AC Power Fail on Texecom Premier Elite 24- Faulty PSU?

[stokienav]

Hi- I have a Texecom Premier Elite panel which I fitted 2 or so years ago and all was fine. Until last Thursday - I cam home and the LCD display was showing Main fail (and I got SMS messages on my phone saying AC FAIL) - so I checked the fuses and all seemed to right itself.
I decided to do a reboot today to see if that would reset the panel - when I rebooted the panel I tried just putting it on battery but it was lifeless- put in the mains fuse and it fired back to life again. I thought that it must be the battery causing the problem so I have been and bought a brand new 7ah battery put that in but am still getting the ac fail warning. It seems like if I wait 5 minutes after logging off as engineer then I get the SMS and the display shows mains fail (and this evening it has shown PS fail) - Im guessing that the PSU has gone faulty but it appears that its a none standard PSU - whats even more concerning is that Texecom don't supply the PSU as a spare part - does anyone have experience of a faulty PSU on a premier elite? Does it sound like a dodgy PSU to you? Any one know where I could get just a replacement PSU from?

Thanks in advance

Lee

 

[sparkymarka]

First what software version is your elite ? Press menu 4 on keypad , the version 1 had an issue with mains fail needing engineer reset , when you power the 24 battery only you have to press the kickstart button

 

[secureiam]

like sparkmarka has said there were early version of the firmware that when an AC fail occurred it required resetting by an engineer regardless of the panels settings. Two years ago however that firmware version shouldn't have been bought off the shelf but it depends on the shops turnaround and when it was bought.

This panel if the battery and the mains were removed, to power up on battery only requires you to connect the battery and press the kick start button.

Putting the mains on and then off with the battery connected the back up battery should take over.

If you cant clear with an engineers reset, downpower the panel completely leave for 30 seconds or more, connect the battery, put the mains power back on, enter engineering and reprogram the time and date come out of engineering there should be no faults showing.

If the fault doesn't clear, then you can default the panel, if the fault reoccurs whats recorded in the log and did anything else in the home show a fault which is what would happen normally when a power cut occurs.

You can fit filters for spikes, but if the PSU is playing up then doing so wouldn't make any difference.

 

[texecom]

I hate hijacking threads but I have an identical panel of similar age which I installed around 3 years ago and has been faultless to date. It is showing an identical fault and as the OP has not updated this thread maybe one of you could assist instead of re typing the whole thing out from the start and starting a new thread?

Shortly before this fault started I noticed the panel was losing time, so much so that I changed the clock from mains to crystal and it was still losing time so I monitored it over a week and adjusted the offset so it is now perfect. I always wondered why the panel suddenly started losing time but as it is in a rental property and nothing has ever been mentioned by tenants I assumed that it had always been like this but I'm now thinking it could be power supply related if the faulty switch mode PSU is interfering or distorting the 50Hz frequency of the mains? This does not explain why the crystal setting was still losing time but it seems too much of a coincidence?

I'm visiting the property again tomorrow and this is my plan:

1) Perform engineer reset (I assume that an engineer reset is simply logging in as engineer and then logging off, nothing more?)
2) Check mains wiring on the spur to the alarm in case any wires are lose and causing an intermittent connection (unlikely but worth a check)
3) Total power down mains & battery to panel, leave for 1 min and connect battery and then mains, reset time/date etc.

I will monitor the system for 48 hours to see if the fault returns and if it does then this points to PSU failure as the battery test is fine (will change it anyway whilst I have it apart) so my question is as I understand Texecom do not sell the power supplies can I buy a new panel (Elite 24 Metal) and swap the PSU across? The panel is mounted in a pig of a location and when I installed I rounded off 2 mountning screws so I would rather leave it in situ if possible. I am happy and more than confident to swap the PSU but without taking the thing apart to see how it is fixed (rivets etc.) maybe somebody who has can enlighten me?

If swapping the power supplies is not an option then I guess I'll have to grab a USB lead and download all the config (I don't fancy doing it by hand again!) before swapping the panels over but I see that I cannot download Wintex from Texecom as I am not an installer. I have found a slightly older version (V6.2) online and installed it but I really want the latest available. What are my chances of Texecom sending it to me or finding another source online?

Sorry for the ramble and options but I'll be ordering online so really want to get anything I may need in one go and get the order in ASAP. I guess safest option is to buy USB Lead, New battery & New Panel and then swap things until it works?

 

[texecom]

So I could not wait and visited my property to perform my initial plan and first reports are not encouraging but at least ruling some things out.

