I have a hard-wired smoke detector that chirps between midnight and 6:30 AM. The heater goes on at that time and the chirping stops. The house temperature is set at 60 degrees during the chirping times. This just started. Any ideas as to why this occurring?
By Ken Cain from Entiat, WA
You might try changing all batteries if you haven't already. Also check the breaker for the smoke detectors, make sure it isn't tripped if not turn breaker off and check all wires to that circuit be sure they are tight. We have the same type of system when we change the batteries when turn the breaker off and than change the batteries and then turn it back on it resets the system. If it is only one detector chirping the problem with be with that detector and not the whole system. Hope this helps!
All smoke/carbon alarms are designed to only last for 10 years, after 10 years or after a fire, they need to be replaced with new ones. If you burn a fireplace, they need to be changed out more often.
Sounds like the sensor is going out, and when the HVAC system comes on, it creates enough air current to remove dust or debris on it.
I am a fire fighter, and one of our biggest issues is people think they are good for a lifetime. They aren't.
It's 4: 30am. I've been up since 2am with my smoke alarm going off constantly! We tried everything and my frustrated hubby went back to bed and covered his head to block out the sound! Even the dog wanted out and continued her blissful sleep outside!
Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep with that loud noise for the next hour or so, climbed up on a kitchen stool every 20mins to press the button to shut it off. It would stay quiet for about 20mins and then back on again. In the meantime, I decided to see if I could get some online help and found this site.
Thanks for all the tips. I was surprised but gratified to find others have experienced this too and what would you know? Most of the problems were at night. Murphy's Law! Then to annoy me further, the TV started an alarm test!
Anyway, I didn't have a can of air handy, (which I will now get) so I opened the windows for a bit and tried some of the other suggestions until on one of my trips back from the detector to bed, I noticed the thermostat battery in the living room was low so the heat was not on in that part of the house. I changed the battery and voila! silence!! I've waited 30 minutes and no more alarm so I guess I can sleep now, for all of 2 hours before have to be up.
Thanks everyone for all the helpful tips when my 'support system' here bailed out on me!
When smoke alarm batteries die they start chirping in the middle of the night when the temp in the house drops. I googled smoke alarms to find out why mine has space for two 9v batteries.
Oh dear... I tried to check the circuit breaker and did a test on it. Well, I now have disconnected ALL the alarms in the house. Prior to this only two were chirping. They are still chirping but there is no green light on. I will try to remove and replace those new batteries. (The old were still good.) It seems I have made matters worse. I have had my system about 4 years. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
I recently spent two nights of miserable insanity dealing with the malfunctioning/unreasonable/unstoppable shrieking fire/carbon monoxide detector issue, and even if your problem ceased after replacing the battery you should know a few important things about these supposedly life-saving devices.
First of all, if you take a sledgehammer to the device in question, it may or may not cease its infernal noise and you will have to pay for the inevitable damage to the wall or ceiling in addition to replacing the device. Living in subsidized housing has come to mean numerous rules and regulations of varying stupidity from a safety standpoint, since many "safety"measures are merely a matter of removing access or control from the tenant-locking the water heater closet and denying the tenants a key, a prohibition on giving the operation/care manuals to the appliances and devices installed in the residence are just two that have caused more problems than they prevent - and as offensive as these measures are to a person of reasonable intelligence like myself, many of my neighbors are perfect examples of the stupidity that has made such measures attractive to landlords from a financial point of view. It caused me great anger and outrage to find out that the apt manager could easily have stopped the insanity after the first night, but was prohibited from doing so by either CA regulations or ConAm Management Co policy, and at this point I don't care which.
The alarm system that is directly connected to and sends a signal to both the fire dept and Bay Alarm Co functions perfectly and is inspected and maintained on a bi-yearly basis and conscientious care.
The piece-of-**** secondary system consists of three smoke/CO detectors that have periodically malfunctioned since they were installed less than three years ago, when the complex was built, but never to the extent of this past week.
The offending devices have now been removed pending replacement, which I am going to be charged for. And I didn't even get the pleasure of smashing them with a sledgehammer as I oh so very much desired.
If you are a smoker, the nicotine residue causes dirt and sand (I live in the desert) to stick to the sensors. I understand this concept, yet wonder how it is that in the four decades that I have been a smoker, far heavier than currently, this has never happened. But that's a personal issue I will battle out with the landlord.
