Six Causes of Alarm System Trouble
If your home or business is protected by an alarm system, you want it to be working properly at all times.
Unfortunately, even the most well-designed systems can malfunction and cause issues. If this happens to you, don’t worry! There are steps you can take to identify what went wrong and fix any problems before they escalate into bigger issues.
In this post we’ll look at some of the most common reasons why an alarm system may fail to operate as intended and how to fix them so that you’re always safe from intruders!
Low Battery in Main Panel
You may see problems if the battery in your main panel are low. As with most electronics, if you leave the batteries in for too long without replacing them, they will stop working and cause issues when you try to use them.
You can check the condition of your system’s battery by checking the status light on your main panel. If this light is out or flashing red and blue, this indicates that there are problems with either power supply or communication between panels. Checking these things can help you determine whether they’re causing an issue with your security system. If so, it’s important to replace any old batteries quickly so that no more serious damage is done to either part of your security system!
EMC Security will receive a low battery signal from your system and will attempt to notify you through email, phone or text. Our service technicians will assist you over the phone or in person to replace the battery.
Power Loss
When you have a power loss, it can be caused by a number of different things. Your system might lose power because of:
- A power outage
- A dead battery in your main panel. If this happens, you’ll need to replace the battery and reset your alarm system.
Communication Trouble
If you have a telephone line connection to your alarm system, then trouble with that phone line can cause problems. There are a number of reasons why this might happen:
- A power surge or lightning strike on the telephone network could result in an alarm sounding when there is no actual break-in or intrusion.
- The phone company might be experiencing an outage, which could cause your alarm to sound even though there is nothing wrong with it.
- If someone cuts the line between your house and their house, or if they intentionally interrupt it by installing some kind of device, then they may be able to disable your alarms as well as any other devices connected via that line (such as phones).
Similar to telephone communication, a Wi-Fi signal can be interrupted during weather, lightning, and tampering.
The most reliable form of communication is via cellular connection. It is very rare for weather to affect cell towers and tampering is most impossible.
All EMC Security systems are tested for signals every 30 days. If your system fails to communicate with the EMC Security monitoring center, the system will most likely start beeping. When this happens, contact us immediately to trouble-shoot.
Low Batteries in Wireless Devices
If your wireless devices are experiencing a low battery, this could cause the alarm system to fail to communicate with the central station and/or fail to communicate with any of the other devices in your home. In addition, if you have wireless keypads installed on doors or windows and their batteries are low, then your system may not be able to detect whether or not those areas are secure.
Many systems send a signal to the keypad to alert customers of low batteries. EMC Security’s low priority monitoring center will also send an email, text and in some cases, call to notify the customer.
The most effective way to ensure your system is working effectively, is to perform regular maintenance checks and test all parts of your system. How to test your system >>