Masterofnone

Great tip, thanks. As you suggested, the voltage started to drop rapidly and it went down to 12.75 v in about 7 mins then stayed there for the duration of the test (appx 15 mins). When powered back up it rose much quicker than it dropped and within a few minutes was back up to where it started - 13.82 v. Im guessing this is telling me that the circuit charging aspect of the system is functioning ok?

The battery was changed 1/1/2 years ago and prior to that 7 years ago. The new battery was a like for like (Yuasa NP& 12v 7.0AH) and was purchased from a reputable alarm company. Admittedly this system has served me well over the years so I just want to carry out some basic checks to eliminate anything really simple or obvious before replacing the system. I appreciate all the help and I know It would be much simpler to replace a new system back into the loft as all the cables are already there but I never took into consideration the detrimental impact that a loft could have until it was just mentioned in this forum so thank you for that. I really dont want at this stage to have to lift carpets and floorboards up as everything's been decorated and re carpeted recently. The checks I have carried out thus far are as follows: There is 18v AC coming out of the transformer and going into the circuit board. There is 13.82v DC coming out from the leads going to the battery with the battery taken out. The battery disconnected is showing 13.7v DC. With the battery connected its showing 13.82vDC. Many thanks

Hi, Ive just got myself a multimeter this morning and I`m keen to do some basic checks. I would appreciate some guidance if possible of the best way to check the charging current, system and battery voltage as suggested. Would I be checking the charging current by unplugging the cable from the motherboard marked 19VAC (purple cable) which is coming in from what I believe to be the transformer. I take it this should show me a voltage of 19V. But Im not sure if thats the system voltage or the charging current though? This is panning out to be more of a challenge to me now so thank you for all of your help.

Thanks for the reply. Any ideas on what component it would be as I wouldn't know what to look for. I was hoping it could be a glass fuse of some kind which would be fairly straightforward for me but can't seem to locate one on the board.

Although an old system, it was working perfectly until the internal alarm started to go off needlessly. The main alarm panel is in the loft and ever since we've been having some external sub zero temperatures the internal alarm started to trigger and the display on the keypad was showing "Battery Failure". It does get really cold in the loft as everything is insulated so I am wondering if this has anything to do with it? To be on the safe side I replaced the internal battery with a like for like one despite the previous one being changed about 1 1/2 years ago. (Yuasa NP& 12v 7.0AH) However within a few weeks the same problem arose, whereby the alarm would trigger without it being armed with the same "Battery Failure" indicator on the keypad panel. It may be a common fault but I may be missing something obvious and I would appreciate any help before making the decision to replace the whole system. Many thanks