February 2020:
Technoswitch has become aware of an issue affecting a limited number of TEC247, TEC247-W, and TEC247-WA fire and extinguishing control panels that require industry attention.
1. Problem Symptom
When more than one fire detector on a zone goes into alarm simultaneously, the zone goes into short circuit isolation mode after 2 minutes. This may, in turn, prevent a double knock from being recognised by the panel.
2. Investigation Findings
Upon in-depth investigation, we found that we may have shipped a quantity of TEC247 and TEC247-W panels with the incorrect resistor values, which impact the zone voltage monitoring window. As an ISO 9001 company, we conduct functional tests on all our manufactured products and have strict procedures in place to minimise the possibility of such errors. Unfortunately, our quality functional test for these products was limited to simulating the activation of a single detector on a zone and not multiple detectors; hence, we did not identify this issue prior to the products being sold. Our functional test procedure has now been updated to check for this possibility.
3. Affected Products/PCBs
Potentially all TEC247, TEC247-W, and TEC247-WA models with CPU software version 6.3 and manufactured prior to 31 December 2019. Please refer to the downloadable Replacement Identification Procedure for a simple method to determine whether you may have a potentially affected product that requires action on your part, as outlined in our recommendations below.
Please note that this issue, if present, should have been identified during the commission process of any of these systems if commissioning was done according to SANS 10139.
4. Recommendations
4.1. Although the above issue should have been identified during a proper commissioning process, Technoswitch still recommends that all sites containing TEC247 and TEC247-W panels manufactured before 21 February 2020 be tested using the Replacement Identification Procedure to ensure the above potential issue is not present. Should the test procedure identify the product with the above problem, we will supply replacement CPUs and Motherboard PCBs free of charge (provided the affected PCBs are returned to us) for an on-site swap-out.
4.2. For RMA support going forward on all TEC247, TEC247-W, and TEC247-WA products manufactured prior to 21 February 2020, please always return both CPU and Motherboard PCBs together for repairs.
We apologise for any inconvenience this causes, and we appreciate your patience and help in identifying and resolving this potential issue. Technoswitch remains committed to supplying quality products to the industry and providing ongoing support for products already in the field.
If you have any specific questions regarding this matter, please direct them to your respective branch and sales representative.
