False alarms

If the two zones that are false alarming are PIR's then the first thing that springs to mind is a power problem. If the voltage to the PIR's drops below its threshold then they will go into an alarm condition. There are a few reasons why this might have suddenly started happening but I would check the age of the control panel standby battery first as if its on way out then it can cause power problems to detection devices. Check with a multimeter the voltage and charging current.

Other possible causes are cable damage, loose connections in the panel or the main control PCB is faulty.

Or maybe he just leaves all his windows open when he goes out :)

HTH

Mark

I think it would be a strange coincidence that a cable damage, loose connections, open windows -:) etc. would cause specific two zones and always the same two zones to indicate movement (they are PIR). Failing battery, that is different, that could lead to unpredictable results and possibly two particular PIRs are on the edge. However that would indicate that there were temporary outages in electricity supply, I think. That is of course possible. Roman

Par for the course mate, par for the course. The owner might benefit from a visit from the experts.

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I had a recent experience with an old optima panel. The owner wanted a viper fitted to his patio door. I went round, wired it all in, and it wouldn't work. Upon checking the panel was putting out 18+ volts. This caused the viper to not even come on as it was over its threshold. On the board was a POT that would adjust voltage, but it didn't make a difference as it was dead

Might be worthwhile checking the voltages anyway.

That is what he thought he did but these experts did not find anything wrong. Roman

I wrote "might". I use to work for a place which had a problem during the summer months. The alarm went of between 3.30 and 4.30 in the morning during week days. We had the experts crawling all over the place, found nothing. Eventually it was found the a local radio ham started around that time. All times fitted in with his log. Problem solved. .

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"Anderson >" I wrote "might". I use to work for a place which had a problem during

Good one, but I would say: problem diagnosed. What was the solution -:)? Roman

The hams set-up was made safe as per the regulations.

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I must agree with the other posters in this thread. Chances are it is a power problem with the panel or possibly only a low battery. It is unfortunate that the so called experts that came out, didn't know how to use a meter. In today's world most things are made to be disposable so we now have a generation of installers who can fit new equipment but have no idea how to fault find. Good luck with your problem.

You need to check the battery voltage whilst the battery is under load.

I was thinking about what does that actually mean in practice. First, I can only suggest things to do, because it is not my alarm system. Secondly I think the system was "upgraded" by a local company not so long ago and so my neighbour should really get them to sorted it out but, as I said, on the first visit they could not find anything wrong. Once you unscrew the panel there is also the complication of a protection circuit etc. Without unscrewing the front cover, I presume, one will not be able to get to the battery, do any test loading and measuring at the same time/. Roman