Just realized a lot of guys are not checking the backup battery load on older DSC panels

I was called to fix a false alarm at a small shop last week, and the main issue was a dying backup battery dragging down the panel voltage. The original installer just slapped in a new 12v 7ah battery three years ago and never tested the draw. I put my meter on it and it was pulling almost double the normal standby current because of a bad keypad. Has anyone else run into this on systems that are over ten years old? What's your test routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan6532mo ago

Honestly, that's why I always check the keypad voltage first on those old DSCs. Had one last month where the backup was fine but a corroded wire was causing a weird drain. It's never just the battery.

tyler36821d ago

Start by checking if the keypad voltage drops below 12.5 volts when you put a load on it. That'll tell you right away if there's a wire issue or a bad connection somewhere besides just the battery. Saves you from swapping parts that ain't actually broken.

the_cora2mo ago

My 2008 DSC 1832 at the old shop ran for 11 years on nothing but scheduled battery swaps. Never once had a wiring fault. Sometimes a bad battery is just a bad battery, and chasing phantom drains on every single service call is a huge waste of time for a simple fix.