battery low trouble?

[chrisdias]

a few weeks back i started getting a "batter low trouble now" notification on my OPII.
 
PC Access shows Battery Low TRBL Now, but the battery reading is 229.
 
When i tested the batteries (i have 2, main panel + expansion panel), they both show a solid 13v.
 
the owner's manual says that this will come up every 3 years, or if the battery is low.  I'm wondering if this is the "every three year" notification, and if so how to clear it?  
 
If not, any ideas on why this is happening?  i would think the batteries are still good since they are showing 12+v.
 
thanks,
Chris
 
 

 

[fcwilt]

The notification came up because the reading was below 230.
 
How old are the batteries? They will typically last around 3 years.
 
How did you test the batteries?

 

[ano]

Folks, a few things here. 230 is not the low cutoff level for a battery. Mine reads 224 with no battery problems reported. 
 
Second, the low battery warning does not simply read the battery voltage. Every hour the Omni preforms a battery load test on the battery and this determines when the low condition occurs.  Place a 4 Amp load on the battery then read the voltage. Above 12.6V? 
 
Batteries may not last 3 years. Depends how long they were setting around in the store before you bought them.

 

[jpmargis]

:hesaid:

 

[chrisdias]

interesting... yes they are probably more than 3 years old.
 
how do i put a 4amp load on the battery?   could i just unplug the panels to let them run off the battery, and then measure (somehow)?
 
thanks!
Chris

 

[Del91574]

Generally, if the panel is calling out a bad battery, it's usually a sound notification.
 
If the batteries have been installed for any period of time, replace them, they're a cheap commodity item. It's not uncommon to run across old batteries in some supplier's inventory, nor is it unheard of to have a bad batch or some with defective cells.
 
If you want to prove the panel is not the issue, you can fake out the charging circuit by dropping 12VDC into the leads and see if the condition clears....during a tenure at a large panel manufacturer, that's how we silenced our bench panels (with an engineer's blessing).

 

[chrisdias]

i'm having phone problems with my OPII which is why i'm questioning the panel.  
 
"...by dropping 12VDC into the leads..."
 
ya, maybe i'll just buy new batteries
 
thanks, and i'll let you know what happens.

 

[ano]

If the batteries are over 3 years, just replace them.  Some battery chargers can put a load on the battery and test them, or you could just unplug it and see if the battery lasts 5 to 8 hours.  But if the panel is saying bad battery, its probably bad battery.  

 

[chrisdias]

to close on this topic... two new batteries arrived yesterday.  i plugged them in and the trouble went away.
 
thanks everyone for the insights!
 
now, if i could just get the phone to work...
 
chris

 

[Anthony A.]

im just reading up on this as i have been out of power a few times these last couple of weeks and i notice my battery reads 230 on the panel and shows okay, but is only lasting max 1.5-2hrs.  i noticed above its saying batteries should last about 6-8hrs?  im using 2 batteries both 12v 4ah (1 powers the OP2 panel with expansion board, and the other powers a relay for siren outputs.  the batteries are both about 2 years old.  so 2 questions:
 
1.) should i be getting longer run times?
2.) how can i add more batteries to the mix (ie.  i would like to run 3x 12v 7ah batteries for the OP2 board).  can this be done and if so how would i wire it?
 
thanks.

 

[Desert_AIP]

You can add more batteries by paralleling them, all positives together and all negatives together.
The owners manual shows two paralleled 8Ah batteries for 24hour backup.
 
I don't know if the charge circuit can handle a large parallel array (more than 2).
With more batteries you start to run into battery balancing problems.
 
I wish there was a way a battery low warning could tell you if it is at the main panel or the expansion enclosure(s).
I recently replaced a pair (in the expansion enclosure which is in a garage) but I had to trial and error the batteries to discover the bad ones.
 
Running two batteries in each panel enclosure does allow you to split them (one battery in each panel) for a bit while waiting on replacements to arrive.
Assuming it's only a single bad pair.

 

[pete_c]

I wish there was a way a battery low warning could tell you if it is at the main panel or the expansion enclosure(s).

 
My Omnitouch hub expansion sub panel does have a connection to the main panel which triggers a low voltage "zone"; so that is sort of indicatory but doesn't show the voltage of the sub panel battery.  The panel is only powering the Omnitouch 5.7's but not any of the CCTV cams.  I am using one 14Ah battery in the sub panel (it is huge and almost the width of the panel.)  I never have measured the time that it lasted during a power failure.

 

[Anthony A.]

Ok so 2 batteries total per panel is safe. In my case i already have 2 (1 for the main supply and 1 for the siren output - not connected in parallel, both are separate feeds to the OP2). So am i safe to add another battery (in parallel) to the battery powering the OP2 and another battery for the siren? That would be technically 4 batteries in total.

Or, would you recommend that I simply get a 12v 12ah for the panel and a 12v 12ah for the siren?

 

[Desert_AIP]

How are you maintaining the charge on the siren battery?

 

[Anthony A.]

I have to check but i believe the relay that controls the secondary sirens is run from the auxiliary power inputs. I assume the OP2 charges this in addition to the main power circuit?