HKC - Panel Batt Flt

KoolKid

Unfortunately we are no longer allowed help you here with engineer codes.
If you are just changing a battery it can be done safely without turning off the mains power. Just keep away from the mains connections and the power supply.

Fingleberries

KoolKid wrote: »

Unfortunately we are no longer allowed help you here with engineer codes.
If you are just changing a battery it can be done safely without turning off the mains power. Just keep away from the mains connections and the power supply.

Thanks for the reply.

Could I just run a few things past you before I attempt anything - I haven't opened the box yet for fear of electrocution without enough information.

The box is held closed by a single screw at the top, if I am to change the battery without switching off the mains I should unscrew this and open down the panel.

I would expect the battery to be sitting at the bottom of the case. Are the wires attached to the battery OK to remove (carefully) without switching off the mains power?

I'm essentially looking for a description of the parts of the innards of the box that I should definitely avoid touching, and which ones are the ones I should touch.

Again, many thanks for your tips and assistance.

KoolKid

Safety First....
If you are not comfortable doing this then you should get a professional in.
Having said that, you are correct. The battery is at the base of the panel. It is safe to remove the battery leads from the battery and place onto the new battery.

Fingleberries

KoolKid wrote: »

Safety First....
If you are not comfortable doing this then you should get a professional in.
Having said that, you are correct. The battery is at the base of the panel. It is safe to remove the battery leads from the battery and place onto the new battery.

Thanks again.

I'm definitely being cautious and just want to be prepared before opening the box and seeing something unexpected.
Would I be correct in saying that these are the types of batteries that I should be looking for? (a PS1270 12V 7Ah rechargeable)

underdunne

Hi guys,
sorry to highjack the thread a bit but wasn't sure whether to start a new one for a related topic or tag on to this one as it's active. I had a similar battery fault, I changed the battery but now I have a mains fault. If I disconnect the battery the control panel goes dead. The four fuses appear to be intact. I read elsewhere that it might be the transformer that might be the problem. My question , is it the small black and brass box in the top corner of the box? and if I go into a wholesalers and ask for a transformer for a HKC secure watch that's what I'll get? I'm a noob so no pics.
Thanks in advance and sorry again for the highjack.

Fingleberries

KoolKid wrote: »

Safety First....
If you are not comfortable doing this then you should get a professional in.
Having said that, you are correct. The battery is at the base of the panel. It is safe to remove the battery leads from the battery and place onto the new battery.

Just wanted to pop on the thread to thank all for their help.

I got the batter from Rechargeable.ie (link to the one I bought).

Something to watch out for on this battery was that the terminals were slightly larger than the corresponding plugs on the alarm wires. I ended up buying these terminal adaptors and since then the battery fault is completely resolved.

As a result of this thread, I saved well over €100 on the amount that an alarm servicing company were looking to charge for the same task.

Fingleberries

KoolKid wrote: »

Safety First....
If you are not comfortable doing this then you should get a professional in.
Having said that, you are correct. The battery is at the base of the panel. It is safe to remove the battery leads from the battery and place onto the new battery.

Just wanted to pop on the thread to thank all for their help.

I got the batter from Rechargeable.ie (link to the one I bought).

Something to watch out for on this battery was that the terminals were slightly larger than the corresponding plugs on the alarm wires. I ended up buying these terminal adaptors and since then the battery fault is completely resolved.

As a result of this thread, I saved well over €100 on the amount that an alarm servicing company were looking to charge for the same task.

yoyo

Hi all,

Alarm panel is showing Yellow fault LED with same message Panel Batt Flt. Just wondering can alarm still be used with the warning? Going to get on to landlord to get it sorted shortly. Only seen it today.

Cheers,
Nick

altor

yoyo wrote: »

Hi all,

Alarm panel is showing Yellow fault LED with same message Panel Batt Flt. Just wondering can alarm still be used with the warning? Going to get on to landlord to get it sorted shortly. Only seen it today.

Cheers,
Nick

Hi Nick,

yes the alarm can still be used but if you have a power outage in your area the system with have no back up supply so its advisable to have it changed as soon as you see this warning.

yoyo

altor wrote: »

Hi Nick,

yes the alarm can still be used but if you have a power outage in your area the system with have no back up supply so its advisable to have it changed as soon as you see this warning.

Cheers Altor,

Actually the warning message is now gone completely! So I'm guessing it was just displayed for around an hour or so as a fyi. Actually Landlord has just got back also and he'll get someone out soon and asking when suits (lucky to have a great landlord!)

Thanks for the help here!

Nick

KoolKid

That makes a change from some. It's an easy enough fix. The system would be fine to use as normal in the meantime. Power cuts is all you need to worry about for now.

altor

yoyo wrote: »

Cheers Altor,

Actually the warning message is now gone completely! So I'm guessing it was just displayed for around an hour or so as a fyi. Actually Landlord has just got back also and he'll get someone out soon and asking when suits (lucky to have a great landlord!)

Thanks for the help here!

