Replacing Alarm Keypad

[Jason]

I bought my house about 5 years ago, and it already had an alarm installed (wireless sensors, motion detectors, and a very annoying voice that screams "SYSTEM IS ON" and "SYSTEM IS OFF," etc). I'm guessing that the alarm is about 10 years old, but it could be slightly more or less.

Recently, the keypad decided to go screwy. If you hit a key (any key), it just beeps incessantly. Not beep, beep, beep, but BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. At first, you could press a bunch of random buttons and it would eventually stop, but the last time it went off I couldn't get it to stop so I totally unplugged the keypad.

Which, incidentally, doesn't make me feel all that safe.

Assuming that the problem here is just the keypad, can I just buy a new one and plug it in, or do I have to replace the whole kaboodle? If so, are the plugs pretty much universal, or will I have to rewire the whole thing?

TIA,

Jason

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, In one instance, they go crazy when the back up rechargeable battery goes. Time to check it. Probably it is gone bad. Replace it and let it charge up again.

[Jason]

Is this battery in the keypad itself, or the brain? There's a big battery in the brain, but it's odd shaped and I would probably have to find it online. I didn't see one in the keypad at first glance (at

4:30am).

Thanks for the help,

Jason

[trader4]

The battery is in the control panel. Typically it's quite large as it has to power the whole alarm system for hours. What makes you think it's the keypad? If one key is intermittent, or similar, thenI'd say its' the pad. If it's acting screwey, could be the controller, loose connection, pad, etc.

If the alarm has issues that annoy u and can't be changed, then maybe it's time to change the panel and the keypad.

[trader4]

Oh, and if u want an easy test of the battery, just unplug it from the AC and see how long the alarms still works. If it goes at least several hours, the battery isn't the problem.

[HeyBub]

The battery is probably standard and available at Home Depot or computer stores.

I'll wager it's 12V, something like 7AH.

Take the old one with you when you buy another - they do vary on connectors.

And they last 3-6 years.

[Bill]

Ask on alt.security.alarms

Helps if you say what brand and model number. Also say if it is monitored by an alarm company or not.

[Jerry]

Replaced mine about 3 years ago - the original lasted about 5 or 6 years. Similar symptoms to yours. Battery lives in the controller box. Big thing about the size of one of those individual serving cereal packages. SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery, 12 volts, think it was something like 6.5 A-H (ampere-hours).

If you have a battery store near you, just unplug the battery, take it in, and they'll figure out what you need. If you need to buy it online, look on the side of the battery - there should be printed a voltage and ampere-hour rating. You need to buy the same voltage and at LEAST the stated ampere-hour rating (higher is OK), check the battery dimensions to make sure it will fit in your controller box, and make sure the battery terminals are the same.

Those batteries are intended to be used as BACKUP batteries, to run the alarm if somebody trying to break in turns off your electricity. But, the way my alarm controller (and probably yours) is designed, if the battery fails and it's output voltage drops, it loads down the controller's power supply too, which is what causes your keypad (and maybe the rest of the alarm too) to misbehave.

Hope this helps, Jerry

[Bob F]

Or Radio Shack.

Bob

[Bob M.]

No, the keypads and plugs are not universal. Each company uses whatever it wants to use. Yes, you probably can replace just the keypad, if that's the problem.

[mm]

Or during power failures, which were a popular time for burglaries.

[Jason]

My only reason for thinking that it's just the keypad is that the incessant beep is coming from the keypad itself, not the siren. I checked the connection and it seemed OK, so the only other things I could come up with is (a) something on the circuit board, like a loose wire, crossing paths, or (b) possibly a key is stuck and gives this alarm when you press 2 keys at once.

Just wild guesses, really. That's why I turned to you guys, that I figured would be more logical than me :-)

The battery is a definite possibility. The alarm is definitely more than 5 years old, and although we haven't had a problem recently, the power has flickered a lot this year.

Thanks, all,

Jason

[Eric]

Jason,

As others have said, the battery is a definite possibility.

But a stuck key is also a possibility and easy to diagnose. If one button is stuck, pressing that button won't cause the problem. So try each button and if one *doesn't* make it beep, you've probably found your culprit.

Eric Law

[mm]

We know it's not the siren.

Do you have a manual? Have you read it? Reed it again. If you haven't got one, find one, even from a different model if necessary will likely have most of the same features.

What does it say about incessant beeping?

[Jason]

Nope, I don't have a manual. I've been loosely looking for one online for years, but haven't seen a model # on the unit to have anything to go by. All it says is "ITI," on both the control panel and the keypad.

I'm sure that once I open the control panel to get the battery, I'll find a model #, but I've just never had a reason to do so until now.

- Jason