Alarm system issue during coronavirus isolation. Help please!

Joined
27 Apr 2020
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
I am having a problem with my mother’s alarm system (Pyronix Enforcer).

Before going any further I need to clarify that this is an exceptional situation due to the Coronavirus lockdown, that I would, under normal circumstances, get sorted out in a heart beat by simply calling an engineer in. Unfortunately I can’t do that.

The issue is that my mother is an elderly lady with many health issues, including dementia, and since the coronavirus situation began she’s had to be in complete isolation and cannot have people visiting her house. I moved in with her at the beginning of the outbreak so I could look after her and she would not be left on her own for what could easily end up being months, however I also have several health problems and am considered vulnerable to Covid-19, so we are both stuck in and isolated.

A few days ago the alarm started to randomly go off, without any apparent cause, even when not armed. It’s only the internal sounder in the control panel that goes off, not the siren outside, but it’s quite loud, and more than anything it causes havoc in my mothers’ mind, as it’s so sudden and she doesn’t know what’s going on. It went off three times in the middle of the night yesterday, waking her up and sending her into a panic every time. I have to make it stop.

I spoke to the company that maintains the system and explained the situation but they say they are unable to help if we cannot let them in. I asked if they could offer me any assistance on the phone to at least disable or disconnect the system, but to no avail. At this stage I don’t even care if anything I do to the system to stop it doing this invalidates the remainder of the maintenance contract (they seemed to be politely implying that), I just cannot have this happening, as it’s making an already very difficult situation much worse, so would be really grateful if anyone could help me with this.

When it goes off, I can make it stop by pressing the disarm (OPEN LOCK) button on one of the remote controls (so I now have it in my pocket all the time, and near my bed at night). The TAMPER symbol on the control panel flashes for a while just after it happens. It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does, I noticed it often goes off 3 times in a row, roughly at one or two hours intervals. The engineer on the phone said this could be a sign that the batteries in the sensors may need replacing.

With the stress this is causing my mum I would be a happy man if anyone could suggest a way to completely disable the system or ideally provide any instructions on how to replace the batteries that may need replacing. I would have no problems in opening the sensors or other bits to replace batteries, I am generally OK with DIY, but I don’t know the steps required on the main panel to do it properly and safely, and obviously I wouldn’t want to make the situation even worse by improvising on something I have no clue about.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sponsored Links
At a Guess ....it’s the bell tamper as that is the only thing I’ve ever had on these systems ( micro switch ) best thing you can do is down power the system ...if that’s what you want to do come back and let us know
 
Due to the issues you have stated the only thing that you could do is power the system down and sort when we get back to normality.
 
Thanks for your replies. Yes please, I would like to down power the system. It's been a nightmare and I would like to shut it down. It is powered via a plug in a wall socket, but I thought unplugging it from the socket would trigger it? As a burglar could do that in an attempt to shut it down? What should I do?
 
Sponsored Links
First of all whilst plugs are acceptable they are not supposed to be easily switched off or unplugged and the back up battery inside the panel normally comes into play if no mains.
 
I appreciate your concerns regarding the risks to CV-19 but I am confident that the company providing the maintenance would have established a process by which to support vulnerable users.
Is your panel close to the front door? You could offer access to the panel whilst yourself and your mum keep your distance.
You could insist that the engineer wears a mask before entry.
Talk to your maintenance company and I am sure some sort of safe arrangement can be established.
Do you have a family member who could await arrival of the engineer to manage the repair whilst you are in the back garden or out on a walk.
 
I appreciate your concerns regarding the risks to CV-19 but I am confident that the company providing the maintenance would have established a process by which to support vulnerable users.
Is your panel close to the front door? You could offer access to the panel whilst yourself and your mum keep your distance.
You could insist that the engineer wears a mask before entry.
Talk to your maintenance company and I am sure some sort of safe arrangement can be established.
Do you have a family member who could await arrival of the engineer to manage the repair whilst you are in the back garden or out on a walk.
^This, But the company sounds like idiots. I have been happy to talk any of our customers through anything over the phone if Im able to if they are in a situation like yours.

They could have at least talked them through finding out what the problem was, how to get into log menu and so on.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top