Aritech CS250 - Battery LD Fault

junior_apollo

Heya,

I have searched the threads but not found the same issue, apologies if i am repeating another though...


In the last couple of weeks I was getting 'Battery VT Fault' and 'Battery LD Fault' both together... as the system is there for about 5 years now i changed the battery thinking that was the issue.

The 'VT' fault has now disappeared. I still have the 'LD' fault though.

When i enter my code i get 'Battery LD Fault'... which i assume means something like Battery Load Fault or similar?

Any suggestions as to what might be wrong or any way I could fix it?

Note:
The alarm still works correctly and arms/partarms, turns off and displays everything fine... the only issue is the Orange trouble light and the fault message.

Any help greatly appreciated.

KoolKid

Have you wireless devices on the panel?
Have you engineer access to the panel?

junior_apollo

KoolKid wrote: »

Have you wireless devices on the panel?
Have you engineer access to the panel?

Heya,

No everything is wired (four windows, two doors and single motion sensor).
I do not have engineer access, I tired inputting a number of codes that were mentioned online (1128, 1278, 1122, 1234, 9999, 4567, 0000, few more i may have omitted here).

It was installed by WILEC LTD, who no longer deal with domestic alarms.
I rang them yesterday and they just gave me the number of engineers in the local area (Bray).

One of the engineers said he hadnt seen that fault before and said he would ring a mate who used to work with Aritech panels.
He rang me back and said the battery must be faulty.
I told him that i was getting two messages previously, i replaced the battery and now i only get the one.
He told me the new battery must be faulty or the shop sold me a dud (I dont believe this). Told me as the panel model is a discontinued model that it would cost me in the region of €350 to replace the keypad and boardbox. :eek:

I really cant afford that at the moment. So unless there is some other solution then i think I just put up with the fault message and hope it doesnt affect anything else.

I would like to clear it though so thats why i came here.

KoolKid

If you power the mains down does the battery hold up the panel?
Have you a multimeter to check the battery voltage and the battery charge voltage?

junior_apollo

KoolKid wrote: »

If you power the mains down does the battery hold up the panel?
Have you a multimeter to check the battery voltage and the battery charge voltage?

Yes, i tripped the mains and the battery kept the power up.
I checked the battery voltage before i put it in, my mind is gone blank now but it was above 12v, i think it was 12.7 (not 100% but I am 95%, sorry)

I was getting the Battery LD Fault when the earth cable was not connected to the housing before. (when I removed the lid). But it went away after i replaced it correctly.

Now it doesnt go away and I confirmed the earth cable in place, the battery connected right way around, the lid tamper button is depressing correctly as i replace the lid.

KoolKid

Can you also check the battery charge voltage on the battery leads with the battery disconnected?
I presume you tried powering the system down completely and power back up.

junior_apollo

KoolKid wrote: »

Can you also check the battery charge voltage on the battery leads with the battery disconnected?
I presume you tried powering the system down completely and power back up.

I will check the battery leads this evening, no problem.

No i didnt power the system down and back up again, to do this i would disconnect the battery and then trip the mains power also.
For what duration should I leave the system unpowered before returning the power?
Will there be any implications like having to reprogramme the system or will it be kept in EPROM or similar?

KoolKid

Power the system down and leave for a minute. The programming will hold.

junior_apollo

KoolKid wrote: »

Power the system down and leave for a minute. The programming will hold.

Thanks, will do and will revert then subsequently.

junior_apollo

OK, so here's the latest:

Came home and got the multi-meter and cleared it with the wife that the power would be off for 5mins.

Went over to the panel... and there was no 'trouble' light flashing anymore?! :eek:

As it was annoying me I needed to make sure the battery charging cables were supplying enough voltage... so i opened the panel and disconnected the battery.

Received "Battery VT Fault" message at this point.
Checked voltage and it is 13.8 being supplied, so I'm happy enough with that.
Reconnected the battery again and closed everything back up - Got "local tamp" message.
Opened and closed everything again and this went away.

Now have no error messaging or faults...

I am obviously happy that there are no messages anymore but confused as to why...
Maybe I should just stop and leave well enough alone at this point! haha;)

KoolKid

All I will say, is in my experiences there are a good few software bugs in the CS250.

junior_apollo

KoolKid wrote: »

All I will say, is in my experiences there are a good few software bugs in the CS250.

Haha, no problem so... well thanks very much for all your help.
Was very much appreciated and now I have a much greater understanding of what to look for in future also.
Fingers crossed the Gremlins in the software got bored and moved on

Thanks again,
J_A

KoolKid

Your welcome. Glad you got it sorted.