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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?
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ryan6537mo 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.
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tyler3685mo 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.
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the_cora7mo 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.
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