What is a Trouble Condition?

A trouble condition is an indication that there is something wrong with the alarm system. This could be a number of different things. Some possible causes of a trouble condition include a low battery, an unplugged wall outlet, an activated tamper cover or a problem with the communicator.

When a trouble condition occurs, a trouble message will be prominently displayed on the system's display screen or keypad. The message will indicate what exactly is causing the trouble condition, whether it be a tamper cover, an unplugged wall adapter or anything else. During this time, the system may periodically beep to alert the user of the situation. The beeping will continue until the trouble condition is acknowledged.

If you try to do certain tasks on the system while there is a trouble condition, you may be interrupted by the system trying to get you to acknowledge this issue. To temporarily move past this, you must acknowledge the alert by entering the Master Code for the alarm system. However, the trouble condition will still be displayed unless the cause of the trouble is cleared and the system Master Code is entered.

Depending on the trouble condition, your system may still be able to perform certain actions. It is important to remember though that if the trouble condition is caused by a sensor, you will not be able to arm your system, unless that troubled sensor is bypassed for the arming. As a general practice though, we recommend clearing all trouble conditions before attempting to use the system.

The only way to truly clear a trouble condition is to resolve the issue that is causing the trouble condition to be displayed. This might involve replacing the backup battery, covering the tamper switch or resolving any communication issues. Once the problem itself has been solved, you must enter the panel Master Code in order for the system to acknowledge that the trouble condition has been resolved. After the issue has been solved and the Master Code has been entered, the trouble condition should disappear, and the system will function as normal.