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Thread: Why you should use a professional to change your alarm battery

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    Default Why you should use a professional to change your alarm battery

    The most recurring part of servicing alarms is changing the backup battery. I've changed thousands of them. I've also had lots of people call me to find out why the "SERVICE", "TROUBLE", "FAULT", "POWER" etc light is on or flashing. Once I indicate that it may be a battery problem, some of them say that they will change it themselves. Here's why they should pay a professional for a service call instead:

    - Some alarm control boards, especially the older ones, develop faulty components in the power supply section (eg dried-out or blown capacitors; blown rectifier diodes) that cause the battery to not charge properly. To the trained eye, it is obvious that apart from the battery, there is also a problem with the board. Even after the battery is changed, various problems will continue to be experienced unless the board is serviced.

    - Even if all components on the board look OK, there may still be issues. I had one site where the customer changed the battery himself, then after only 6 months, the alarm came up with a "battery" fault again. When I checked it out, I noticed that the battery charging globe (it was a Solution panel) was brighter than usual with a new battery connected. A check of the 12V Accessories terminals with a multimeter measured just over 20V! Sure enough, the board was over-charging the battery, and had to be replaced.

    - Sometimes the flylead connectors that push onto the battery will corrode, especially if the battery has been left unchanged for too long. I always replace corroded connectors and/or flyleads, otherwise the corrosive substance will transfer to the new battery terminals and shorten its life.

    So changing an alarm battery yourself is not always the best option. It's always recommended to have a qualified alarm technician check and test the system properly.



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    So true,

    Plus when a tech changes it, we also date/sign batteries so we know how old the battery really is.

    I look also to see if panel cable entry holes are filled in also to stop vermin.

    I'm a sticker for making sure Panel Tamper switches are actually wired in and actually work.

    An added bonus, I like to see other people's handy work at their wiring skills and hopefully pick up tip on a panel that I might not work on that much. But most of time, they are just a rats nest of wires.

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    Yes, replace a battery yesterday, yes straight forward but for corrison on the battery terminal, new spad terminal added to.

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    On the other hand, there are plenty of people who would rather avoid the $120-$200 service fee and simply decide to leave it. So their system is now out of compliance and creates headaches at the monitoring end - unrestored low battery etc.

    Alarmman, I think the key to your post was the reference to "older" panels. If a panel is crusty and ancient then a service call would be a good idea (though frankly, should involve upgrading to something from this decade). With a modern panel, I'd be happier for a customer to change it themselves and pay me money for additional services, than feel like they've been gouged (true or not) and decide to spend their money elsewhere. The modern panels (at least the ones I've played with) seem pretty reliable at battery testing, fault analysis etc. so you'd know pretty quickly if the problem was bigger than a simple battery failure.

    Also, if end-users had the 'permission' to do this themselves the batteries might get changed every few years as required, rather than once in a blue moon after it had failed (i.e. too late).

    I know this is controversial but maybe it's food for thought...

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