Why Does My Honeywell Lyric Security Panel Reset Often?

A Lyric Security System may reset unexpectedly due to issues with power wiring, a battery that needs to be replaced, or due to WIFI issues that are causing the Lyric not to be able to connect to the AlarmNet servers. Resets can cause unexpected Total Connect 2.0 notifications to be sent.

It's never good for your alarm system to behave in an unexpected manner. In this FAQ, we will discuss some of the issues that may cause a Honeywell Lyric Alarm System to reboot or reset unexpectedly. In some cases, this behavior may be caused by the Lyric attempting to resolve an issue on its own. In other cases, the reboot is a symptom of a larger issue that needs to be addressed. We will cover each of these scenarios in turn.

Issues with Power Wiring:

The Lyric System has very specific limitations on its power wiring. Power wiring connects the transformer to the main Lyric panel. If this wire is not run within the listed specifications, then eventually issues will occur, though they may not crop up for months. Often, improper power wiring will manifest itself as a premature low battery condition. A random low battery, particularly on a relatively new Lyric System, and one that has not experienced any AC Power Loss conditions is a reliable indicator of this issue. The table below shows the wire gauge and length limits for the Lyric power wire:

Failure to adhere to the above specifications will result in unpredictable results, including random, occasional low battery conditions with accompanying random panel resets. The panel may report the low battery condition to the monitoring station if it is being monitored. This report will be seen as an E302 - System Low Battery. If the panel resets, then it will also report an E339 (Power On Reset). These reports will also show up in the Event Log if System Events are enabled.

This is why we so often recommend using the Honeywell LT-Cable in conjunction with the Lyric System. When an LT-Cable is used, we can be sure that the wire run is within the above specifications. When troubleshooting intermittent resets or random low battery issues, proper power wiring is the first thing we will need to verify. If the power wiring is within the specifications, then we'll attempt to verify that the transformer and the charging circuit on the Lyric System are good. A voltmeter may be necessary for proper verification. Power wiring outside the proper specifications has become so widespread that Resideo released Technical Notification #59 about it specifically.

Issues with an old, or bad battery:

Once proper input power and charging voltage have been verified, the next step is to be sure that the battery is good. The first thing to consider is the age of the battery. Rechargeable batteries usually last from three (3) to five (5) years. Whether it's closer to three (3) or closer to five (5) depends on the load and how often, as well as how much, the battery discharges. In the Technical Notification #59 referenced above, the manufacturer recommends that the battery be replaced at the four (4) year mark. This is from the manufacture date of the battery, not necessarily the purchase date of the panel. You can check the battery date code by opening the panel and checking on the battery itself. The date of manufacture on the battery shown below is January of 2015:

If the existing battery is too young to need replacement, if AC input power is good, power wiring is good, and charging voltage is good, then the likely culprit is a bad battery. There is a replacement option that will provide at least 4 hours of standby power. This is the same battery that comes with the panel from the factory. Then there is a replacement option that provides at least 24 hours of standby power. You can replace the existing bad battery with either of these two options.

When the battery begins to fail, it may give a low battery trouble briefly, then restore, then show a low battery again, and restore. We call this a "swinging" low battery. If you determine that your battery needs replacement, and you have a swinging condition, you can disconnect the battery while you wait for a new battery to arrive. This will result in a constant low battery condition, and in the event of an AC power loss, the panel will not function. You'll have to determine whether you would rather deal with a potential powerless panel, or the intermittent trouble condition while you wait for a replacement.

Loss of WIFI connectivity:

When WIFI is in use, a loss of WIFI connectivity can cause the panel to reset. It does this in order to give the panel a chance to attempt to reconnect to the router. By default, the panel is set for DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). This is a fancy way of saying that the panel doesn't have a static IP address, and is dynamically assigned an IP by the router. During boot up, one of the things the panel is doing is requesting DHCP. An IP address conflict can knock the panel offline, which can cause it to reset.

In nearly every case, it is best to keep the panel set for DHCP rather than attempting to set it up for a Static IP. Instead, set up MAC filtering on the router to always allow traffic to and from the MAC of the Lyric. Or better yet, assign a reserved IP for the Lyric, so that the router will always assign the same IP to the panel. This should prevent any IP conflicts, but as far as the panel knows, it's still set for DHCP.

When the Lyric Alarm System resets, it goes through a process called "Power up in Previous State". This means the system will power up, and if it was armed at the time it powered down, it will rearm. If it was disarmed, it will remain disarmed. This process will result in the logging of an arm or a disarm, usually directly following an E339 Power On Reset or System Reset. In addition to logging the arm or disarm, a report will be sent to the central station, if applicable, and a notification will also be sent to Total Connect 2.0 for customers using that service. This can be quite a surprise if you armed your system when you left home, only to get a notification that it was armed again while you were away. If you know the signs to look for, it can be easy to determine that a reset caused the report, and from there it's just a matter of figuring out what is causing the panel to reset.