Possible electronic interference

evlgmaojr27ypu

Hi All,

Wondering if anybody has come across this issue and might have a possible fix. We basically have a HKC SW1070 system in place with wired sensors in place for most windows and doors. However over the last month, we have been seeing some issue where when we turn on the bathroom light (en-suite) , the alarm would go off indicating one of the window sensors in the bedroom zone has been triggered.

We decided to change the ceiling light holder, since they weren't replaced since we moved in over 10 years ago. The issue didn't occur for over 6 days and now has come back. The weird thing is if I put the alarm in walk test mode and turn on the switch on and off, it only triggers the alarm/sensor twice every 10 attempts.

Any idea what to look into next ? Maybe try and change the light switch or maybe the actual sensor needs replacing ?

Appreciate any help in tracking down this mystery

Thanks

altor

Alec Fat Windburn wrote: »

Hi All,

Wondering if anybody has come across this issue and might have a possible fix. We basically have a HKC SW1070 system in place with wired sensors in place for most windows and doors. However over the last month, we have been seeing some issue where when we turn on the bathroom light (en-suite) , the alarm would go off indicating one of the window sensors in the bedroom zone has been triggered.

We decided to change the ceiling light holder, since they weren't replaced since we moved in over 10 years ago. The issue didn't occur for over 6 days and now has come back. The weird thing is if I put the alarm in walk test mode and turn on the switch on and off, it only triggers the alarm/sensor twice every 10 attempts.

Any idea what to look into next ? Maybe try and change the light switch or maybe the actual sensor needs replacing ?

Appreciate any help in tracking down this mystery

Thanks

Usually indicates a faulty device, only real way of knowing would be having it tested with a multimeter.

evlgmaojr27ypu

altor wrote: »

Usually indicates a faulty device, only real way of knowing would be having it tested with a multimeter.

When you mean device, it is on the alarm side or light side, or either. ?

altor

Alec Fat Windburn wrote: »

When you mean device, it is on the alarm side or light side, or either. ?

The alarm side.
Any device on the loop that sets off the alarm could be the issue.
Could be one or a number of devices if more than one on the loop.

Luckysasha

Have heard of something similar recently. I think it was due to the CFL bulb in the light. Try changing the bulb to a standard filament type or an led and see if that helps

evlgmaojr27ypu

altor wrote: »

The alarm side.
Any device on the loop that sets off the alarm could be the issue.
Could be one or a number of devices if more than one on the loop.

Cool, makes sense.

evlgmaojr27ypu

Luckysasha wrote: »

Have heard of something similar recently. I think it was due to the CFL bulb in the light. Try changing the bulb to a standard filament type or an led and see if that helps

Thanks, worth a shot, it is a CFL bulb at the moment might swap it for an led in the morning. Thanks again

kub

Anytime a customer of mine has reported such a issue as this, we have always found the problem is with a device that is part of the intruder alarm system.

Actually when was the last time your system had a professional maintenance check over?

evlgmaojr27ypu

kub wrote: »

Anytime a customer of mine has reported such a issue as this, we have always found the problem is with a device that is part of the intruder alarm system.

Actually when was the last time your system had a professional maintenance check over?

The system was put in about 2 years ago, but most of the window contacts were left in from the previous system as most of them still worked and few changed over. Last year we added another PIR, so the engineer was out and had a quick check and changed one of th vibration sensor. Guessing might be worth testing out th CFL theory otherwise contacting the engineer.

KoolKid

Is the zone that activates part of these older sensors?
It's a safe bet it is a faulty sensor or contact on that zone.
Checking the resistance with a multimeter will find the problem fairly quickly.

altor

Alec Fat Windburn wrote: »

The system was put in about 2 years ago, but most of the window contacts were left in from the previous system as most of them still worked and few changed over. Last year we added another PIR, so the engineer was out and had a quick check and changed one of th vibration sensor. Guessing might be worth testing out th CFL theory otherwise contacting the engineer.

If most of the sensors are from an older installation more than likely something will be faulty.
Id advise having them tested to be sure.

evlgmaojr27ypu

Thanks all, I will get the person who installed the alarm to come out and have a look. Since most of the sensors are old school magnetic ones like the one below.