The important thing is to be aware that the devices manufactured since 2011 (I'm going by the date on the devices) are susceptible to things like dust, nicotine, grease from cooking, animal dander, and anything that can float through the air and collect on a surface anywhere, and that no consideration was given this inevitable process of life when making them. For some forms of dust, etc, canned air will blow the residue away or a vacuum will suck it out. That's if you are aware that more is necessary than simply using the vacuum attachment while doing spring or fall cleaning-you have to take it down and clean it somehow, not easy if you are handicapped and cannot steady yourself on a ladder or if you simply don't have a way to reach it safely. But if you don't do it twice a year, don't expect it to work when you need it to, according to the gentleman who maintains the REAL alarm system, and he won't touch the devices not part of his system, and the look of derision he gave them spoke volumes.
So I have read and researched and gotten opinions from professionals, including firefighters. Ionization type detectors should be replaced with photoelectronic ones, as the ionization ones tend to ignore the thick deadly smoke most commonly the cause of death in house fires until far too late. Use a vacuum or preferably compressed air to clean your devices at least twice each year. Replace the batteries, even in hardwired versions, once a year on a specific date-the fall when clocks are set back is best and easiest, you have that extra hour, after all, and with Christmas and lights made of cheap wiring around the corner, it's a good idea to know your batteries are fresh.
DO NOT simply unplug it or remove the battery if it's driving you nuts, then put off reconnecting or replacing it-follow through! Clean it, replace it, or whatever is necessary, and give the old one a good whack with a hammer for me before you throw it out. And the reason it goes off at night, I have been informed, is due to condensation that naturally occurs during that time of day. Be safe!
Thanks Elaine, for your wonderful sense of humor and good advice!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My smoke detectors (hardwired) have decided to start chirping (the sound when battery is low) at around 1:45 am every night. Then they go into full alarm mode. I have figured out which one of the 4 is the 'master' one so I can push the reset button to stop the alarm. However, it goes through the same cycle repeatedly. I've had to shut the circuit breaker and remove the batteries.
I have changed the batteries -- same thing happens. I have replaced all 4 of the smoke detectors w/new batteries -- and same thing happening. Always around 1:45 am.
Any ideas as to what to do next? I don't want to leave my condo unprotected. Nor have all the outlets connected with that circuit breaker not working in my home either.
Thanks!
Today in the morning I had my alarms go off around 7 am. I woke up checked, but didn't see any fire. I live in townhouse that has 3 floors and it worked on every floor for about 3-5 min and stopped.
What should I do?I heard a beeping that I thought was from my smoke detector. I unplugged it, removed the battery, and moved it to another room. The beeping is still coming from the ceiling where the smoke detector was plugged in before. There is nothing there but wires and a housing.
There is no attic above - just another floor with a smoke detector that is not beeping. How can I diagnose this and stop it without tearing out the ceiling? Anyone have this issue?I have a chirping coming from random smoke detectors. They are hard wired with batteries. I have changed all batteries and reset all of them. They are only a year old. Why do they still chirp? It's not always the same one, e.g. my son's room will chirp for an hour, then my daughter's room, then my room, then the hall, but never at the same time.
I just built this house a year ago so it's not old or dusty. I am very clean so I'm confused on what it could be. Please help, my kids and I cannot sleep at night.My husband said that when the battery-operated ones chirp like that and wont stop after replacing batteries it means they need to be replaced. He doesn't know about the hard-wired ones.
Have you contacted the manufacturer about this problem? That's where I'd start, and soon! They should be able to give you some help or get you started in the right direction.
If their product doesn't last longer than a year, or if they wont stand behind their product, then perhaps you should invest in better smoke detectors.
My smoke detector (2 years old) goes off on about an 8hr interval. I changed the batteries 3 times (2 different brand batteries) and it still keeps beeping. The alarm goes off about every 8 hrs, so I open the battery cover, take the battery out, put the battery back in, twist smoke detector to on and off a few times and I leave it be as soon as it stops. Then, 8 hrs later it starts again. Anyone know what the issue may be? Thank you.
By Alex
Could be many reasons why your smoke detector is not working correctly. Probably the best you can do to relieve your frustration and improve your safety is to buy a new smoke detector ASAP.
Our house is 4 1/2 years old. Built new.We have 8 smoke detectors in the house electrically powered. Also we have in house security system, where in the panel lights "Fire" button. When I turn the system on, it starts beeping very loudly, continuously until I manually turn the system off by key given.
