Fire Alarm Devices Getting Faulty Progressively

Fire Alarm General Discussion
1

Hi All,

Feels great to in the community of intellects!

I am facing a problem in one of my projects and need urgent help. The fire alarm system (Edwards brand) is behaving very funny. The devices installed on the loops of the panel are progressively getting faulty in a random order. There are six loops on the panel and so far 103 out of 763 devices have become faulty and had to be replaced. The fault is occuring only on 4 out of 6 loops.

The fire contractor is claiming that this is because of lightning strikes. I find it hard to believe because there is faraday cage lightning protection installed. Also, the faults are not occuring at one time they are happening on regular basis.

Could you please help me diagnose the problem. I have a meeting tomorrow with the client and have to give my recommendations.

Appreciate all the assistance!

Regards,

Irfan

2

First of all, I have a few questions.

#1 do all the troubles come in at the same time, more or less, and clear at the same time?
#2 Do any other troubles come in, such as the dreaded “Map Fault” or anything indicating a loop failure?
#3 Is it always the same devices that drop out?

If none of the above, then my recommendation is to rip it out and have it replaced… then you’ll never have any more problems. EST (Edwards) is terrible.

As far as the lightning strikes go, you can put a building inside a faraday cage all you want to protect against lightning hitting the structure, but if lightning surges into the electrical supply then it can cause problems.