Veritas 8 - Repair, Replace or Upgrade

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Hi all,

I'm not an expert in alarm system and I inherited the above in the house we bought 2 years ago. It has been mostly problem free until recently. It tends to set itself off when there's a power cut, and when it started beeping I swapped the battery. Still goes off in power cut but at least I got rid of the beeps.

Last week we had another powercut and the alarm panel when out at the same time. The alarm went off until it finally timed-out, and things kind of got back to normal when power returned. Yesterday the panel died altogether (without powercut) while I was out and the wife had no idea how to fix it. Again the siren timed out eventually.

I opened the alarm box this morning and diagnosed it as a burnt fuse. Nothing else appeared broken. When I reconnect the power everything was running, but I can hear a lot of buzzing from the transformer. I managed to tighten the screws to it and but the fuse eventually burnt out a couple of minutes after restart.

I doubt it's the transformer. Even if it is, it's probably cheaper to change the whole box, rather than the transformer. I can't see any other parts that's easily replaceable.

I have had a look at the manual. I think, and do correct me if I'm wrong, that if I were to change brand, my only limiting factor is the number of wires running between the keypad and the box. I am assuming all the PIR (only have PIR with the alarm) are standardised in terms of wiring, and the siren is also interchangeable. The Veritas 8 keypads uses 4 wires, and I doubt whoever installed it many years ago would have used anything other than 4 strands. Which other system would I be able to do a "direct swap" with if I were to change make? I found one call Castle Care Tech Euro Mini which uses 4 wires. I note that the Honeywell ADE G4 uses 6 wires. Is there any others out there that use 4?

Any other advice gratefully received. Thanks.

Adrian
 
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Why not get a new Veritas 8? Even easier to swap then.

It's made by a company called Texecom.

Can be found brand new on MANY internet shops, and even, I think, Screwfix.

Price will be good also.
 
as above straight swop if you go on the shop tab at the top of the page / security/ alarm panels/ texacom incorrect spelling lol..... the price is there for you
 
The R8s are pretty well bullet proof. Never changed one yet. Sounds like a short circuit somewhere along the line. If so then your new panel will have the same issues.
 
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looked at an old r8 the other day ( orange pcb ) nothing connected apart from the keypad on a fly lead it blew the fuses on power up! it may not have been helped by a dozy builder cutting all the cables live including the mains....... lol, as joe suggests it may be worth disconnecting all powered devices inc bell for a start and see if fuse blows.
 
Have a look at the Texecom Veritas R8+ or Excel, fitted loads of them without problems. They are a good value for money panel, easy to install and program.

The R8+ and Excel are the same panel with different keypads (R8+ has a LED keypad and the Excel has a LCD one)

They both have inputs / outputs to make connecting a speech / text Dailler simple.
 
Isn't it the Texecom Veritas that is being talked about, or am I missing something?

Ah yes, you're a plumber!
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

The fuse (pre-transformer) blew over a few minutes rather than immediately. Also the alarm goes off when there's a power cut, the last time which even the keypad won't light up. I think there's something wrong with the alarm (maybe the PCB) itself, which I think would be cheaper to change the whole box rather than trying to repair bits. I think the transformer buzzing is a red herring.

If the consensus is that Veritas 8 is pretty good normally then I might get another one. The bloke I bought the house from was a "builder", but the house has been riddled with problems since we bought it. I won't be surprise if someone on here tells me it's the bottom of the range, pound-stretcher quality alarm. Otherwise a change of brand (wiring allowing) might be a better idea.

Thanks a lot.

Adrian

PS I'm not a plumber!
 
Isn't it the Texecom Veritas that is being talked about, or am I missing something?

Ah yes, you're a plumber!

Just pointing out that the newer Veritas panels have some nice.extra features for a budget panel.

And yes I am a plumber, Time Served and also an electrical engineer.

So your point is ?
 
I have had a look at the Veritas Excel and it looks ok. I was keen on getting a "more well known" brand like Honeywell but then what do I know about intruder alarms! Also seen the Scantronic (I have no idea who they are) 9651 with a LCD panel which cost similar amount of cash. I am currently swayed towards the Veritas Excel...

Does anyone have a discount code for efireandsecurity? They are selling the Veritas for £60 all in. Thanks.

Adrian
 
Actually it's cheaper at Alert Electrical.

Just found out that the keypad cable have 6 core rather than 4. Is Honeywell Mini G4 better than Veritas Excel?

Adrian
 
stick with the texecom at least its made here unlike the honeywell which has been shipped off to china....
 
If all you can see on the board is a burned out fuse, rather than a burned out resistor, and add to that the fact that the transformer is getting hot and add to that the fact that the alarm activates on it's own, then the problem may not be with the panel at all. Hot transformers are indicitive of a battery problem. which could be due to a number of factors within the system itself. Remove the battery completely and allow the panel to run on mains only for a few hours. Let us know the results of that test and we can take it from there.
 
If all you can see on the board is a burned out fuse, rather than a burned out resistor, and add to that the fact that the transformer is getting hot and add to that the fact that the alarm activates on it's own, then the problem may not be with the panel at all. Hot transformers are indicitive of a battery problem. which could be due to a number of factors within the system itself. Remove the battery completely and allow the panel to run on mains only for a few hours. Let us know the results of that test and we can take it from there.

Prior to the blown fuse, the siren went off when there is a powercut (alarm wasn't armed), and the keypad was dead. ie the battery was dead. When the power came back it was ok but the LED was flashing indicating dead battery. Didn't have a chance to order a new one. Then about 4 days after that power cut the alarm died completely. The siren went off until it timed out eventually. When I had a good look at it afterwards, it was the fuse pre-transformer that was blown. I haven't checked the other 5 fuses. I replaced the fuse and the alarm came back to life, all functional except for the LED warning about the dead battery. It then died again after a couple of minutes, same fuse. I still haven't checked the other fuses but I THINK it must be somewhere on the PCB. The transformer was buzzing, not sure if it's hot as the installer put it in the hot water tank cupboard. The buzzing went after tightening the screws. It might well be a dodgy transformer but again I think it is a non-serviceable part.

I think eitherway it's not much more expensive the upgrade the alarm to at least something with a LCD display. I still undecided between Veritas Excel and Honeycombe AccentaG4 (mini)...

Adrian
 

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