Subscriber Discussion

AD400 Lock Sets Draining Batteries And Failing In Unlocked Mode

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John Doherty
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified

Hi Everyone

We have a school system in Massachusetts with about (30) AD400993 and AD400CY wireless lock-sets that were installed in 2013. They are connected to wireless PIM400-485 receivers connected to SRINX panels on an SMS Vanderbilt headend. We have AD400 locks set to fail-secure on low battery and comm loss to PIM.  For the last year or two so some of these AD400 are draining (4)AA batteries in less than 3 months then failing unlocked or in fail-safe mode.  We are wondering if anyone else had this issue and if they know if this is related to a motherboard, wireless card or read head issue or even a faulty motor.  My guess is motherboard. Manufacturer says locks are configured correctly and firmware is current. They just tell us to replace with new and throw way old lock...only after 4 years of use is ridiculous especially since its about 6-8 locks out of 30 having same issue all at different schools.  We are looking to replace components and not entire lockset.  We have 100s of these AD400 locks installed at other site but this is the only site with this issue. We have locks older and locks that are newer and never had this issue.  We did purchase all 30 locks at the same time in July of 2013.  Think we got lock-sets built on a Friday afternoon.

Any suggestion would be appreciated very much. 

Thanks

John

UE
Undisclosed End User #1
•Oct 12, 2017

Survey the area(s) for RF interference? Maybe something forcing them to transmit more then usual? Ask school if they have recently installed any wireless systems.

 

Are the problematic units close to each other, or randomly located?

(1)
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John Doherty
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Undisclosed End User #1

We have not ruled out RF but the issue is with different locks in random location at different schools. Some are 15' from PIM and others are further away. We did PIM test with test kits and all test good during school day when school was full of kids and everything is on and running.  Wifi was preexisting prior to installing PIMs and AD400.  We may need to use our RF sniffer to see if there is something else going on.

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Brian Rhodes
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to John Doherty

Are the particular doors draining batteries used more often than the others?

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John Doherty
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Brian Rhodes

AD400 door that batteries die in 3 months is low use with less than 100 transactions per day.  Teacher door to parking lot and it gets used in the morning by less than 30 teachers. And then maybe another 30-50 times thought out the day. There is another door on other side of school on different PIM that batteries die in 3 months to the playground and that may get high use on specific days but on average use per month is the same as teacher door and then in the winter it get hardly any use for several months.  

U
Undisclosed #2
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified

How long do the batteries on the other AD400s last?

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John Doherty
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified

All batteries get replaced during summer vacation once per year.  Most last the year without going into low battery trouble.  Most of the issues with AD400s are at 4 different elementary and middle schools which have low use (less than 100 transactions per lock per day) compared to other sites in same school district.  We had similar issue with short battery life at other customer sites but with obvious damage to battery pack cable, card reader module cable going thru door, bad wireless card, or defective Allegion button on front of lock (stays active all the time causing reader to be awake all the time eventually killing batteries.) But on this site with these schools we have checked all those things only to be still scratching our heads on what is causing issue.  So just looking to see if anyone has experimented with replacing motherboard to see if it resolve low battery issues on AD400 lock. 

U
Undisclosed #2
•Oct 12, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to John Doherty

What about temperature effects at the different locations?

Cold temperature increases the internal resistance and lowers the capacity. A battery that provides 100 percent capacity at 27°C (80°F) will typically deliver only 50 percent at –18°C (0°F). ... All batteries achieve optimum service life if used at 20°C (68°F) or slightly below.  - BU

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