Burglar alarms have been around for a very long time, as far back as 1854. But burglar alarms, much like any other piece of hardware can be susceptible to faults. Given their importance, the possibilities don’t bear talking about if you were to be burgled without an alarm in place. Alarm battery fault, control panel faults or CCTV issues, we’ve covered them in this blog. It’s important to ensure that you are checking your burglar alarm regularly to make it’s still working as it should when you first had it installed.

Burglar alarms play a crucial role in making us feel secure, whether at home or the workplace. They act as a deterrent and can be used as evidence, in the event of a burglary or any criminal activity. But the technology involved in a burglar alarm can sometimes tire or wear with age, sometimes it could just be an unexpected fault which will leave you unprotected!

What are the different faults to think about?

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Alarm battery fault

Perhaps the most common alarm battery fault is that the battery may simply have died. It’s important to remember that there are 3 different types of burglar alarm installations. Wired, wireless, or a hybrid system that is both wired AND wireless. All can easily result in an alarm battery fault. As you may expect, the wired burglar alarm is hardwired into your electrics, however, it will have a battery so you remain live in the event of an outage. The wireless connection requires a battery only. The hybrid system has both a battery and is wired. In fact, if you have a wired system we can incorporate a wireless system into it. You can contact us for more details on this. But you can now see the importance of finding an alarm battery fault if it occurs. When fault-finding, try to replace the battery and see if you notice a difference or check for any notable damage such as rust.

Your sensors

Burglar alarms use sensors to detect intruders, and there are different types of sensors, each with its own trigger points. Some use motion, vibration or sound. With the variations of technology out there it’s not an easy task to diagnose if the issue lies with the sensor. If something feels loose inside the sensor, it could very well be a faulty sensor. If you feel that you could have a faulty sensor, get in touch with us.

Your control panel

The central hub of your alarm system, the control panel is what links everything together. The control panel holds your zone types and capacity, arming/disarming the alarm and logging history for the system such as when the alarm is turned on and off. In some cases, the control panel can tell you what the fault is, but if the fault is with the panel itself then you may need an expert to take a look at this. Get in touch with us today so we can help you.

Loose cables and connections

Having a loose connection can be a huge issue for electrical devices, especially burglar alarms. They can cause the alarm to malfunction and not work properly. I’m sure we’ve all had a phone or laptop charger that only works in a certain position due to a fault, this is very much the same. The cables all serve to transmit data and power from one piece of hardware to another. If the data or power cannot transfer as it should then faults can occur. Check the status of the connections and cabling to see if there is anything that is loose, disconnected or broken.

Bell is not ringing

Quite possibly one of the more important features and easiest to diagnose is the bell not ringing. You can test this out quite simply by setting the alarm and then trigging your sensors. Chances are the alarm will not ring or will be muffled if it’s a fault with the bell.

CCTV faults

Something we see a lot as the best CCTV installer Colchester offers is faults with CCTV cameras. When there is nothing displaying, or perhaps you’re getting a fuzzy image, it could be down the wiring again, much like above. However, depending on the placement or age of your camera, it could be damaged so it could be more serious. We’re experts at CCTV installation Colchester, so we can help you find the fault.

What to do if you find a fault?

Whatever the suspected fault, alarm battery fault or bell not ringing, it’s so important that you have it looked at by a professional. Proactivity beats reactivity here, contact us today if you suspect you may have a fault in your alarm.

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