Accenta 8 RKP Powering Off

[wbanks]

Hi,

I have an Accenta 8, and over the last month the RKP has gone completely dark on two occasions for about a day at a time. It looks like the power has stopped to the RKP, the power LED is not lit, and it's completely unresponsive.

The main alarm panel power LED is lit, it's just the RKP that is randomly turning off. This has only ever happened while the system was unset, and it doesn't seem to trigger any tamper event or anything.

On both occasions I've just left it and it randomly turned back on later. If anyone has any ideas what might cause this that would be great.

Thanks.

 

[sparkymarka]

has the battery been replaced in the last 5 years ?

 

[Europlex]

has the battery been replaced in the last 5 years ?

Don't be silly.

 

[wbanks]

has the battery been replaced in the last 5 years ?

Yes I did it 3 or 4 years ago. Could a duff battery cause it to randomly turn off for hours at a time? Temperature variation causing it to pump out a little less power or something?

Many thanks.

 

[madman41]

has the battery been replaced in the last 5 years ?

Yes I did it 3 or 4 years ago. Could a duff battery cause it to randomly turn off for hours at a time? Temperature variation causing it to pump out a little less power or something?

Many thanks.

Sounds like that battery is due a change again, and most system faults are old/duff batteries, people think they last forever , and its suprising what they do when you dont change them , so first job is change that battery to a nice new yucel/yuassa 2.1ah SLA battery , and see if that fixes your fault, if not, post back here,

ISOLATE MAINS BEFORE OPENING THE PANEL 240v Mains is present, and needs to be treated with respect!

Thanks MadMan

 

[TheAlarmMan]

Batteries when failing tend to draw to much power as they try to charge this can cause the dimming of the led backlight, unresponsiveness and /or random actions of the system, however it's unlikely to resolve itself and begin charging normally.

There are several things to try for free if you have a DVM you can check the charge volts both connected and disconnected from the panel (these should be within 0.5v of each other, battery charge current.

If you don't have a DVM, pull the mains off the panel, does it stay alive and working? For the most basic of tests shake the battery, does it rattle? If it does the cells are breaking down and it's fit for the bin (please recycle!).

When doing these tests you may need to have the mains supply still present within the panel, only undertake these tasks if you understand the risks and know where the mains supply is. DO NOT attempt to do anything if you cannot safely identify the live mains supply and the low voltage supply.

Oh if you decide to use any information contained here I cannot be held responsible for any injuries howsoever caused!!

 

[wbanks]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll give it a try.

It's been a while since I last opened up the panel: should you put it in engineering mode before opening the panel? Or does it not trigger an alarm if the system is Unset anyway?

Thanks again.

 

[TheAlarmMan]

Putting the panel into engineer mode isolates tamper activations, amongst other things.

Opening the lid while unset will still generate a local tamper alarm.

So yes put it in engineer mode first.

 

[wbanks]

In case anyone comes across a similar problem: it turned out to be some kind of loose connection on the COMMS line of the RKP. The battery in the panel was fine, but waggling the COMMS line caused the lights on the RKP to go on and off.

I disconnected and reconnected the COMMS line but it didn't help - it must be something further down the wire than the connector. It's not clear why this just started happening, and why it comes in and out when the panel is sealed and the wiring untouched.