Motion sensor not detecting

I have a Safewatch Pro 3000EN. I was getting a Low Battery message for the zone for the motion detector. So before reading that there was a special procedure for changing the batteries, I took out the old batteries and replaced them with new ones. The low battery message was gone but nothing shows up on the panel when someone moves in front of it. On the other motion detectors, a message shows up on the panel when there is motion.

( I just bought this condo and the system came with it. I don't know if the faulty motion detector ever worked)

That's when I discovered that the batteries were supposed to be replaced in Test mode. So I removed the new batteries, placed the system in Test mode and went through all of the procedures to replace the batteries. Still no luck. I haven't yet tried arming the system and walking in front of it as my neighbors are getting a little annoyed with hearing my siren going off as I experiment.

Is it time to replace the sensor? If so, you will be hearing a lot more from me. Thanks.

 

Wireless motion sensors are a little different than wired. After the battery is changed and for several minutes the unit is in test mode and the light on the front will operate when motion is detected. After that unit is in normal mode. It will detect motion, transmit a signal and then go to sleep for up to five minutes. This is done to conserve battery life.

So to test it you need to wait five minutes without walking in front of it and then test it. You will need someone to watch the key pad as it will only show briefly on the keypad.

If you open the sensor up again.... you should get an acknowledgement from the panel in the way of a trouble signal.

 

I believe I did get a constant beeping signal when I opened it up again. And we did wait for 5 minutes before testing it but will try the whole process again. This particular unit NEVER has a light come on; is that normal? The system isn't monitored so I think I will wait until a reasonable hour, arm it and walk around. If it doesn't work, I will have to figure out how to replace it.

 

There are Honeywell wireless motions that have a jumper to permanently disable the LED. Do you know the model number of the motion you have?

 

Damn, you're good. It is an Ademco # 5890 PIR Motion Detector/Transmitter. I found the instructions for this unit and it says when in the "Normal" position the LED is always off. Just out of curiosity I changed the jumper to the test position and the light came on every time there was motion. But when I switched it back to "Normal" and had someone move throughout the room, nothing ever showed up on the panel. Shouldn't the panel be showing the zone number if it is sensing motion?

 

You should have the LED jumper set to disabled to preserve the battery life and keep in mind that when the system is disarmed, the motion goes to sleep when faulted and it will sleep for 3 minutes before it will fault and go to sleep again.

 

Thanks much. I think I am now beginning to understand. Sometimes I have to read things several different ways and times and then think about it...before it begins to soak in. It makes all the sense in the world that you don't want to be chewing up battery life when the system is not armed. Thanks again.