Help please... Ademco Vista-20 beeps but no trouble code


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Old 01-29-13, 02:18 PM
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Help please... Ademco Vista-20 beeps but no trouble code

Hi all,

I just bought a house and the alarm is an Ademco Vista-20. I've been in the house for a couple of months with no issues. The alarm has 3 panels, 2 of them are alpha and the other one is fixed. Last night one of the alpha's starts chirping every 40 seconds.

The manual says that it's either in test mode or it has a low battery. It's not in test mode. (I did a disable to exit test mode just in case). None of the panels display any trouble codes. No "Low battery" or anything like that. Just the usual "disarmed - ready to arm". Just in case I pressed "off" because the manual says that would silence a low battery chirp alert but the panel continues to chirp.

So all 3 panels show nothing but what is expected "disarmed - ready to arm" and only one of them is chirping every 40 seconds.

Any idea? Could it be that I need to replace the battery even though none of the panels say anything is out of the ordinary?

Please help this is driving my family bonkers.
 
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Old 01-29-13, 10:20 PM
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Do you think it is likely that you have a two-partition system?

If you can get into programming, look to see if any zones are set up in partition two. Use the FAQ to get into programming.

Otherwise, just power down the system until you have time to look at it, proper.

When you pressed 'off' it should have been preceded by your code -- don't just press 'off'.
 
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Old 01-30-13, 12:05 AM
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ChosunOne

I'll bet if you power it down (I wouldn't bother) that you will still hear the beeps. The usual cause for that periodic beep/chirp with no trouble message on the keypad, is some ~other~ piece of equipment giving an annunciation. Most common source is a line-power smoke detector (not part of the alarm system) with a low battery, but I've also seen it with pagers, phones, clocks, and most recently an exercise machine that was not turned off.

I've lost count of how many times I've seen this happen. That high-pitched chirp is from a sounder used in hundreds of applications like the few I've mentioned, and is very difficult to home in on, and your mind (which already "knows" what makes beeps like that) will tell you it's coming from the keypad. So put your ear right next to it...and I mean like right -against- that keypad and wait for the beep. That's when you may discover it's coming from somewhere else...when it's your -other- ear that hears it just as loud.
 
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Old 01-30-13, 10:40 AM
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ChosunOne was correct.

I pulled the negative lead on the battery and unplugged the ac adapter from the wall. Sure enough "chirp"...

I go over and stand right next to the panel... "chirp" and look down to see an old smoke detector that I had replaced which ran off the mains BUT unknown to me just happen to have also had a battery in it that was now getting "low" (apparently the only one in the house that did have a battery).

thank you so much! now my family can sleep
 
 

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