As always thanks for the help, just thought I would ask first incase it could have been something else. Just based on the fact that it only triggered on occasions

KoolKid

Are they all those or are there inertia shock sensors also?

evlgmaojr27ypu

KoolKid wrote: »

Are they all those or are there inertia shock sensors also?

They are a mixture of everything in our house. When the new alarm system was put in, the engineer replaced couple of those sensors with new plastic ones, but both the bathrooms still have the old style ones still. There are inertia shock sensors too in most of the bedrooms, living rooms etc.

Personally I have no idea why the engineer didn't bother replacing everything with newer style sensors when the new alarm was put in, guessing these sensors wouldn't have cost much, compared to the alarm system that was put in.

KoolKid

It was probably down to pricing.
A check of the resistance on that zone would find anything dodgy.

altor

Alec Fat Windburn wrote: »

They are a mixture of everything in our house. When the new alarm system was put in, the engineer replaced couple of those sensors with new plastic ones, but both the bathrooms still have the old style ones still. There are inertia shock sensors too in most of the bedrooms, living rooms etc.

Personally I have no idea why the engineer didn't bother replacing everything with newer style sensors when the new alarm was put in, guessing these sensors wouldn't have cost much, compared to the alarm system that was put in.

Usually they would only be replaced if faulty on an upgrade.
If its not broke why replace..

evlgmaojr27ypu

KoolKid wrote: »

It was probably down to pricing.
A check of the resistance on that zone would find anything dodgy.

Cool, interestingly I put the alarm in walk test mode this afternoon and turned off and on the bathroom light over 50 times and it didn't go off once.. Which is really worrying, since the issue crops up randomly.

Either way I think it is best to get a professional to have a look at it next week. The annoying thing when you turn on the light in the middle of the night when you go to pee and next thing the alarm goes off is getting pretty annoying, especially when you wake everyone in the house

altor

Alec Fat Windburn wrote: »

Cool, interestingly I put the alarm in walk test mode this afternoon and turned off and on the bathroom light over 50 times and it didn't go off once.. Which is really worrying, since the issue crops up randomly.

Either way I think it is best to get a professional to have a look at it next week. The annoying thing when you turn on the alarm in the middle of the night when you go to pee and next thing the alarm goes off is getting pretty annoying, especially when you wake everyone in the house

A faulty device can show up at anytime, 9 out of 10 times when you dont want it
If you get them tested with a multimeter they should be able to find anything faulty. Even for the peace of mind of being able to set your alarm without the issue showing again.

KoolKid

The fact that it's random is perfectly normal. I'd be disarming the system before going to the loo at night untill you get it sorted.

Evolution1

It isn't by chance happening when you close the bathroom door ?

evlgmaojr27ypu

Evolution1 wrote: »

It isn't by chance happening when you close the bathroom door ?

Nope usually goes off only when the light is turned on

KoolKid

A faulty sensor or contact would still be my first bet.

evlgmaojr27ypu

So wanted to follow-up regarding this issue and what the actual culprit was..

After starting this forum we continued having this issue, but the issue had moved from just the bathroom light switch triggering the alarm, to the kitchen light or even the front pir light turning on causing the alarm to be triggered (each of the latter incident only occurred once) and always the same zone would go off.

When the engineer eventually had a look, he suspected that the zone in question could be faulty on the Alarm itself.. and he decided to change all the connection to another empty zone on the board, and every since the issue has gone away and never reoccured, It has been a good three weeks now.

But thanks to everyone here for the help, just wanted to follow-up on what the culprit was eventually

KoolKid

Thanks for the update. Enjoy the peace & quiet.;)

altor

Alec Fat Windburn wrote: »

So wanted to follow-up regarding this issue and what the actual culprit was..

After starting this forum we continued having this issue, but the issue had moved from just the bathroom light switch triggering the alarm, to the kitchen light or even the front pir light turning on causing the alarm to be triggered (each of the latter incident only occurred once) and always the same zone would go off.

When the engineer eventually had a look, he suspected that the zone in question could be faulty on the Alarm itself.. and he decided to change all the connection to another empty zone on the board, and every since the issue has gone away and never reoccured, It has been a good three weeks now.

But thanks to everyone here for the help, just wanted to follow-up on what the culprit was eventually

Glad you got it sorted.