Fire Detector circuit and instrument faults==

COMMON FIRE ALARM TROUBLE INDICATIONS:

Many of the messages you see displayed here indicate a fault
with your system that may require immediate attention and
service.

LOOP TROUBLE (also may display as "LOOP 1", "LOOP 2",

"LOOP 3" followed by the word "TROUBLE" and/or "OPEN"
or "SHORT"):

A condition which may be caused by an interruption of the data

communication link (or signaling line circuit) caused by either an
"open" circuit, "short" circuit, or device failure. If an "open",
additional troubles may also be queued that relate to the failure
of one or more active field devices from communicating their
condition with the common control.

BASE SIGNAL TROUBLE (also may display as "NAC CIRCUIT

FAULT" and may also identify a circuit or module number):

A fault on a bell or output circuit may display a variety of

specialized messages in addition to the basic trouble message. A
"short" or "open" condition may also be identified.

BATTERY FAULT (also may display as "STAND-BY POWER

TROUBLE" or "BATTERY TROUBLE" or "CHARGER
TROUBLE"):

Usually indicates a specific problem related to the condition of the

stand-by power supply or battery. It could indicate a blown fuse,
tripped resettable breaker, non-functional charger, disconnected
or faulty battery.

GROUND FAULT (also may display as "EARTH FAULT"):

A condition in which an alarm system references a structure's

common ground plane. This can be caused by a wire to an INPUT
or OUTPUT DEVICE that is "pinched" or been abraded so as to
contact the metal back box (or conduit). In the latter instance,
the wire can become abraded (skinned) during the installation
process exposing the bared conductor(s). In some systems a fault
condition can be artificially generated when the wiring is
incorrectly terminated or when multiple power supplies with no
common connection are involved. Another frequent cause of a
"Ground Fault" is water ingress at a field device such as a ceiling
mounted smoke or heat detector. Ground faults are not difficult
to pinpoint but often present a challenge to the servicing
technician when more than one are present on a system or if the
fault is intermittent (as may be the case for water ingress).

SHORT FAULT (also may display a "LOOP" or "SIGNAL" or

"NAC" followed by a number identifier):

A wire to wire short circuit will often result in a display like this.

COMMUNICATION FAULT (may also display as "FAIL TO

COMMUNICATE" or "COMM FAILURE":

See LOOP TROUBLE. This may also indicate a problem with the
onboard UDACT or, in the case of a stand-alone communicator,
may indicate a signal transmission failure to the central
monitoring facility.

AC LOSS (also may display as "POWER BROWN-OUT" or

"AC FAIL"):

Indicates a loss of primary power to the common control. This

may be caused by a tripped main breaker or local power failure.
In rarer instances, the loss of the power supply's transformer will
also result in the same indication.

DATA LOOP TROUBLE (also may display as "DATA FAULT"):

See LOOP TROUBLE. On some systems this may also indicate a

CPU FAULT.
CPU FAULT (may also display as "CPU FAILURE"):

Indicates a critical fault has occurred with the common control's

main processor. This usually requires replacing the system's main
board assembly and reloading the operating system from an
archived back-up.

MAPPING FAULT or MAPPING ERROR:

The message will display if you move an addressable module or

install a new one, and can appear if you replace an existing unit.
In the latter instance, the system will usually "re-identify" the
new module (as long as it's the same type as the old one) and
the trouble should clear. If it doesn't, then you'll have to call for
service (removing the message will involve reprogramming the
system).

EARTH FAULT:

When an earth fault warning appears on a fire alarm control

panel, it is not always definite that there is an earth fault on an
external cable. A fault could have appeared in the circuitry and is
just manifesting itself as an earth fault condition. The first step is
always to temporarily disconnect the 'incoming' earth (normally
the earth of the mains input supply) to the control panel because
this is used as a reference to monitor for earth faults. If the fault
condition doesn't disappear when you disconnect the 'incoming'
earth then it is likely that the internal circuitry is at fault. (please
note however that there may be other 'incoming' earths other
than that of the mains supply - so check for this) Remember to
reconnect the incoming earth after testing - this is required for
safety reasons

Once the liklihood of a panel circuitry fault is discounted. it is

necessary to find out exactly which loop/zone/sounder circuit the
earth fault is on since the earth warning indication is normally a
general warning and not identified by circuit. To do this, a
multimeter can be used to measure the resistance from external
circuits to earths to locate the problem circuit. Alternatively, all
external circuit (loop/zone/sounder etc) earths should be
disconnected from the earth terminals and the earth fault warning
indication should disappear. Reconnect earth wires one at a time
until the fault warning condition reappears. Once it does the last
circuit connected is that with the earth fault!

To locate an earth fault on an external circuit, connect just the

faulty circuit earth and disconnect the earth wire at various points
along that circuit until the fault warning disappears again thereby
locating the exact section of cable with the earth fault. The logical
way to start breaking the earth on a circuit, is to start at a point
approx. half way along and keeping breaking one half or the
other (the faulty half) of cable until the fault is precisely located.

Finally, watch out for earth faults on more than one circuit at
once. It is possible to have 'slight' earth faults on two or more
circuits, that when combined are enough to trigger the earth fault
warning condition, but not enough to trigger with just one 'faulty'
circuit at a time. These can be a real to find

Main causes of earth faults suddenly appearing on circuits that

had previously been clear:

1) Water leaking into detector, sounder, joint box etc. etc.

2) Any recent work that involved drilling or inserting fixings into

walls. The customer always tells you that no works have recently
been carried out and when you find the fault, it turns out to be
the BT man has run new cables, or the hotel owner has fixed a
new picture/sign on the wall somewhere and in both cases their
fixings has damaged the fire alarm cables
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