House Alarm false alarming

Kim_Possible

Posted 31 August 2015 - 09:35 PM
I have moved house 10 months ago to a house with a scatronic r500 wireless alarm system ( it's old, I know!)
Initially gave no bother, until Feb when it said low battery and I called the installer out who did a service and replaced the batteries in all the sensors.

Over the last 3 months the outside alarm has gone off 3/4 times, unexplained and randomly, when the alarm is active and I'm away from the property. When I get back, on entry I can hear 3 short beeps, go to the panel and can see PA, followed by Alarm zone 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 followed by "rf trouble" etc. mainly always on zone4 (landing)

This has happened a few times and at first I thought it was a fluke, unlucky, outside interference but recently in the last 6 weeks it has happened 3 times, mainly in evening around 8 -9 PM.

Apart from these instances I can alarm the house and go away for hours e.g 7-6pm and no issues.

On advise of the alarm fitter I have been keeping a watch/test log. Each evening I full set the alarm for 6 nights no false alarms until Thursday evening.

As I previously said, the alarm was being triggered between 8:15 and 8:45 when it was fully set.
On Thursday past the alarm was triggered at 8:35 on zone 4 landing...sharp beeps, I reset it and it triggered again at 8:45. I could see nothing odd but my view point was partial view out front.
Tonight, on full set at 8:35 the alarm was triggered panel said zone 4... Sharp beeps. I rushed to a front bedroom window, nothing unsusal.
Rushed back to the panel and put it on full set ( to see if it would trigger again)
When I got back to front window I could see the elderly neighbour coming out of their front door, with garage door already open, she got into her car and drove it into the garage, walked out and closed the main garage door ( could not see if this was manual or electronic), she walked back into her house and 2-3 mins later at 8:45, my alarm triggered a false alarm on zone4, landing.

The elderly neighbours do not always have their car sitting in the driveway, they only take it out if they are using it that day!
They also have an alarm system, I do not know the details.

What are your expert thoughts on this? Either my theory is daft and pure and simple I have a faulty landing sensor that triggers at 8:35 and 8:45 when alarm is fully set.

Also to note, it does happen quickly but I don't see sensor 4 flashing and it only indicates it's zone 4 after I have silenced the alarm.

Can anyone suggest what may cause this to happen?

windup

if the landing is triggering, why are you looking out the window

if you are suspecting next doors car keyfob/garage remote/alarm interfering and causing rf trouble, ask them, or disable/cover up the landing pir and check for the 8.30 spider coming out to play

if it happens every time they go out, ask them to press their car key fob when the alarm is set.

http://www.forum-alarme.com/schemas-alarmes/scantronique-500-plus.pdf

http://www.thesecurityinstaller.co.uk/community/topic/10609-scanny-500-rf-trouble/

enfield_freddy

Kim_Possible

windup wrote: »

if the landing is triggering, why are you looking out the window

if you are suspecting next doors car keyfob/garage remote/alarm interfering and causing rf trouble, ask them, or disable/cover up the landing pir and check for the 8.30 spider coming out to play

if it happens every time they go out, ask them to press their car key fob when the alarm is set.

http://www.forum-alarme.com/schemas-alarmes/scantronique-500-plus.pdf

http://www.thesecurityinstaller.co.uk/community/topic/10609-scanny-500-rf-trouble/

Because the landing sensor was in full view near to the panel - no spiders that I could see at the specific time

steviebabes

The sun can trigger PIR sensors, is there a possibility of the evening sunset catching the sensor?

firefox1956

Once had the same randon thing with a car alarm going off.
Always on an evening.....
Was sat in the car one evening waiting to pick somebody up & a damn great moth started flying about.......frightened me to death.
Squashed it & the car alarm never went off again !!

Kim_Possible

steviebabes wrote: »

The sun can trigger PIR sensors, is there a possibility of the evening sunset catching the sensor?

Yes this had occurred to me also as currently this is around the same time of day/night.
However this morning I tested again-
Today I full set the full alarm at 9:30 and it was triggered at 9:45 and 9:50. The neighbour was driving off. Different neighbour, directly next door who have a new Hyundai I40 since July .
I reset the full alarm and it triggered at 10:10 when she returned. And again at 10:15
I reset the alarm and they left the house again at 10:50 no alarm but it triggered at 11am.
It's a family car so I am sure there are instances during the summer that they would drive away/arrive back and I am out with house alarm fully set. I am just trying to work out why it would trigger the alarm sometimes but not always when set.
I think the sensor may just be faulty to passing cars in close prominity!

Le_Kirk

I assume it is a wireless system as you say you changed the batteries in the sensors and again I assume PIR. I recently changed PIR for a neighbour (admittedly it was fully wired system) because it had intermittent fault (tamper alarm) even though it was never being tampered with. Fitted new PIR 4 weeks ago and fine ever since, so PIR's can develop faults. On another tack, you changed batteries in all the sensors but did you change the rechargeable battery and the back-up battery in main control unit.

Strider590

Do your neighbours have an electric garage door opener?

The thing with old wireless alarm systems is they often used to operate on frequencies that are now in common use for other things. I would say there is something causing interference somewhere.

Kim_Possible

Le_Kirk wrote: »

I assume it is a wireless system as you say you changed the batteries in the sensors and again I assume PIR. I recently changed PIR for a neighbour (admittedly it was fully wired system) because it had intermittent fault (tamper alarm) even though it was never being tampered with. Fitted new PIR 4 weeks ago and fine ever since, so PIR's can develop faults. On another tack, you changed batteries in all the sensors but did you change the rechargeable battery and the back-up battery in main control unit.

Hi
Yes an older wireless system, serviced in Feb, says on docket control panel battery replaced:
1 x ultracell 12v 2.4amp
8 x Duracell AA
2 x Duracell AAA

Can't say I witnessed the exchanged of batteries in the main panel.
I have 4 pir sensors.

Kim_Possible

Strider590 wrote: »

Do your neighbours have an electric garage door opener?

The thing with old wireless alarm systems is they often used to operate on frequencies that are now in common use for other things. I would say there is something causing interference somewhere.

The direct next door neighbours I refered to in my post #7 - definitely do not. The only change from them is a new ?Hyundai i40 in July.
The elderly neighbours in the bungalow probably do not either, I can not say this for certain.