Septic Alarm went off

[check]

What i ment is the test switch doesnt test the float.

I see. Yes, that is certainly true. And even a test for continuity only tells you that the float switch is open. I guess if you want to test it without going out and digging up the tank, you would have to turn your pump off, and let the water rise up until the float switch showed continuity. Don’t want to try that, however, because of the possibility that effluent may spill back into the cottage.

Of course, now that I’ve had this problem with the control box, I should probably go out in the spring after the ground is thawed and dig up the tank do a quick test by lifting up the float switch until the alarm sounds off. (Not a big deal to dig up the tank, because it is not very deep, but I sure as heck won’t enjoy taking the lid off and mucking around inside!)

 

[PILOON]

i fully agree. Nothing in that box tests the float itself.

The float switch being just that, A SWITCH, you would need to actuate it for a thorough test,

If the alarm sounds constantly then either the float is in flooded or tangled somehow.

To prove that out disconnect the 2 wires going to the float and test those 2 leads.
If you have continuity then the float itself is the problem.

 

[goeduck]

the joke is that they want 100-150 bucks for this simple piece o junk. I could make my own for $10 in parts . Gone are the days you could get a kit from radio shack.

then again

https://www.ebay.com/p/Tank-Alert-1...E-RHOMBUS-101-01H/1834319277?iid=323627116448View attachment 597910

That add says $75 and free shipping.

 

[check]

That add says $75 and free shipping.

When I click on it, it says $135 Canadian. I guess the free shipping doesn’t include Canada.

 

[check]

The float switch being just that, A SWITCH, you would need to actuate it for a thorough test,

If the alarm sounds constantly then either the float is in flooded or tangled somehow.

To prove that out disconnect the 2 wires going to the float and test those 2 leads.
If you have continuity then the float itself is the problem.

Don’t need to disconnect them. And I did check, and there is no continuity. Here is a better picture of the wiring.

Anyway, something even more weird happened - the buzzer has now stopped sounding off when there is no alarm condition! I was playing with the box, and it just sort of faded out after humming a bit like it was trying to start, as if there wasn’t quite enough power getting to it. I can still get the buzzer to come full on by turning on the test switch, no problem. (BTW, the light comes on at the same time.). But the “spontaneous” sounding off in normal operation mode has now stopped!

Also, the light does indeed come on when you flip the silence switch over to “silence”, which I suppose makes sense.

Will try unplugging it and plugging it in again tomorrow, but for now the problem seems to have resolved itself!

 

[grsthegreat]

Its the test switch going bad. This picture fixes the issue i had with the wiring question i had. I thought all 3 tabs on the silence switch had wires. Now i see exactly what the issue is. The test switch is failing and allowing a test function to operate when it doesnt call for it.

 

[aczlan]

Its the test switch going bad. This picture fixes the issue i had with the wiring question i had. I thought all 3 tabs on the silence switch had wires. Now i see exactly what the issue is. The test switch is failing and allowing a test function to operate when it doesnt call for it.

I agree. Its probably not fully failed, but just enough to be annoying.


Aaron Z

 

[check]

Its the test switch going bad. This picture fixes the issue i had with the wiring question i had. I thought all 3 tabs on the silence switch had wires. Now i see exactly what the issue is. The test switch is failing and allowing a test function to operate when it doesnt call for it.

Well, like I said, the problem seems to have resolved itself for now, but if it happens again, I will just snip the test switch wire and see if that stops the buzzer.

And thanks for all the great suggestions, guys - TBN strikes again!

 

[looch]

I have a Monnit water sensor in my French drain sump pit. Just 2 bare wires dangling. If they short, I get a txt message on my phone.

 

[JK22]

OK, OP here. I have now opened up the alarm box (which, fortunately, is inside the cottage), and tested the wires going out to the float. Joy! That circuit is open, meaning the float switch is off, as it should be. (Remember we tested the functioning of the pump earlier, by running water enough to fill it up and then listening carefully outside to hear the pump star and stop after the water ran for a while.)

So, the problem is inside the alarm box, which is of course very simple, and as far as I can tell consists of a buzzer (the dark shadow in the corner), a light (the white thing with the green terminal connectors), and two terminals/switches (one of which silences the alarm buzzer, and one of which tests the alarm buzzer). My guess is that one of these switches is defective, or MAYBE the buzzer itself.

Next step is to check and see if I can get parts for this thing.

One thing that confuses me is why there is a (hot) wire which coming from the receptacle plug and going down into the cable that goes out to the float switch. Why would we need power to go out to the float switch? Is there some sort of step-down transformer?

I just happened to be in my basement looking at my septic alarm and thought of this thread. My septic alarm in the house plugs into dedicated non-GFI. Then they ran Romex out to the tanks, but the Romex is marked low-voltage. Are you sure that wire out to the float switch was really “hot”?