Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Need Major Help with GE Simon 3 - Version 4

Hi,
I would like some help or suggestion with my Simon 3 GE:

1) Battery Question
a) The system status keeps having low-battery warning. I followed previous posts - disconnect the a/c power, making sure back-up battery is plugged first, and then re-connect the a/c adaptor. It didn't work.
b) I reset the system memory by pressing CANCEL, CLOCKSET, & MINUTE+. It didn't work.
c) I bought a new battery 3 days ago and it has been charged for 2 days and it still didn't work with new battery.
d) Using a multimeter the old battery actually has a read-out of 6.3 V. So the battery is good still, I supposed.
e) I unplugged the a/c power but left the battery plugged alone. The panel went dead immediately. No lights. No report by pressing the STATUS button.
So is my system malfunctioning? : (

2) PIR Sensor Question (We have 2 cats)
a) What is the major difference between the pet-immune and regular motion sensor? Is it just the cover plastic screening pattern different? Circular vs plain?
b) The reason I am asking is because I've got the pet-immune sensor but I found it "temperamental". I tested it by walking across (about 8 feet in front of the sensor) against a wall. Sometimes it works, other times not. I wonder if the regular sensor may work more reliably.
c) Strange enough, I found the sensor to be more reliable in sensor group 00. When I tried to program it to group 17 as recommended, it had a harder time recognizing.
d) So far, it hasn't given false alarm, which could be a real headache. Has anybody used both type of sensors?

So I am wondering if any expert could help or any input will be welcome. Thank you in advance.

If the system failed on battery power (I am assuming you meant the old battery), then that means that the battery is bad. A bad battery can read full voltage unloaded but cannot sustain a load.

If it was the new battery, and the system failed, then there may be an issue with the internal power supply, and it's unable to switch from AC power to battery. In this case, this is a bad sign, because the only fix for that is a system replacement (if I'm recalling correctly, this system doesn't have any replaceable fuses in the DC power system).

"Pet immune" motions use a combination of specific mounting heights and a sensor tuned to ignore the IR output of smaller animals. Extremely active animals can often defeat this configuration because the climb or leap into the view zones of the device regardless.

For the "reliablity", all wireless motions have a 3-5 minute lockout to prevent the device from constantly triggering when a room is occupied. This is to prevent draining the battery.

If it has a test button, Get into programming, Press the test button, wait 1-2 minutes, close the door & the low battery should reset. Sometimes batteries can be bad from the factory even though it reads 6.3 volts. I've gone through 3-4 batteries before I came across a good one. It will clear right away after the 2 min wait after pressing the test button if the battery is good. You can also cut the resistor out of the charging circuit as a last resort.

If it has a test button, Get into programming, Press the test button, wait 1-2 minutes, close the door & the low battery should reset. Sometimes batteries can be bad from the factory even though it reads 6.3 volts. I've gone through 3-4 batteries before I came across a good one. It will clear right away after the 2 min wait after pressing the test button if the battery is good. You can also cut the resistor out of the charging circuit as a last resort.


There is no "test" button. There is a Sensor Test that you can do to check the battery......

The Simon 3 panel has a fuse on the red battery cable - It is found under the black shrink wrap in the center of the wire. If this fuse is blown, the only cure, is to replace the red battery lead/fuse.

I have seen more "fuse issues" than battery issues, so I suspect this is your problem.