ATG Alarm going off--why?

[Mr_Toad]

Hello.

I have an ATG MX48 (I believe that it is the same as a scantronic 9100).

Lately, I find that when I set the alarm and go out the final exit, the alarm will sound after the front door is fully closed and secure, forcing me to go back in to turn it off. I then repeat the same process of entering the code and leaving, and the alarm doesn't go off.

The pattern is 1) I enter the code and the alarm starts beeping. 2) I exit the front door while the alarm continues to beep 3) I close and lock the front door, while the beeping continues. 4) The alarm beeps for a while more, and then sounds.

It is as if the alarm is being tripped even though there is no motion on the door or any of the motion sensors.

It seems to be worse for my wife, who probably closes the door with a little less force than I do.

Is this a problem with the reed switch and magnet, or is something else likely to be going on?

 

[scott1980]

The system is not setting due to a detector being open after the entry time has expired, probably the front door contact. One way to check for sure is to set the system and leave the house as normal but get someone to keep an eye on the display on the panel to see which zone it is reporting as open.

 

[Europlex]

Close everything, including your final exit door, stand at the control panel and enter your code to leave the building.

If the panel 'beeps' there will be a number showing on the display - something is wrong, alarm will not set.

A continuous sound means everything is ok, but, it will beep as you open the door to leave and go back to continuous when closed.

Have a look at your circuit list the number shown is the problem, does that help?

ps
If you have a movement detector in close proximity to the controls and or your exit route remember to take this into account when looking for a fault display, it could be seeing you

 

[saxondale]

Is it sounding inside and out or just inside?

 

[Mr_Toad]

It is the full alarm going off.

I did notice that if I experiment by entering the code with the door closed, it immediately shows the E on the panel that ought to mean that the entryway is open.

Is that normal, or does that mean that there is a problem with the front door contact?

 

[saxondale]

It is the full alarm going off.

I did notice that if I experiment by entering the code with the door closed, it immediately shows the E on the panel that ought to mean that the entryway is open.

Is that normal, or does that mean that there is a problem with the front door contact?

hmm, assuming you havnt got a PIR on the exit route also on " E " it does sound like a dodgy door contact, is the door plastic ? could it have " dropped " check to see if the contact and the magnet are in line top to top with each other ( theres quite a tollerance side to side ) if they are my next step would be to change the contact - they are quite comman to go into fault. The worse case is it`s an old recessed "reed" switch ( usually you can`t see them if it is) but otherwise it`s just a case of taking the old one out and getting a replacment

 

[joe-90]

Link out the entry route at the panel with a bit of wire then see how the alarm sets.

Doesn't sound right to me. If the Exit timer expires then only the internal alarm will sound due to 'bad set'. Which means it tried to set with a zone open.

If the entry/exit were triggering then you'd get the entry tones telling you to enter your code.
Neither would activate the external siren.

 

[saxondale]

Link out the entry route at the panel with a bit of wire then see how the alarm sets.

Doesn't sound right to me. If the Exit timer expires then only the internal alarm will sound due to 'bad set'. Which means it tried to set with a zone open.

If the entry/exit were triggering then you'd get the entry tones telling you to enter your code.
Neither would activate the external siren.

like the O/P said " 4) The alarm beeps for a while more, and then sounds"
more often than not thats the entry tone starting cause the systems on Final door set

The number of customers that think if they open and then close the door quickly "it doesnt count.." and don`t understand the different tones LOL

 

[Mr_Toad]

Let me explain better.

When it goes off, there is a very loud alarm signal. It mostly comes inside the house, but is also quite loud when I'm on the other side of the front door with the front door closed. But it isn't echoing down the street, so I suppose that it is possible that the external alarm isn't going off. The sound is a siren, rather than an actual bell, by the way. I have no idea what sort of sound the external alarm would make, as the system was in place when I moved in.

At any rate, it is enough for me from what I've read from all of your replies to say that there is likely to be some sort of fault on the front door switch. So I'll call the alarm guy out to have a look.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[Mr_Toad]

On further investigation, I decided that the door was catching a bit on the sill. It was closing well enough to latch, but not enough to allow the magnet and switch to line up completely.

So after having the bottom of the door planed a bit, I found that the alarm became fully functional again.