Wired Home Alarm Problem/Fault Bell Box Tamper Fault.

CheekyMunkey

Hi Everyone,

Hoping someone maybe able to assist here with experience of home alarms.

We have an old Gardtec hard wired alarm. It was in the house when we moved in. Has been working pretty flawlessly for over 14 years. I replaced a battery in the panel 3 times over the years and one PIR sensor which starting misbehaving. Apart from that its been pretty solid.

However, in the last couple of months the alarm would randomly trigger a few times a day. Sometimes in the middle of the night which is the worst part. I keep getting an error 'Bell Tamper Fault'. So Im guessing its something to do with the bell box outside the house. Im not an expert when it comes to this stuff but Im trying to see if I can resolve this myself. When I ran the test alarm feature it came up with no errors.

As mentioned the alarm is pretty old. I managed to climb up to the bell box and open it. I removed the back up battery so at least I can turn the alarm off from the mains should it go off in the middle of the night. There were webs etc within the box all over the wiring which I cleaned out so not sure if they could be triggering it?  The lid was stuck down firmly and had been painted around so it wouldnt budge. So there cant understand why its triggering with that error.

Having removed the back up battery it since yesterday it hasnt triggered but it also doesnt let me turn the alarm on as it highlights there is an error. Would replacing the bell box back up battery potentially resolve the issue or should I just replace the bell box completely? If so, does anyone have a recommendation? Im assuming the wiring should be a straight swap.

Appreciate your feedback on this. Its a solid alarm and I dont really want to remove it as its served us well. Be a shame to have to remove it all if its not a big fault to fix.

cymruchris

It could be the battery is on the way out - but the bell box will have a little micro switch in there somewhere to detect when the cover is taken off. That might need a liberal application of wd-40 and a few good presses to ensure it's 'free moving'. It should click gently as you press it in and then release it. You might find that with a twiddle of the switch and a new battery, you're good to go again. (There is a chance of course that the switch has become faulty - but that's not common).

CheekyMunkey

cymruchris said:

It could be the battery is on the way out - but the bell box will have a little micro switch in there somewhere to detect when the cover is taken off. That might need a liberal application of wd-40 and a few good presses to ensure it's 'free moving'. It should click gently as you press it in and then release it. You might find that with a twiddle of the switch and a new battery, you're good to go again. (There is a chance of course that the switch has become faulty - but that's not common).

Ill  order a battery and see. I literally just armed it just now to test it and it actually turned on which means it is working. I tested the switch when I had the cover off. It seemed ok but didnt seem like it was springing up too well. So will try the WD-40 also. There is a shed at the back of the house which had the same alarm on it but my dad went at it with a hammer when it wouldnt turn off once lol. However, I maybe able to salvage some parts. 

Thanks mate. I think sometimes I just need some confidence that Im doing something right lol. I know people often say you should change boxes every 5 or so years but there literally doesnt seem to be anything wrong with it from what I can tell.

EssexExile

If you're happy that no one is going to climb up there and tamper with the bell box you could just bypass the microswitch.

Mr.Generous

As they age mains alarms tend to false alarm because the reed switches in the magnetic contacts fail.The bell box is usually ok until they rot. The tamper for the bell box goes to the cover micro switch, and sometimes a second switch against the wall. Some have a clever design where one switch covers both wall contact and front bell box.

CheekyMunkey

EssexExile said:

If you're happy that no one is going to climb up there and tamper with the bell box you could just bypass the microswitch.

Do you mean remove the tamper completely by not attaching the wires within the Bell Box?

CheekyMunkey

Mr.Generous said:

As they age mains alarms tend to false alarm because the reed switches in the magnetic contacts fail.The bell box is usually ok until they rot. The tamper for the bell box goes to the cover micro switch, and sometimes a second switch against the wall. Some have a clever design where one switch covers both wall contact and front bell box.

Thanks mate.

Ill have a look. Ive ordered a battery anyway. Cheaper than replacing the whole thing. I have disconnected the old battery and its only connected to the mains now and it hasnt gone off since yesterday so it might be ok.

I was looking at some pictures of the box once I took the cover off. There was a wood lice stuck where the wires were connected in within the webs stuck on the metal contacts lol. Not sure if it shorted something. Anyways. I have removed it all so hopefully its all good to go once I fit the new battery. Might also find something to cover the wiring as its exposed so no insects/webs etc can get close to it

EssexExile

CheekyMunkey said:

EssexExile said:

If you're happy that no one is going to climb up there and tamper with the bell box you could just bypass the microswitch.

Do you mean remove the tamper completely by not attaching the wires within the Bell Box?

If the switch is normally closed then just short the wires together, if it's normally open just disconnect them and make safe, if it's more complicated than that good luck!

CheekyMunkey

EssexExile said:

CheekyMunkey said:

EssexExile said:

If you're happy that no one is going to climb up there and tamper with the bell box you could just bypass the microswitch.

Do you mean remove the tamper completely by not attaching the wires within the Bell Box?

If the switch is normally closed then just short the wires together, if it's normally open just disconnect them and make safe, if it's more complicated than that good luck!

Managed to order a new battery. Replaced it. Cleaned out the box and wiring. Put some WD40 on the switch. Touch wood its all been ok. Did this on Thursday last week. Ran the test on the alarm and all looks ok. Thanks for giving me the tip should it play up again.