Aritech CS350 Alarm - Low Battery

copperwr

Hey,
I'm interested to hear anything on this topic, namely I've got an Aritech CS350 alarm with low battery warning (for a few months). It's beeping every minute or so lately which is very annoying and I would like to try to change the battery myself if possible (before it goes mental again - it did about 2 months ago and I haven't used it since). I'm wondering is it very difficult to change a battery in one of these things?

Any tips would be very gratefully received.
Thanks,
Rob

Pataman

No. 2 screws to open the box, the alarm will sound, put in your code, that will stop it then there are just 2 terminals on the battery. Be careful when you are putting in the new battery, there isnt a lot of room , so try to get it into the same spot without disturbing the wires into the panel. The battery is 12v 7.2Ah available from most electrical wholesalers.

FX Meister

I changed one a couple of weeks ago for a friend. Just unscrew the panel, this will set off the alarm as it has a tamper detector. Use your code to disarm. Just swap the battery with a new one, a 12 volt 2.8 Amp Hour battery. Make sure you keep the same polarity as the old battery. You can get the batteries in electrical suppliers. I picked it up for less than €10. Switch off the breaker which powers the alarm panel first or failing this remove the fuse in the panel itself. It will take a couple of minutes for the low battery message to go.

Edit: Woops, I'm a slow replier, Pataman's message wasn't there when I clicked reply.
Pataman: Does the Ah make much difference? I presume it just lasts longer. The instructions told me to use a 2.8Ah battery but the supplier gave me a 3.2Ah and the one I removed was a 7.2Ah as far as I can remember.

Pataman

The only difference is that it will last longer in an outage. However I wouldn't be in favour of removing the fuse or turning off the power. Some alarms( you should be ok with the cs350) lose their settings when power and battery are removed. Check to see if LK1 is in place before you remove the power, if it is then its ok to turn off mains aswell. For info, you reset the cs350 to factory settings by removing power, battery and LK1.

Lex Luthor

I thought you needed the eng. code to switch off the alarm when you remove the panel to change the battery? Not the alarm code. I could be wrong. Either way, its easy enough

FX Meister

I had read on an alarm help forum to remove the power source but I didn't as I was afraid the alarm would lose it's settings.
Lex, with the CS350 it's just your own code to disarm, not the engineering code.

Lex Luthor

FX Meister wrote:

Lex, with the CS350 it's just your own code to disarm, not the engineering code.

good to know...thanks

copperwr

Thanks a lot guys, you all managed to give me exactly the information and advice I need. I'm just curious, before I tackle it, I'd like to know what the LK1 is that you refer to?
Thanks again,
Rob

Pataman

This is only for resetting the panel back to factory defaults, Dont touch(unless you are Fr Dougal)

copperwr

No, I won't touch the big red button Ted, I won't. But I'm just interested to know how do I know if my alarm has a LK1 (whatever that is?), since you say that if it does, then I can turn off the mains aswell to make sure I don't fry my ass.... If it doesn't have one, then I'll just have to mess around with the mains switched on Ted...

copperwr

oh my god, that was unbelievably simple.
I can't believe the technician wanted to charge me 115 euro for that..
ye saved me a bundle of cash, thanks lads.
It's actually as simple as the above posts suggest, just open
the panel, alarm goes off, enter code, alarm stops, remove old battery,
insert new battery, plug in the 2 terminals as in the same polarity as
they were and replace the panel. However, if you are an eejit when it
comes to electricity and you don't know what precautions to take, I'd
suggest you don't take any risks and find someone who does know how
to work around electricity.
Thanks again to all who helped
Rob

copperwr

ok, now that the battery is installed, the LED warning light has gone off for that, but the display is reading 'cabinet tamper, blah blah blah' and it's started chirping again. I'm assuming the chirping is due to the cabinet tamper, so any idea how to shut it up?

Is it that I've failed to replace the cabinet door properly, I've been reading about tamper switches and springs and the like but failed to notice anything when poking around.... or is there something I have to do on the panel to make the error message go away?
that chirping is driving me mad, grrrr....

