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When I turn power off to ring main to swap over some plug sockets it triggers my house alarm.
I've changed all the light fittings but it seems the plugs are on the main ring main.
Problem is when the alarm has no power it does its job and goes off but I can't put the code in because there's no power to the box for the code.
Am I being thick here?
Usually your whole alarm system would have a standby battery so it would operate as normal with the power off. If it's old and/or not been serviced in a long time, it's likely that this battery has failed so when the power is off, the main unit and your keypad powers down. However, there will also be a battery in the bell unit, and the bell will have a circuit to sound the bell via its own battery if the 12v supply from the main unit is cut off (as it will see this as an attack on the system). Depending on the type of bell box it will either ring for 15mins and then silence, or ring until the battery dies completely.
Ah cheers. Makes sense. We've not long since moved in so no idea of servicing on it. So I've got to find the bell unit and change the battery?
If the alarm sounds, the battery in the bell unit is okay. It's the standby battery in the controller that needs replacing. You might find it in a meter cupboard, airing cupboard, under the stairs, in the garage or somewhere like that.
I would try replacing the main control unit battery first - depending on what type of system you are this will either be in the same box as the keypad (assuming a fairly large box - generally at least A4 paper size and a few inches thick), or if you have a small thin keypad on a wall somewhere you will be looking for a larger box as above hidden in a cupboard somewhere. That will most likely have a 12v lead acid battery in it, size depending on type of system.
Is there any brand/model name on the keypad?
The brand is accenta, I can't seem to find anything other than the keypad and panic alarm next to the front door other than the wires and sensors. No other boxes to speak of at all that could contain a battery. Could the battery be in the keypad box?
Like this "Honeywell 8SP411A Accenta Gen4 Alarm Panel with LCD Keypad – SND Electrical" https://www.sndelectrical.co.uk/products/honeywell-8sp411a-accenta-gen4-alarm-panel-with-lcd-keypad?currency=GBP&variant=32904491991119&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwx8iIBhBwEiwA2quaq116HlQBrDNmbgtFfyhGIVgCBZ36DIMmVEZb9EWWXmTiLM4n5DiC6hoCC_UQAvD_BwE
Or like this?
"Accenta 8SP396A Optima G4 Alarm Panel Compact – SND Electrical" https://www.sndelectrical.co.uk/products/accenta-g4-alarm-panel-compact
If your keypad is like the first one, you need to find the bigger box in the picture - that has the battery in it.
If it's similar to the second one, the battery will be inside the box that the keypad is on
And you will be looking for a battery like this in it sitting on the bottom of the box
"Sealed Lead Acid Battery 12V 2.3Ah 177 x 35 x 67mm" https://www.toolstation.com/sealed-lead-acid-battery/p58363?store=I2&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=s_dm&pcrid=515847200330&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=CjwKCAjwx8iIBhBwEiwA2quaq5T0tzNO5Uf5eie_jAKGvCiDr31UREr8r8H44hi1kIdWDtwbQJWrqxoCdboQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Will be anywhere from 2.1Ah to 3.4Ah in size on an accents panel.
Right. There's a screw on the bottom of it to open it up. If I take that off is my alarm going to go off?
Sorry missed your reply - in the post you have linked, you need to find the big box in the second photo, that will have the battery in it. Screw on the right hand side out, the front hinges on the left hand side (gently, the hinges are notoriously fragile). When you open the cover it will trigger a tamper alarm so you will need to put your code in to silence it.
Screw on the bottom of the keypad? If you open it the alarm will go off. But if it's like the link you posted, definitely no battery in the keypad itself.
Right. There’s a screw on the bottom of it to open it up. If I take that off is my alarm going to go off?
Yes, the tamper alarm will trigger. Get ready with your code!
I've just replaced the battery in my alarm with one very similar.
Think I've found it. It looks more like this though...
Nope, that's just a remote sounder. No battery in those.
You'll have a main control panel somewhere - big enough to house one of the batteries listed above. When the power is cut the battery should kick in to provide power (for a limited time).
When the control panel stops providing power (immediately, as is this case now) the external siren detects a lack of "hold off" voltage and triggers (as mentioned, it should only sound for 15/20 mins by law unless an old unit). The "batteries" in external sirens are usually just big capacitors.
Found it. It was I airing cupboard behind all my Mrs stuff. So I basically need to change the battery in the big box with one of the batteries listed above?
Well done. Did anyone suggest the airing cupboard?
Yep, open the box as I've described above, the alarm will go off at this point because you've triggered a tamper switch. Put your code in to silence it. Check what size battery you have (will be printed on the side) and get a replacement. Put the new one in, close the box, should all be good.
You might discover the code the previous owner gave the estate agent has restricted weird privileges and won't reset post a tamper and have them ignore polite requests for the real code. Then the supplier of the alarm wants a fortune to come out and reset as they want to service and change batteries. In a huff you snip wires and chuck the external and internal sirens into buckets of water after the hundredth time of them going off without being able to reset properly. You might think nothing more of it but some 3 years later some bastard could break into your house in the middle of the night and takes various irreplaceable bits of jewellery you stupidly left in the kitchen whilst they search for car keys, then they obviously take the car during a period when new cars are nigh on impossible to get and used cars are highest value in history (but only to buy, not in terms of insurance payout...). The next day you buy and fit a new alarm and go on with your life, a little sorry for yourself.
Something like that could happen I suppose.
Accenta panels are easy to replace the battery in.
Get yourself a Yuasa 3.2ah sealed lead acid battery ordered in first.
Then all you have to do is open the panel in the airing cupboard, disconnect old battery, fit new battery, screw lid back up then go put your code in and then press Reset.
Job done
Chris
Having worked on hundreds of accenta panels (among many others) I'm pretty confident that the model you have will not require an engineer reset code for tampers. Everyday is a schoolday and all that but I've yet to find one that has that option - they are pretty basic to work on and program as alarm panels go
And I wouldn't bother trying to reset back to factory settings unless you come across that issue, more likely to cause problems than solve them.