Take out the batteries to get the types you need as there are different type sensors with different types of batteries.

No1J

Thanks Altor, so you think that I might get away without having to change the main battery? just to do the sensor ones?

altor

No1J wrote: »

Thanks Altor, so you think that I might get away without having to change the main battery? just to do the sensor ones?

Your welcome,

If the battery in the control panel is over 6 years old it would be no harm to change it, a 12v 7amp battery is what you need for the control panel. Always turn off the mains before opening the control panel.

No1J

Thanks, roughly how much would it cost?

KoolKid

For a 7amp Battery between €10 -€20
Some retailers charge €40-€50 for these so shop around.

altor

No1J wrote: »

Thanks, roughly how much would it cost?

The batteries for the sensors cost €5 each, battery for the panel costs about €15. These prices will be different in all the different places you can get them so shop around.

No1J

Thanks a lot guys.

altor

No1J wrote: »

Thanks a lot guys.

Your welcome,

Any problems let us know.

No1J

Hi guys
tried to open one of the beams to see what batteries required but afraid to break it. Its a RF 425 interlogi, slipped the top cover off and unscrewed the 1 screw. does it just snap open as I have tried.

altor

No1J wrote: »

Hi guys
tried to open one of the beams to see what batteries required but afraid to break it. Its a RF 425 interlogi, slipped the top cover off and unscrewed the 1 screw. does it just snap open as I have tried.

Get a small flat head screw driver and lift the plastic just above where the screw was. "you should see a gap where the your going to put in the screw driver" leaver it towards yourself to remove the cover.

No1J

that worked fine thanks. getting 5 red flashes for a while but have stopped now. is that normal?

altor

No1J wrote: »

that worked fine thanks. getting 5 red flashes for a while but have stopped now. is that normal?

Thats correct, the sensor should go into walk test when you open the lid.

athtrasna

Just went to change it now and realised hubby bought a non-rechargeable battery Our alarm has started going off randomly as well - no internal movement sensors but if it's armed and you open our kitchen door it goes off. Less than 18 months since its last service but time to do it again I guess

KoolKid

What is displaying on the screen after you disarm it?

athtrasna

Alarm Gross Z3 kitchen? We have french windows onto a large balcony off the kitchen...both sets securely locked. Literally if you open the kitchen door and turn the lights on it goes off.

Battery fault still showing as we need a new battery still but will now prob just get the engineer to do it all.