Accenta Gen4 - Magnetic Contacts Repeat Failure.

[Benjy]

Something I have found nobody has experienced before, just me unfortunately, but I thought I'd try you guys for one last fault finding. Thank you in advance.

Over some years I have had to keep replacing the magnetic contacts on my outbuilding where I have the Accenta Gen4 system setup.

Issue is false alarms on Zone 1. The door is tight fitting and the contacts are close, 3 times I have changed the standard contacts. This time I fitted the stronger larger heavy duty contact for wider gaps, even though they are close together. Again I have had a false alarm, and something quite astonishing when I have opened the door expecting the entry count to start nothing has happened...

Was the heavy duty magnetic that close the reed is still magnetised? However eventually after opening and closing the door it starts working again.

When I first installed the system it did work perfectly for a good couple of years. The wiring is perfect and all in tact so I'm thinking of putting a micro switch on the door and no longer using magnetic contacts.

The false alarms happens anytime day or night, winter or summer, the building is wooden and temperatures can go down to zero and up to 30c summer time. Could it be the main panel? The system would be 12 years old now.

 

[Spoon]

Welcome to the forum mate.
You say the wiring is perfect. I presume you have checked it out with a meter then? You may have an intermittent fault in the wiring to the door contact.
How many cores does the cable have going to door contact?
If you have more than 2 cores have you tried swapping the wires to the magnetic reed switch? As above, one of the wires going to the reed switch may have an intermittent fault on one it.

 

[buzzlightyear]

the possibility that the cable has been chopped for the other legs
I would replace the cable by saying that because its a closed circuit till open .having a door contact between the frame on the door &door
it would make no difference how many contacts you put on .

 

[telectrix]

with the cable dissed from the panel, do an IR test with contact connected. between the alarm pair and the tamper pair. a low reading could be the cause. repeat with contact disconnected. is similaer low reading then, it's the cable.

 

[littlespark]

Is the building a wooden shed, or something more substantial like a log cabin?
Door twisting due to moisture?
Dampness getting into the contacts somehow or the controller itself?

 

[Pete999]

Are the door contacts used in this installation designed for the application? are they internal door contacts, my garage door has door contacts, but they look as though they are designed well, and fit for purpose, and suitable for a Commercial / Industrial application, as well as being installed by a decent alarm engineer. Not me by the way.

 

[buzzlightyear]

call back later .

 

[telectrix]

952715631)

????????? is that an interstellar code for the aliens are massing for an attack.

 

[Pete999]

????????? is that an interstellar code for the aliens are massing for an attack.

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Pete999]

952715631)

WTF does that mean????????????

 

[telectrix]

it's the call centre phone number for The Borg

 

[Pete999]

it's the call centre phone number for The Borg

Cosmic "Resistance is futile"

 

[telectrix]

Cosmic "Resistance is futile"

no it's not. it causes volt drop.

 

[Benjy]

Welcome to the forum mate.
You say the wiring is perfect. I presume you have checked it out with a meter then? You may have an intermittent fault in the wiring to the door contact.
How many cores does the cable have going to door contact?
If you have more than 2 cores have you tried swapping the wires to the magnetic reed switch? As above, one of the wires going to the reed switch may have an intermittent fault on one it.

Cheers for the welcome.

The cable is the six core, I did away with the tamper just incase it was that but the panel would have indicated PA. It triggers as if the door has opened. The cable is quite short as it is close to the main panel and I have inspected its entire length it has no damage. I will replace it. To improve my knowledge of using a meter what setting should I use to test each core. Don't laugh, I use the beep test.

 

[telectrix]

test continuity of the alarm pair with them shorted at 1 end, and dissed from the panel.

 

[Benjy]

Is the building a wooden shed, or something more substantial like a log cabin?
Door twisting due to moisture?
Dampness getting into the contacts somehow or the controller itself?

Its a large wooden shed. All the years I have had it I have used the same internal type contacts, PIR and shock sensors. The last one I used was the heavy duty for larger gap, however I have hardly any gap and the contacts have always remained level with one another. The door is a reinforced door with three hinges and locks in three places with all the locks locked its basically tightly sealed in place. That's why I could never understand why the problem started. But as others suggest I must check the wiring again properly before looking at the panel.

 

[Spoon]

The cable is the six core, I did away with the tamper just incase it was that but the panel would have indicated PA. It triggers as if the door has opened. The cable is quite short as it is close to the main panel and I have inspected its entire length it has no damage. I will replace it. To improve my knowledge of using a meter what setting should I use to test each core. Don't laugh, I use the beep test.

If the cable is 6 core then don't you have 2 cores free?
2 cores for the tamper and 2 for the reed switch...

If so then swap the reed switch cables with the free ones, at the panel and reed switch.
Alternative is, if you have a length of bell wire, wire this into the Zone 1 and the reed switch as a temp wiring, to see if you still get the fault.

 

[SparkyChick]

If the cables check out fine and the contacts are working.... could be something like a dry joint on the control panel main board.

In the past, when 'interesting' faults have started happening, I've recapped control boards and reflowed them with great success.

 

[static zap]

(long shot)
If magnet is over size and you have steel(screws?)
nearby.... May be reducing snappy-ness of reed action .
Losing some of its "Self cleaning" action.
(good reeds should not do this.!)

( or it's the wiring / panel as others have said )

 

[Spoon]

I wonder if the OP will get back to us?? Let us know how he got on...