Why do I have false alarms?
A properly installed security system will provide many years of reliable service without any problems, but if the system was improperly installed or as the system gets older some customers will experience false alarms. The main reason for false alarms is poor connections in the wiring or the door and window connectors.
Poor connections in the wiring:
In a hardwired Security System all the doors and windows are wired back to the Alarm System’s Control Panel. Sometimes it is not convenient to run every wire directly to the control panel so the installer creates splice points in a central location either in the attic or the basement. From the splice point a multi-conductor cable(s) is spliced to the door and window wires and ran back to the Control Panel. If these splices are not properly soldered or crimped with special connectors they will oxidize over time and create false alarms.
Poor connections in the window contacts:
If your alarm system still has foil on the windows it is possible that the foil is breaking. This is more common in cold weather because old foil can’t expand or contract any more without breaking. The foil contracts and breaks in the night or early morning causing a false alarm and expands in the morning when the sun comes out and heats the glass causing no faults displayed on the keypad.
If you have gold or silver plated pull apart connectors on your windows they too will oxidize and create false alarms. This is more common if the window is hardly opened and the connectors don’t get pulled apart too often. Opening and closing the pull apart connectors actually cleans them.
magnetic door and window contacts are very reliable and rarely cause false alarms.
Plunger type door contacts have a small spring inside them that wear out after many years and don’t seat properly after the door is closed. The alarm system might go off hours after the door was opened and closed.
False Alarms With Motion Detectors
It is a little harder to troubleshoot false alarms with motion detectors because it’s hard to see what the the motion detector is seeing. Most motion detectors used in residential applications are passive infrared detectors meaning that they don’t actually detect motion rather they detect changes in temperature and detect a persons body temperature. Motion detectors will cause false alarms for the following reasons:
1- The motion detector is picking up a change in temperature caused by an open window or heat from a radiator or heating system in its path.
2- The motion detector is not getting enough power from the control panel
3- The motion detector is defective.
False Alarms With Smoke Detectors
The number one cause of false alarms in smoke detectors is dust. Over time dust builds up inside the smoke chamber and causes the smoke detector to ring off. I highly recommend having your smoke detectors cleaned out and tested once a year.
A low battery in the control panel or low battery in the smoke detector itself (if it’s wireless) will also cause false alarms or the smoke detector itself can be defective (this is common with older ESL brand smoke detectors).