Aritech CS-250 alarm

[denisbrennan]

Aritech CS250 alarm

Help. I need an installation manual for my Aritect CS250 alarm. I've had to replace a pir and i think it needs to be reset before it starts working. I also need to be able to set up a partalarm option to disable the pirs so i can move around in the house while the alarm is set. Thanks.

 

[ChosunOne]

Replacing a PIR does not require a reset. Is the PIR not working? Or is the zone it's on showing as faulted / open at the keypad?

I wasn't able to locate an Aritech CS-250 Installation manual with a quick search, but since you didn't ask for a User Manual, I assume you have one. It will tell you how to arm your system so the interior devices (PIR's) are ignored while you are home.

As you're probably aware, the CS-250 is a very old control panel and it's been probably twenty years since I worked on one. I used to have an installation manual but I don't know if I still have it or not. In any case, it's doubtful if you actually need it. If there's a problem with the new PIR working, it's most likely either the wiring or the sensor. I can't remember off the top of my head whether the CS-250 used End-of-Line Resistors (EOLR's) but sometimes those can get misplaced/ wired wrong during a replacement.

Why did you replace the old PIR? "Because it was bad" is not a helpful answer. A helpful answer would be something like, "Because I had lots of false alarms on that zone", or "Because it wouldn't trip the alarm when I walked in front of it," or "Because I accidentally spray-painted it."

Why, specifically, do you think you need to reset your control panel? (Or were you thinking of resetting something else?) What is your system doing that it shouldn't do, or not doing that it should? And have you been using this system for years, or is it new to you?

 

[Rudy94022]

Replacing a PIR does not require a reset. Is the PIR not working? Or is the zone it's on showing as faulted / open at the keypad?

I wasn't able to locate an Aritech CS-250 Installation manual with a quick search, but since you didn't ask for a User Manual, I assume you have one. It will tell you how to arm your system so the interior devices (PIR's) are ignored while you are home.

As you're probably aware, the CS-250 is a very old control panel and it's been probably twenty years since I worked on one. I used to have an installation manual but I don't know if I still have it or not. In any case, it's doubtful if you actually need it. If there's a problem with the new PIR working, it's most likely either the wiring or the sensor. I can't remember off the top of my head whether the CS-250 used End-of-Line Resistors (EOLR's) but sometimes those can get misplaced/ wired wrong during a replacement.

Why did you replace the old PIR? "Because it was bad" is not a helpful answer. A helpful answer would be something like, "Because I had lots of false alarms on that zone", or "Because it wouldn't trip the alarm when I walked in front of it," or "Because I accidentally spray-painted it."

Why, specifically, do you think you need to reset your control panel? (Or were you thinking of resetting something else?) What is your system doing that it shouldn't do, or not doing that it should? And have you been using this system for years, or is it new to you?

My CS-270 will not reset. After being on battery all night the status, armed and PIR lights are blinking. Pressing the reset twice stops the PIR light but the ”armed” light continues to blink. Activating the PIR makes the 3 lights blink again.

 

[ChosunOne]

"After being on battery all night..." If your system lost AC Power for an entire night, and IF you tried to use it as soon as AC Power was restored, then the results are unpredictable. Your battery was probably very weak in the morning, and was drawing heavily on the Panel's (The CS-270's) on-board power circuitry, which can draw down the voltage/current available for the Panel to perform other operations---like, for instance, its ability to process Keypad input and Arm or Disarm the system. Some Panels won't disarm if the battery is too low, and that can lead to a lot of different and confusing symptoms for the same problem: Low battery. If you haven't changed the battery in 5 years, get a new one now. I recommend the 7 or 8 Ah battery.

If you still have a problem after waiting a day for the battery to recharge, IF it's a fairly fresh battery (no more than 3 years old, should read abt 13.2-13.5 Volts, disconnected from Panel), then post back and describe what symptoms you're seeing now.

BTW, when you say, "...PIR lights are blinking", I'm guessing you mean the Keypad's zone number lights for those zones that have PIRs. If you meant the lights on the PIRs themselves, please make that clear: Different symptoms entirely.

The Armed light blinking indicates an alarm in memory, and "Activating the PIR makes the 3 lights blink again." probably means that the system was still Armed and each PIR activation initiates a new alarm. As I said before, your normal Disarm code might not work until the battery is charged.

Please post back and let us know what symptoms, if any, you still have.