Within a few minutes of the restart the log showed a few mains fail events. There is no mains restore events with these so it can only be dropping for a split second but even so it will only get worse. I'm confident that the battery is sound as this reports fine and also runs the alarm without issue.

On inspecting the internal PSU it does look like it can be swapped quite easily and although I can't tell 100% it looks like just one bolt holding it in place within the metal case.

I'll email Texe and see if they can supply a new PS unit and try that first before I go swapping the panel over.

 

[sparkymarka]

What firmware is this panel ? And what is the issue ? Time running out or its saying psu fault ! If it's a version 1 it's probably needing an engineer reset ....

 

[texecom]

V2.02 and both the problems you mention.

The time issue is minor and I have a workaround which is OK, just annoying it does not work as it should without using the crystal and offset.

The reoccurring mains fault is the major issue, I'm going to get a replacement (unbranded) 7Ah battery from Screwfix which is the only place open today just to rule it out as it is over 3 years old and needs changing anyway. It could be the battery drawing too much current from the PS when charging and making it struggle leading to the panel reporting a mains fault?

 

[sparkymarka]

Personally I think it's a psu issue, a few years ago the rep left us a couple of spare ones ( we never asked for them ) after we had issues with the bell box piezos failing . Did they know about a psu issue then ?

 

[texecom]

Update:

Found that my local Toolstation sold Yucell/Yuasa batteries and had one in stock which put my OCD mind at rest. I replaced the system battery and within 10 minutes I had the mains error back. The battery needed changing anyway so I'm happy that this gave me an excuse to do it, I suppose I should get the ladder out and change the Deltabell battery too as good practice but I am amazed that the batteries are almost as expensive as a new Deltabell!

I'm now pretty convinced from my tests that my panel power supply is breaking down so I removed the alarm cover but put the screw in to fool tamper circuit (so I can tell when it errors) & clipped probes from test meter to red/black from power supply to monitor voltage (13.8v). And then waited... Once the alarm bleeped with the error the test meter was showing 0v and then it came back on a few seconds later and dropped again within 30 seconds and kept 'cycling' for a few minutes before returning to normal. For the past hour all has been good but it will throw a wobbly again later on. I find it quite often happens at dusk when the Deltabell lights up and perhaps the extra load at this time increases the power supply error rate. It usually settles down again within a couple of hours.

I've also found this which is exactly what I think (hope) I need so maybe these do break often after all:

https://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk/catalog/texecom-texecom-panel-replacement-psu-p-4831.html

 

[texecom]

Our replies crossed, we are thinking on the same lines... Tuesday I'll get hunting the local distributors for one!

 

[texecom]

Ordered a new PSU unit (HAD-2000-3) through my local ADI Global and arrived next day.

Trying to fit it without powering down the system or removing the panel was a challenge and I just unbolted the black 'transformer' and replaced the power supply and wiring rather than the whole unit as it was easier to get to and run the wires where the originals went.

24 hours on and so far so good with no mains errors at all and I was getting multiple errors a day.

Interesting that Texecom have a technical bulletin about 'clean' mains spurs and inductive loads on their website so maybe these are prone to failure/spikes.

Anyway, hopefully this thread will help anyone else with the same or a similar issue.

 

[jhilton]

I know it is considered bad form to dig up old threads but this one comes top when you google search and i am adding the below as I believe it maybe useful others.

I have a Premiere Elite 24w wireless from 2013 and it recently started doing the same, at first occasionally warning mains was off and over the period of two months getting to the stage where it was doing it most of the time. The mains was not off and the battery was fine.

I phoned up a Texicom and they were most helpful, they said there is a new version of the PSU which is not susceptible to damage from power spikes. On the old version of the psu it is advised to have mains conditioning.

The code is HAC1000-3 but this is only for the Premiere Elite 24w poly plastic version. The important thing is the '-3' on the end of the code identifying the new revised part version. List price is £21.50 plus vat so reasonable.

I installed it after powering down mains but lettting the panel continue to run on battery, it is easy to do and so far no more issues.

 

[anjme]

I did an internet search and found this old thread. It helped me sort my similar issue out with a error code "PS Fault" on Elite 24 poly carbonate panel.
My panel is running v5.002 it is approx 12 months old . 2018.

I left power connected, and I then disconnected the battery. The keypad display and sounders began pulsing, on and off for 5 minutes then suddenly solid "power" light was restored to keypad.

I reconnected battery and replaced panel cover and reset alarm. It seems to be working ok now. Time will tell..