Jnealon

Sounds like the lid is not on properly. When replacing the lid you should listen out for the click of the tamper switch closing. Also check that the spring is straight

copperwr

Thanks for your post,
I've considered that possibility alright, though when I went to open it a few minutes ago the alarm went off again, implying that the tamper switch is active... even if the cover is not back on properly... is that possible?

Can the tamper switch be active and yet the cover not properly secured which would cause the chirping??

Pataman

copperwr wrote:

Can the tamper switch be active and yet the cover not properly secured which would cause the chirping??

Not likely. The tamper is a spring just above the wiring terminals. They often get snagged by the wires when closing. Just gently push the wires out of the way and you should be fine.

copperwr

Hey, I've checked out the tamper switch and it was not snagged. It is also active, I know this coz the alarm blew the ears off me when I opened the panel to check it out. So after that, I replaced the panel and it still continues to chirp? Is it designed to drive me crazy? Does anyone think the problem might be something else?

In any case, I'm thinking about cutting it off altogether, I'm not using it and it's just driving me nuts - and I'm not paying 115 for an engineer to press a few buttons and hey presto!... so can anyone tell me how to cut it off safely, (maybe you want to pm me?)... I'd really appreciate it!
Rob

Pataman

On the alarm panel press down twice and it will tell you what zones are open. I have never heard of the alarm chirping before.

copperwr

When I press <down arrow> twice, it's telling me all zones are closed....

rjp123

Recently moved into new apartment and the control panel on the wall is showing low battery warning. I have read the posts re. replacing the battery in the main box, but unfortunately I do not have the code (neither does estate agent or past tenants). The installers are m+j electronics (01 6613022) but the number is no longer in use and i cant find any reference to them online. Any ideas? Id prefer not to open box and be entering guessed engineering codes while the alarm goes off too please.
Thanks

rjp123

found installers telephone number and getting them to service and reprogram. FYI alarm wont go off if battery runs down but servicing now will save further problems down the line.

altor

rjp123 wrote: »

Recently moved into new apartment and the control panel on the wall is showing low battery warning. I have read the posts re. replacing the battery in the main box, but unfortunately I do not have the code (neither does estate agent or past tenants). The installers are m+j electronics (01 6613022) but the number is no longer in use and i cant find any reference to them online. Any ideas? Id prefer not to open box and be entering guessed engineering codes while the alarm goes off too please.
Thanks

Hi rjp123,
You need the user code to turn the panel off when you open the main box you have but you have no code. sometimes the panel is eng locked so cant be defaulted.
I will send you a pm with instructions..

BostonB

altor wrote: »

Hi rjp123,
You need the user code to turn the panel off when you open the main box you have but you have no code. sometimes the panel is eng locked so cant be defaulted.
I will send you a pm with instructions..

If its eng locked, is there nothing you can do with it?

altor

BostonB wrote: »

If its eng locked, is there nothing you can do with it?

Hi BostonB,
If the panel is eng locked, it can be unlocked by replacing the chip in the panel. What this does is bring the panel back to factory settings allowing a new customer and eng code to be set up on the system plus it allows the reprogramming of the system.
Hope this helps..

ceatharloch

I have the same problem as the main poster in the thread, need a new battery,
and NIGHTGUARD in Galway City want 120 euro just for callout charge.

2 questions:

1) In the thread, is it (in principle) dangerous to go inside the box to change the
battery (i.e. if I touch the wrong part/wire, am I dead?!)

2) Can one of you describe what the battery itself looks like, before I go at the
box: e.g. is it cubic, rectangular, cylincrical, rough dimensions (so I know
what to look for in electrical store....)

Thanks everyone!
Michael

ceatharloch

The "box" we have from ARITECH: Its in the "hot press" upstairs, large white box,
about 35cm x 25cm x 12 cm. It has two antenna (about 10cm) long on top (we have
a key fob for remote control). Does that sound like the right box?

