HKC alarm ignoring text command

inabina

Hi all
Got the HKC with text alert/text set on and off functionality 18 months ago. Suddenly now it is ignoring my texts. It sent me a text when I was away telling me the alarm was activated but I could not switch it off by text. neighbors lost the plot. no issue with credit on alarm sim or my sim. It was still able to send me a text when the alarm went off. No warning signals on panel. Got this fitted by a chap that no longer works in the area and he did it as a side job unfortunately....

Any ideas? thanks!

kub

Is your number been sent when you text and secondly do you have the correct code to disarm it?
Ps I take it its a GSM dialler.

inabina

yes, my number is sending, I have the correct code and yep I believe it is a GSM dialer. there is a vodaphone Sim in there. I topped it up recently too.

kub

inabina wrote: »

yes, my number is sending, I have the correct code and yep I believe it is a GSM dialer. there is a vodaphone Sim in there. I topped it up recently too.

Do you have predictive text on your own mobile?

inabina

I don't use predictive text.

kub

inabina wrote: »

I don't use predictive text.

Is your own phone the only one which controls the alarm GSM or is there another which you can try or indeed do you know if this fault is a common on all phones.

inabina

Hi there, I have tried my wifes phone too which is also registered on it and no joy. she also got the text alert when the alarm went off.

kub

Is the alarm also connected up to your house landline?
Is the number that the text alert originated a mobile number.
Sorry for all the questions but we will get to the bottom of it.

inabina

Hi there, I don't have a house landline. the text came from the vodaphone sim in the alarm unit.

altor

Seems strange how it is texting you but not allowing you to text it back. Have you tried down powering the GSM and powering it back up?

inabina

I have not. would you mind letting me know what the steps are?

altor

inabina wrote: »

I have not. would you mind letting me know what the steps are?

What GSM have you got fitted?

inabina

sorry a little clueless here. how would I find that out?

altor

inabina wrote: »

sorry a little clueless here. how would I find that out?

Here you go

inabina

It is the GSM-M

altor

Turn off the mains, Open the GSM and disconnect the 12V supply going to it. Also disconnect the battery. Once it is down powered wait a few seconds then power it back up. If the alarm activates just put your code in to silence.

kub

altor wrote: »

Turn off the mains, Open the GSM and disconnect the 12V supply going to it. Also disconnect the battery. Once it is down powered wait a few seconds then power it back up. If the alarm activates just put your code in to silence.

Inabina my apologies for failing to get back to you earlier, just a hectic day, thanks for taking up the reins Altor.

altor

kub wrote: »

Inabina my apologies for failing to get back to you earlier, just a hectic day, thanks for taking up the reins Altor.

More than happy to help Kub

kub

altor wrote: »

More than happy to help Kub

You know what its like sometimes, thanks again. I imagine a reset should sort it out, i think with all my earlier questions i covered all the obvious faults.

altor

kub wrote: »

You know what its like sometimes, thanks again. I imagine a reset should sort it out, i think with all my earlier questions i covered all the obvious faults.

I hope so too

inabina

hi, thanks for all the help. I powered down everything, opened the box. disconnected battery. each time I disconnected battery the external alarm went off. I couldn't see a place to disconnect mains inside the box but I assume that given I turned the mains off at the fuse box and disconnected the battery that would be enough.

I got texts telling me that the mains had gone and texts telling me that I had turned off the alarm.

But it is still ignoring my texts now that I have turned everything back on again.

kub

inabina wrote: »

hi, thanks for all the help. I powered down everything, opened the box. disconnected battery. each time I disconnected battery the external alarm went off. I couldn't see a place to disconnect mains inside the box but I assume that given I turned the mains off at the fuse box and disconnected the battery that would be enough.

I got texts telling me that the mains had gone and texts telling me that I had turned off the alarm.

But it is still ignoring my texts now that I have turned everything back on again.

Was it the control panel that you powered down? The GSM M unit is a metal box around the size of a corn flake box, the screw for opening it is on the right side half way down front surface.
If it was the panel then the screw would be on the top midway across.

inabina

I opened the GSM unit, yep the screw was exactly as you described. I opened it up, disconnected the battery. given I had mains power off and battery disconnected, I assume that is the full power down that I needed to do? there was no other obvious place to power down inside the box..no switch ect.

kub

inabina wrote: »

I opened the GSM unit, yep the screw was exactly as you described. I opened it up, disconnected the battery. given I had mains power off and battery disconnected, I assume that is the full power down that I needed to do? there was no other obvious place to power down inside the box..no switch ect.

Just so we are clear, did the external siren activate when you disconnected the battery within the GSM unit?

inabina

yep, sure did!

altor

inabina wrote: »

yep, sure did!

Did you down power both units?
There should be a 12V from the alarm to the GSM-M?

kub

inabina wrote: »

yep, sure did!

Ok being completely honest, it should not have, by all means if it was the control panel then yes but an external bell voltage connected to a GSM unit is strange.

I think it might be time to call in someone to have a look at your system, sounds like it might need a once over.

altor

Sounds like the battery is gone in the main control panel.
Might be causing the problem.

kub

altor wrote: »

Sounds like the battery is gone in the main control panel.
Might be causing the problem.

Agreed, it had a short life span didn't it?

altor

kub wrote: »

Agreed, it had a short life span didn't it?

18 Months for a back up battery is a short life span. I would expect 5 Years plus depending on the location of the control panel.
A low battery can do strange things to an alarm system

kub

altor wrote: »

18 Months for a back up battery is a short life span. I would expect 5 Years plus depending on the location of the control panel.
A low battery can do strange things to an alarm system

Indeed, so what is our advice? I think it might be time for a techy to check it, what do you think?

altor

kub wrote: »

Indeed, so what is our advice? I think it might be time for a techy to check it, what do you think?

