Help - Alarm broken and doing my head in

[MrsMarigold]

Our house alarm is making a strange loud buzzing noise - we never use it but it started this morning at 8.30. Baby and cat going crazy with this high pitched buzzing! It's an arbus I put in the code and tried to reset it. Also tried to turn the power off but it's awful. It isn't the noie the alarm makes when it gets set off and is mainly in the hallway.

I don't know arbus.

alarms usually have a mains power supply plus an internal backup battery to keep them going in a power cut or if someone cuts the wires. If you can find the correct switch or plug for the mains supply and turn it off, the battery will run down after a while. An expensive alarm will have a battery that lasts 8 hours. An inexpensive alarm, or an aged battery, less. Until then, you could put a cushion over it with a broom or something leaning on it.

If the alarm has a display it might be showing a fault code or alarm condition. You may have to put the code in twice.

are you sure the noise is not coming from e.g. a smoke alarm or phone?

p.s.
have you got remote-control door or gate locking? or a doorphone?

Thanks PigletJohn, I turned the mains supply off, so I think the battery has been going for three hours, unfortunately the immersion heater is on the mains switch. It's a crappy system - I've covered the noise source and called the alarm company.

if the alarm is fed from the immersion heater circuit, it will should be fused down to 3Amp using an FCU which has a removable fuse (same as in a plug)

Might look like this where the fuseholder is levered out. some are held in with a tiny screw

if you withdraw the fuseholder (it will pull out about half an inch) it will cut the power and you can put the immersion heater back on. when the fuseholder is withdrawn it is not live and you can take out the fuse if you want (but don't lose it)

Thanks no sign of anything like that, still going and I'm very dusty from mucking about in the cellar!

Ludicrous but it wasn't the house alarm my parents in law sent my son a present in the post and it was that! A toy! Cancelled the alarm people coming over. Gosh, I feel like such a twit!

Tee hee ! Glad it all worked out in the end !! :-)

So funny, sounds like something I would do !