Also - to earlier posters - where are the 2 screws to open the box (left side, right side,
or underneath)? Thanks.

Michael

ps - I have also a _very_ basic question, I really must be missing something, but
what does pm mean (see it is lots of posts on boards.ie)?

altor

ceatharloch wrote: »

I have the same problem as the main poster in the thread, need a new battery,
and NIGHTGUARD in Galway City want 120 euro just for callout charge.

2 questions:

1) In the thread, is it (in principle) dangerous to go inside the box to change the
battery (i.e. if I touch the wrong part/wire, am I dead?!)

2) Can one of you describe what the battery itself looks like, before I go at the
box: e.g. is it cubic, rectangular, cylincrical, rough dimensions (so I know
what to look for in electrical store....)

Thanks everyone!
Michael

It sounds like you have a cs250 panel. The battery is 12v 7.2ah. If you turn the main fuse off at your fuse board you should be able to replace the battery. Another thing you could do is turn the power off and bring the old battery with you..

Donnchadh

Hi everybody!

I am havng some trouble with my Aritech CS350 alarm. The battery died and I replaced it without much trouble, however any time I try to set the alarm I get "Call alarm co.40" on the display.

I don't know the engineering code so I can't enter that. Any ideas on how I can fix this?

Thanx :rolleyes:

altor

Donnchadh wrote: »

Hi everybody!

I am havng some trouble with my Aritech CS350 alarm. The battery died and I replaced it without much trouble, however any time I try to set the alarm I get "Call alarm co.40" on the display.

I don't know the engineering code so I can't enter that. Any ideas on how I can fix this?

Thanx :rolleyes:

Hi Donnchadh,

Sounds like the eng who installed the system put a eng reset on the system, which means you will either need the eng code or an engineer to reset the alarm system.

Donnchadh

Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately the company that installed the alarm doesn't exist anymore and I don't know the eng code. Any ideas? I've tried a few codes (like 1234) but no luck

altor

Donnchadh wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately the company that installed the alarm doesn't exist anymore and I don't know the eng code. Any ideas? I've tried a few codes (like 1234) but no luck

The default eng code is 1278. I would say it is eng locked if the eng reset is on the panel. There is a way to default the alarm by replacing the chip but it would need to be reprogrammed after this..

Eglinton

Hi all,

Sorry to bump the thread. There is a low battery warning on the Aritech CS350 alarm in my apartment. I never ever use the alarm and the Landlord is unsure of the code.

What I would like to know is:
1) Why is there a battery in the first place when I presume it's also mainsconnected? Back-up?
2) How long will the battery last from when the low battery message appears?
3) Will the alarm go off when the battery eventually dies?

I know nothing about alarms and actually really hate the things but I don't want to have to call the landlord sometime in the middle of the night and be driving my neighbours nuts sometime in the future if it goes off.

Thanks.

altor

Eglinton wrote: »

What I would like to know is:
1) Why is there a battery in the first place when I presume it's also mainsconnected? Back-up?

The back up battery is there to keep the alarm powered in the event the mains is off.

Eglinton wrote: »

2) How long will the battery last from when the low battery message appears?

The battery is no good any more once this appears. If the electricity was off and this appeared then you would need a good 12 hours charge on the battery for the fault to disappear.

Eglinton wrote: »

3) Will the alarm go off when the battery eventually dies?

In your case if the light has being on a few days then the battery is already dead. If you where to have a power cut while you have this fault on the alarm, then the electricity comes back on the alarm will activate.

Eglinton wrote: »

I know nothing about alarms and actually really hate the things but I don't want to have to call the landlord sometime in the middle of the night and be driving my neighbours nuts sometime in the future if it goes off.

Thanks.

If the power does go the external bell outside will activate till it runs out of power as the back up battery in the alarm will hold off the bell ringing in the event of a power cut. You need to get your landlord to get the battery replaced to prevent this from happening.

Hope this helps..

