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PSA: Had a panel lockout on a 3 year old system in a Denver townhouse yesterday
Got a call for a no power issue at a townhouse complex in Denver yesterday afternoon. The panel was a newer model, only about 3 years old. When I got there, the whole thing was just dead, no lights, no keypad response, nothing. Checked the transformer and it was putting out the right voltage, so that wasn't it. Ended up being a totally fried main board, which was weird for its age. The homeowner said they'd had a few quick power flickers from a storm the night before. I'm thinking maybe a surge came through the phone line or something, even though it was on a basic surge protector. Has anyone else seen a newer panel just get zapped like that from a minor power event? What's your go-to fix to prevent a repeat?
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taylor.brooke9d ago
That's a rough one for a panel that new. You mentioned checking the transformer voltage, but did you happen to test the actual battery backup on site before you pulled the board? I've seen a bad battery cause a weird short that cooks the main board during a power cut, even with a flicker. It makes the surge protection useless.
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Three years old and it just gives up the ghost after a few light flickers. That panel had the backbone of a wet paper bag. My money's on a cheap surge protector that lied on its resume. You gotta get one of those heavy duty phone line protectors, the kind that looks like it could stop a small asteroid.
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henry_anderson549d ago
Always check the battery like taylor.brooke said, and get a better protector like juliaa65 mentioned.
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