hi guys ,please help!, due to power cut lasting 15hrs ,i reset on the control panel .all the light on the panel are on but won't let me arm the system ,the system is 20 yrs old had 2 battery change, last was 5 yrs ago .could it be the battery that is stopping it from functioning 100%. any idea's guys .

As always you should get it checked by a security company but the only thing you could try is complete power down mains and bty, then power up on mains then connect the bty or better still put a new one in

Edited May 3, 200818 yr by djandysp

The control panel has locked up. This usually occurs when the mains come's back on and the backup battery has been previously drained (15 hr powercutt). The battery may well re-charge but should be replaced as it's 5 years old.

The lockup is caused by the dead battery requiring too much initial current to charge it, causing the electronics part to start without enough current to supply it, causing this "panel frozen" or "locked up" effect. Another side effect is that this panel can sometimes loose it's memory, causing a return to factory default settings and codes.

I'd always reccommend getting in an engineer, the battery at least should be replaced, and you may need programing altered if the system has defaulted.

SPOILER: Highlight to see this bit.

But you could try isolating the mains to the alarm system (if your stumped at this point STOP-CALL AN ENGINEER), removing the panel cover, disconnecting the backup battery for a few seconds, re-connecting the backup battery (sirens may start at this point), replace the panel cover, and try entering your code - this should silence the alarm sounders - if it didn't then it has defaulted and you will need an engineer, if all went well and the code was accepted you can re-connect the mains to the alarm system, go back to the alarm panel, enter code, press reset... All Done.

Does the same on the old castle omega 5 and 1600 panels. Omega 5's are a bit worse though as they lose all the memory (no nvm on the older ones)