KoolKid

+1 to everything Altor said above.
Another important point to note is this: Leaving a low battery in the panel will eventually bring the panel down. The battery will draw more & more power from the panel. This results in a voltage drop to the powered devices & may result in an activation & the keypad becoming unresponsive.

meercat

agree with altor and koolkid
make sure battery is replaced asap,the panel will go blank and sounders will activate ,probably at the most inconvenient time and you will be unable to stop them ringing as you have no code and the panel will be blank.get your landlord to call alarm company out and re commission your system as its no use the way it is

Eglinton

altor wrote: »

The back up battery is there to keep the alarm powered in the event the mains is off.



The battery is no good any more once this appears. If the electricity was off and this appeared then you would need a good 12 hours charge on the battery for the fault to disappear.




In your case if the light has being on a few days then the battery is already dead. If you where to have a power cut while you have this fault on the alarm, then the electricity comes back on the alarm will activate.



If the power does go the external bell outside will activate till it runs out of power as the back up battery in the alarm will hold off the bell ringing in the event of a power cut. You need to get your landlord to get the battery replaced to prevent this from happening.

Hope this helps..

koolkid wrote: »

+1 to everything Altor said above.
Another important point to note is this: Leaving a low battery in the panel will eventually bring the panel down. The battery will draw more & more power from the panel. This results in a voltage drop to the powered devices & may result in an activation & the keypad becoming unresponsive.

meercat wrote: »

agree with altor and koolkid
make sure battery is replaced asap,the panel will go blank and sounders will activate ,probably at the most inconvenient time and you will be unable to stop them ringing as you have no code and the panel will be blank.get your landlord to call alarm company out and re commission your system as its no use the way it is

Thanks guys. Plenty of great advice. Battery has been replaced and code sorted.

dinefwr

The manual can be downloaded online from http://ukpanels.com

branners69

Eglinton wrote: »

Thanks guys. Plenty of great advice. Battery has been replaced and code sorted.

I have the same message, any idea how much it cost to replace?

Is it an easy job that I could do myself?

KoolKid

A battery will cost between €10- €20 from any wholesalers.
Going to retailers expect to pay upto €40
Alarms company's will charge anywhere between €60 - €120 for a call out & service.
Replaceing the battery is eay enough, but only procede if you are comfortable doing it.

To Replace Aritech CS350 Battery

• Turn off the mains power from the fuseboard.
• Remove the lid of the main control panel by removing the 2 screws located at the left & right hand side.
• Disconnect the 2 leads from the battery.
• Connect the leads to the new battery observing to polarity. Red > Red (+) Black to Black or Blue (-)
• Replace the lid & screw closed.
• Reapply the mains power at the fuse board.

Note when you remove the mains power & battery the external siren will sound. After you reapply the power disarming with your code will silence all bells.

branners69

Thanks koolkid for the detailed reply.

I might have a go at it during the week!

KoolKid

Your welcome.
Any problems give me a shout.

altor

branners69 wrote: »

Thanks koolkid for the detailed reply.

I might have a go at it during the week!

+ 1 to what koolkid said, just to add the replacement battery needed for the CS350 is a 12 volt 2.8 Ah battery. It will take a couple of minutes for the low battery message to go once you install the new one.

Any problems, let us know.

Raphfrk

altor wrote: »

Hi BostonB,
If the panel is eng locked, it can be unlocked by replacing the chip in the panel. What this does is bring the panel back to factory settings allowing a new customer and eng code to be set up on the system plus it allows the reprogramming of the system.
Hope this helps..

How does that work? Do you order a new chip online?

I tried resetting the alarm by removing JP1 but it didn't seem to reset. I guess it is engineering locked. I only left it off for a few seconds with the battery removed as the main alarm went off, due to no power. Do you need to leave it off for 20-30 seconds?

Btw, I assume that alarm companies don't give out the engineering code over the phone? Is there any way to get them to give you the code without having to pay for a call-out. Also, if I did pay for a call out, do they provide the code then?

altor

Raphfrk wrote: »

How does that work? Do you order a new chip online?