My advice would be to buy a 12V 7 Amp replacement battery.
If the GSM-M is showing a low battery fault as well, I would buy 2.
Down power both units then power back up and test.
No harm in trying.

If it does not work then call an engineer to see what the issue is.
Being that he has the low battery on the control panel it could be this that is causing the issue.

What you think?

inabina

when u say power down both units, what do you mean? the only thing I did was 1) turn off all electricity at mains 2) opened the box in hot press and disconnected the battery.

what makes you believe I have a battery gone in the main control panel at the front door? there are no faults displaying.

altor

inabina wrote: »

when u say power down both units, what do you mean? the only thing I did was 1) turn off all electricity at mains 2) opened the box in hot press and disconnected the battery.

what makes you believe I have a battery gone in the main control panel at the front door? there are no faults displaying.

Hotpress explains the 18 Months so. It can lessen the life expectancy of the back up battery.

When you turned off the mains and removed the battery in the GSM-M the outside bell should not of went off as the back up battery in the main control panel keeps the system going in this event. The back up battery in the bell kicks in also which makes it ring in a full power failure.

inabina

right so I need a new battery for the control panel at the front door and for the gsm-m unit in the hotpress. the battery in the gsm-m is a beast of a yoke. what sort of battery is in the control panel?

altor

inabina wrote: »

right so I need a new battery for the control panel at the front door and for the gsm-m unit in the hotpress. the battery in the gsm-m is a beast of a yoke. what sort of battery is in the control panel?

Haha

At your front door you have a keypad, is the main control panel located there too?

kub

inabina wrote: »

right so I need a new battery for the control panel at the front door and for the gsm-m unit in the hotpress. the battery in the gsm-m is a beast of a yoke. what sort of battery is in the control panel?

When you say the control panel at the front door, is that your keypad ie the unit you operate the system from?

inabina

yes, excuse my ignorance here. I assumed control panel was the key pad. So the control panel then is inside the GSM-M box. there is only one battery in there. when I disconnected that beast of a battery inside that box, the outside siren went off. so I only have one battery that I can see here. is there some other battery I need to try disconnecting associated with the SIM card that I cannot see?

altor

inabina wrote: »

yes, excuse my ignorance here. I assumed control panel was the key pad. So the control panel then is inside the GSM-M box. there is only one battery in there. when I disconnected that beast of a battery inside that box, the outside siren went off. so I only have one battery that I can see here. is there some other battery I need to try disconnecting associated with the SIM card that I cannot see?

Any chance of posting a picture of the inside of this panel. From what you have described you are opening the GSM. Is there another panel of the same size located anywhere else?

inabina

hi Guys
Attached are some pics. You will see the red sim card in one of them. I assume the control panel and GSM are all in one box. is that normal? I still only see one battery. when I disconnect that large battery, the external siren goes off (when mains is off).

system still sends me texts when the alarm sounds. ignores my texts.

kub

inabina wrote: »

hi Guys
Attached are some pics. You will see the red sim card in one of them. I assume the control panel and GSM are all in one box. is that normal? I still only see one battery. when I disconnect that large battery, the external siren goes off (when mains is off).

system still sends me texts when the alarm sounds. ignores my texts.

Inabina thank you so much for those pictures, it certainly has cleared up a lot of confusion. As professional installers none of us would dream to fit a GSM the way this one has been.
Also your control panel is after been fitted side ways, you are lucky that the battery did not fall out on you while you were removing the cover.

I know as well that the manufacturers HKC, would not recommend fitting a GSM unit that way. This is the reason that these GSM units come within their own housings. The fact that the panel is in a hot press goes against electrical guide lines anyway but I can only imagine the heat within that both with the control panel and the GSM unit
I would suggest it is time that you got a professional in to sort that mess out.

inabina

thanks for that. How do I go about finding someone that wont cost the earth?

kub

inabina wrote: »

thanks for that. How do I go about finding someone that wont cost the earth?

Basically I reckon you need a guy to have a look at this system, then discuss with you the works that might be necessary and obviously the costs for same.
There are probably hundreds of control panels in hot presses up and down this land of ours, if memory serves me correctly it was only approx 3/4 years ago (open to correction) that this guideline was introduced.
Therefore it might be at your own discretion whether to leave it there or not. Most certainly and ideally that GSM should not be within that control panel.
Just one thing you might check please, that is the GSM antenna, has it come off its mounting? It is easy enough to screw back on and you would never know that might be the problem.
If you need an installer just ensure the company you choose has a PSA licence, the sticky above has a list anyway.

altor

OMG is all I can say, I have honestly never come across an install like that. Thank God he has given up installing alarms. That is a total disgrace :eek:
I would defo be getting another installer in to sort that out.

A320

Sorry for the bump of an old thread,I seem to have the opposite problem,i can text alarm to set and unset but i don't get a reply from the system,it was working fine up to recently,the only thing i can think that upset it was when i tripped the downstairs lighting breaker which seems to power the alarm to install new lights in kitchen but it even text after that saying mains ok after i reset breaker..its a gsm-p on a hkc 812 panel,it has a meteor sim and there is credit in it

KoolKid

Are you 100% sure on the credit?
Has it been topped up in the last 6 months?

A320

KoolKid wrote: »

Are you 100% sure on the credit?
Has it been topped up in the last 6 months?

legend thanks, i had over 7 euro credit but didn't realise that you must top up on the sim after 6 months, its only installed just over 6 months so I presume it just needed top up I put in this morning, seems a bit silly that you have to top up even when the sim is active and being used and has credit!!! Thanks again