Nick

Brilliant, Id still get it tested just to be sure.

yoyo

KoolKid wrote: »

That makes a change from some. It's an easy enough fix. The system would be fine to use as normal in the meantime. Power cuts is all you need to worry about for now.

I know! Incredibly lucky with my Landlord. I have heard horror stories from others and landlords but there were issues also with alarm sensor gone faulty a while back also and he also acted very quickly in that case (couldn't set alarm either, as fault meant it thought a window was open/open zone!).

altor wrote: »

Brilliant, Id still get it tested just to be sure.

Yes next week hopefully someone will come over to check it/replace the battery. Same happened to my parents recently enough so seems a common enough issue after a few years these things go.
Thanks guys for the help!

Nick

KoolKid

He's doing the right thing.
Ask for a full service and get everything checked while they are there.
A quick and easy job and you will be sorted.

altor

yoyo wrote: »

Yes next week hopefully someone will come over to check it/replace the battery. Same happened to my parents recently enough so seems a common enough issue after a few years these things go.
Thanks guys for the help!

Nick

Usually 5/7 years depending on panel location.

stuartkee

I was out at an older HKC panel yesterday and they had a low battery warning light on for a few months and they ignored it. The battery then shorted and started to heat up really really hot it then blew the main circuit board so this customer now needs a new alarm panel and keypad as there are no replacement HKC boards left for the 8/12 panel .

So what should have been a routine call ended up costing a lot more cause they ignored the warning on the panel this is not the first time I have seen this don't leave it too long.

yoyo

It's funny, haven't seen the warning since (luckily took a photo of it!). Looks like its in early stages to failing but as said it's good to get it checked over!

KoolKid

Yes, better earlier than later for this issue.
What can happen is the battery can't charge up and draws power from the panel. This can result in an activation and the keypad not having enough power to allow you disarm the system.

Kev87

KoolKid wrote: »

Yes, better earlier than later for this issue.
What can happen is the battery can't charge up and draws power from the panel. This can result in an activation and the keypad not having enough power to allow you disarm the system.

Coming into this thread old, but just wondering if there is way to avoid this while I wait to get the battery replaced. My biggest worry is that the alarm goes off and I won't be able to turn it off

KoolKid

Yes. Remove the battery.

Kev87

KoolKid wrote: »

Yes. Remove the battery.

Thanks for the quick response. I suppose I should have given a run down of events. I stupidly opened the panel box (don't ask why) which set of of the alarm (haven't set the thing once since moving into the apartment) closed the box and got the code which turned it off. Only after that it started showing the error. Now to be fair, it could have been showing this error for ages I just haven't noticed. I don't want to open to box again (to replace battery) in case I set alarm off again or something else goes wrong.

Cheers

KoolKid

If you are not comfortable doing anything like that you are probably better off getting someone in to look at it for you.

altor

Kev87 wrote: »

Thanks for the quick response. I suppose I should have given a run down of events. I stupidly opened the panel box (don't ask why) which set of of the alarm (haven't set the thing once since moving into the apartment) closed the box and got the code which turned it off. Only after that it started showing the error. Now to be fair, it could have been showing this error for ages I just haven't noticed. I don't want to open to box again (to replace battery) in case I set alarm off again or something else goes wrong.

Cheers

Once you have the user code you can just turn the system off from the keypad when you open the control panel.

WestWing

Quick question for the knowledgeable folk in this forum. My HKC alarm is displaying the "Battery flt" message.

From reading through this topic it mentions sourcing a replacement 12volt 7.0 amp battery.

When I opened the alarm control panel I found a 12v 3.2 amp battery. Should I replace like for like?

Thanks.

altor

WestWing wrote: »

Quick question for the knowledgeable folk in this forum. My HKC alarm is displaying the "Battery flt" message.

From reading through this topic it mentions sourcing a replacement 12volt 7.0 amp battery.

When I opened the alarm control panel I found a 12v 3.2 amp battery. Should I replace like for like?

Thanks.

The difference is the 12V 7amp will keep the system going longer in the event of a mains power fail.
If possible I would use that one as a replacement.

rtobrien

Hi. I had a similar issue with the HKC 8/12 with a low battery fault. I replaced the battery which cleared the battery fault but I now have a panel lid tamper fault coming up and cannot arm the alarm with that fault open. I have checked the panel lid and it is seated properly. Could it be an issue with the tamper spring on the board? Does it need to pressed against the panel lid on closing to deactivate the tamper fault? Any guidance much appreciated.

altor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118738610#Comment_118738610

Yes, the spring is the lid tamper.

It may be gone side ways with the lid closed.

Open and close and you should hear the spring close when doing same.

rtobrien

Many thanks for the tip. The spring wasn’t twisted but it didn’t seem to be pressed enough against the lid when it was closed to deactivate the tamper switch. I added a cushioned pad (the type that you use on chair legs) to the end of the spring so that more pressure was applied to it when the lid was closed and that did the trick! :)

altor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118748311#Comment_118748311

Fair play, glad you sorted it 🙂