I tried resetting the alarm by removing JP1 but it didn't seem to reset. I guess it is engineering locked. I only left it off for a few seconds with the battery removed as the main alarm went off, due to no power. Do you need to leave it off for 20-30 seconds?

Btw, I assume that alarm companies don't give out the engineering code over the phone? Is there any way to get them to give you the code without having to pay for a call-out. Also, if I did pay for a call out, do they provide the code then?

Hi Raphfrk.

If you tried defaulting the alarm using the JP1 and that did not work then the alarm is engineer locked. You could ring the company and ask for the code. If they do have to come out you could get them to enter a code that suits you.

clacks

Hi. I have an Aritech cs350 alarm with a low battery warning. I never use the alarm and actually don't want to use it. The alarm has gone off intermittently over the last few months. Never at a good time. Not that there is one I suppose.
I would love to have it totally disabled. i have the code but the panel never seems to register it when it does go off. I am really not technically minded for this kind of stuff. So the question is how easy is it to totally disable the whole thing, and also if I was to get somebody to call out to do it, how much do you reckon it may cost?

Thanks in advance...

KoolKid

Why someone would have an alarm & rather disable it these days, I will never understand.
If you want to disable it procede as follows.

• Isloate the mains power at the fuse board
• Open the main control panel by removing the 2 screws , centre left & right.
• Remove the main fuse located at the top left where the mains is wired in.
• The battery is located at the bottom of the panel , remove the red & black cables from the battery terminals.

When you do this the keypad display will be blank & the out side bill will sound. Close up the panel & turn on the trip switch again. The outside bell will stop after 20-30 minutes.

If you were to get this repaired a service & battery will cost between €90-€120 + maybe €25 for any sensors or contacts that may need to be replaced.

meercat

Koolkid is spot on but my advice is not to disable alarm as this might invalidate your insurance if their is ever a claim. You should get it fixed as koolkid says

clacks

koolkid wrote: »

Why someone would have an alarm & rather disable it these days, I will never understand.
If you want to disable it procede as follows.

• Isloate the mains power at the fuse board
• Open the main control panel by removing the 2 screws , centre left & right.
• Remove the main fuse located at the top left where the mains is wired in.
• The battery is located at the bottom of the panel , remove the red & black cables from the battery terminals.

When you do this the keypad display will be blank & the out side bill will sound. Close up the panel & turn on the trip switch again. The outside bell will stop after 20-30 minutes.

If you were to get this repaired a service & battery will cost between €90-€120 + maybe €25 for any sensors or contacts that may need to be replaced.

Thanks for the help Koolkid. I know I should get it repaired but I hate alarms with a passion. Probably an alarm related childhood trauma:). Anyway I really appreciate the help. Think I'll disable it myself (when the neighbours are out!). Will the alarm sound too as soon as I remove the panel?

Thanks again.

KoolKid

yes

BTE72

koolkid wrote: »

+1 to everything Altor said above.
Another important point to note is this: Leaving a low battery in the panel will eventually bring the panel down. The battery will draw more & more power from the panel. This results in a voltage drop to the powered devices & may result in an activation & the keypad becoming unresponsive.

Unfortunately this has happened to my alarm. The low battery alarm was on for a few days then I got an intermittent alarm. I have now disconnected the terminal from the battery but my display panel is also dead. If I replace the battery will the alarm system function normally?
Thanks

altor

BTE72 wrote: »

Unfortunately this has happened to my alarm. The low battery alarm was on for a few days then I got an intermittent alarm. I have now disconnected the terminal from the battery but my display panel is also dead. If I replace the battery will the alarm system function normally?
Thanks

When you say the display, do you mean the keypad is gone blank ?

BTE72

altor wrote: »

When you say the display, do you mean the keypad is gone blank ?

Yes the display panel is blank.

I disconnected the power to the panel as i couldn't stop the bell sounding.

Tks,