FAQ Trouble beeps and tones

Trouble Beeps and Tones

“I’m hearing beeps?” or “I hear a beeping tone?”

If you are not sure where the tones are coming from then check:

• store bought smoke detectors
• phone/internet provider interface box. Some providers have systems that contain a backup battery. When the battery goes “bad,” the box will beep approximately every 60 seconds.
• Carbon Monoxide detectors will chirp when they are reaching the end of their life cycle.

AT&T Specific

I Hear two loud beeps every 40 seconds.

Typical of AT&T System 8000. It signifies either an alarm occurred while you were out or that there is a device in the system that needs attention (most commonly a new transmitter battery).

I Hear one chirp at intervals of 15 to 90 seconds (25-35 typical).

These beeps are typical of smoke detectors. (They cannot be coming from the AT&T 8000 Central Controller unless they occur at exactly 40-second intervals. They cannot be coming from the AT&T 8000 series motion detectors, glass break detectors or Universal Transmitters, because none of them has a sounder.) The offending detector may or may not be associated with the security system. If you have an all hard wired low voltage fire system, the beeps are probably not from the system. If you have wireless system-related smoke detectors, they may the source of these beeps, but most free-standing department store detectors also make the same kind of beeps. Like a mother can recognize the voice of her own child, we can often distinguish the difference by listening to questionable beeps over the phone. To avoid possible unnecessary expense and embarrassment, do your best to identify the origin of your beeps before calling. The best way is to remove batteries from your smoke detectors one by one until the beeps quit. If you still have beeps, be aware that we frequently find chirping department store smoke detectors tucked away in drawers, in kitchen cabinets, in hanging baskets and on storage shelves. If you do call us, have patience with us as we try to ascertain the source beyond doubt. Please humor us and keep an open mind. We have had uncountable calls for assistance due to beeps that are from such diverse non-system sources as hidden department store smoke detectors, carbon monoxide and natural gas detectors, microwave ovens, pagers, cell phones, watches and children's toys, to name just a few.

My AT&T 8000 Series keypad beeps at random intervals as if someone is keying in numbers, or without apparent cause, it gives three little "deets" as if the door is being opened.

Call for assistance and instruction at once! Unwanted alarm activations may be imminent due to keypad or tamper switch failure. Our discussion will be divided into the following phases: 1. Identifying the problem for sure; 2. Setting up the Central Station for "No Dispatch"; 3. Disabling the offending unit; 4. Arranging for repair service.

NAPCO SYSTEMS

I have a continuous tone and my keypad display says "P" or "Priority Trouble."

This is characteristic of Napco 1000-series systems, like the MA1008, 1016 and similar panels. It means you tried to arm the burglar alarm while some protected point was not secured. It could also occur while trying to clear some other type of trouble like a "Fail to Communicate," "Low Battery" or "AC Power Loss," or reset the fire alarm.

Important zones and conditions that we always intend to protect are programmed as "Priority" zones. You can not inadvertently set the system and go with a Priority Zone faulted. If a door or window is open, you should be able to tell what zone it's on from the keypad, and go check it. If it's something that just can't be closed or it looks like there is a problem on the circuit, you can elect to manually bypass it and then set the system. Say, for example, you replaced a door and the switch has not yet been reinstalled. If you want to use the remainder of the system pending a service visit, you can bypass that zone manually before arming.

To get rid of this indication and the associated noise, just enter your keypad code again. Then you can address the underlying issue.

Note that clearing some conditions can require you to enter your keypad code two or three times in a row. Say, for example, there was a fire alarm. You enter the code to stop the siren or bell, but what you get instead is the "P" or "Priority Trouble" on the keypad. Your first code entry is interpreted by the system as an attempt to arm the burglar alarm. The burglar alarm will not arm because of the fault, whatever it may be, and the system tells you this by displaying "P" or "Priority Trouble." Entering your code a second time is interpreted as disarming the burglar alarm and also stops the sirens or bells.

After you have silenced those loud sounders, you may still have an actual fire alarm stuck in the system. You could also still have the trouble condition that made you want to enter the code in the first place. It will need to be silenced, acknowledged or reset with the "Reset" function as opposed to the keypad code. Keypads for the MA 1008 and 1016 series panels do not have a dedicated "Reset" button. Instead, the number "9" key serves a dual function of resetting non-burglar alarm conditions by holding it down for five seconds, thus the term, "Hold Down Function." On many systems you can see a list of additional "Hold Down Functions" by sliding up the plastic tab on top of the keypad to reveal a small placard. The list also appears in the User's Manual for your specific keypad model.

When you perform a Hold Down Function, the sounder will typically beep once when you first press the key. It will beep a second time a few seconds later as you continue holding the key, indicating that the function has actually been invoked.

If your system tried but failed to communicate a signal to the Central Station, a "Failed to Communicate" flag will be raised in the system's status log until there is a successful signal transmission (such as the next automatic test signal or a manually activated test of some kind) at some later time.

Even though your system is once again communicating successfully, you will still have to clear out this flag by performing the "Reset" function, before you can arm the burglar alarm without getting a "Priority Trouble" warning.

I have 3 blinking lights and my keypad displays a "1."

This is characteristic of Napco 1000-series panels when your system is not getting AC power from the normal utility. Click here for some suggestions .

I have 3 blinking lights and my keypad displays a "2."

This is characteristic of Napco 1000-series panels when the main battery inside the panel has run down or is kaput. Check the AC power source.

If the AC to the alarm panel was off, get it back on and wait 24 hours. The display should clear up by itself when the battery is recharged. If it doesn't clear up, the battery may be bad. Call us for a discussion and possible service.

If the system has had AC power all along, a cell inside the battery may be shorted, causing a low voltage condition. If the battery is more than two years old, it could be dried out from being continuously float-charged. Call us for a discussion and possible service. We can suggest a thing or two to a qualified handy-person in order to confirm or eliminate the problem. These could include reading the battery voltage (should be 13.2 to 13.8 volts); feeling the side of the battery for hot spots; and checking the snugness and proper connection of the slip-on battery terminals.

I have 3 blinking lights and my keypad displays a "3."

This is characteristic of Napco 1000-series panels when a signal has failed to get through to the Central Station. Click here for more on this.

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