Impossible to tell from far away, not sensible to mess with electrical and security systems without a professional or knowlegeable person physically present. Can't blame you for wondering if there would be advice out there, but someone actually there would be best.
Does your smoke detectors have a backup battery? I have electric smoke detectors and if the backup battery needs to be replaced it beeps.
Most states require that the smoke detectors now be tied together so that it one goes off they all go off. It is quite possible that you have one or more defective smoke detectors. These things do fail. If you are not familiar with the wiring or electrical circuits I would recommend that you get a qualified electrician to check it out.
If you have an alarm company, you should have a main backup battery for your system. Probably the battery has gone dead and is affecting your whole system. You shoud have a panel with wires running into it and a battery should be in there.
I have realized that if one battery in the set of 4 electric detectors is not functional the whole system goes off. This happened last night at 3:30 in the morning. It's really awful to try and change these when the alarm is screaming in your ear. How can I tell which one is the faulty one? I also would like to know how to turn them all off so I can at least change them in peace. The main electrical box does not list them, so I've not idea which breaker to flip off.
By Margaret
My wired in smoke alarm does not beep when I press it to test it. There is a green light on it that I can see when it is dark. Does this mean it is working OK?
By Peggy A.
The smoke alarm goes off when the central air is on, if you close all windows it will not go off. But if you open any window an inch the alarm goes off. It's a new house, no appliances in yet, no one living there yet. It will not go off at all during heat cycle. It is not near vents or lights. It is located in the Los Angeles area. It is hard wired in, a Kidde combo smoke/CO2 alarm, model kn-cosm1b.
By Gabe from Los Angeles, CA
After small fire in my house (dishwasher caught on fire) my hard wired smoke detector (no battery in this head) has the permanent red light on. I have 4 electronic smoke detectors with battery backup on the same line. There is no beeping, just a red light on. Is this normal?
By Paul from IL
All the hard wired smoke detectors in our apartment have a red light that stays on all the time.
Just to be sure I would call the fire department and/or an electrician to ask to be safe rather than sorry.
I am having difficulty in putting smoke detectors back into position after replacing the batteries.
By iolite from Boynton Beach, FL
Did it originally pull off or twist off? Check to see that nothing broke.I had that problem and just bought a new one. They're not that expensive.
Did it originally pull off or twist off? Check to see that nothing broke.I had that problem and just bought a new one. They're not that expensive.
My smoke detector works, but not properly because of dust. Please suggest some solutions to me.
I have an electrical smoke alarm with back up battery. How do I stop it from beeping? I have already replaced the battery. It still kept on beeping. Then I removed the battery and it is still beeping.
By Pam B.
Vacuum out the inside of the detector with a brush attachment, dust and cobwebs can make it beep. It's important also to note that smoke detectors do wear out. How old is yours?
We live in a basement apartment. We've lived here for over a year. Recently our smoke alarm has been going off randomly all hours of the night. It's hardwired to the building.
When we first moved in it was not connected and in a closet (we're thinking that's why it was in there). We've cleaned it over 4 times with the vacuum and even a damp cloth. We've told the landlords and they claim it's humidity!
We are so tired of hearing that. So we had the windows open all day and night and still it's going off! We don't smoke and haven't been using the oven. Oh, and we also bought a second smoke alarm (which is in our baby's room, the warmest of all and the window is never open) and it never goes off as it's working properly. Others above us on the third and second floor also have their alarms go off at crazy hours.
Please help. I hate the sound, it drives me nuts and we can't unplug it as we could get fined. So far we're freezing and it's still going off.
By Katelyne
Since you mention that you live in an apartment then you need to notify your landlord and insist that it be repaired/replaced. If the landlord won't co-operate then report him/her to your city/county code enforcement department because it is against the law everywhere that there must be a working smoke detector for residential rental property.
Our only smoke detector is hard-wired into the ceiling. We have had 2 different smoke/CO detectors with battery backup. When a new battery is placed, it is fine for a few hours and then dies, causing the detector to chirp.
Is the electrical wiring somehow drawing power from the battery? Two completely different detectors have done the same thing, so I don't think it is a defective detector. I think there used to be another detector in the basement. I don't know if it was hard-wired or not, but we replaced it with a plug-in type. Any information would be great!
By Sarah
Its probably wiring. Make sure the hot and the neutral wire are not swapped or on the battery wiring check for bare spot that might be going to ground or grounding.
I have five hardwired smoke detectors with battery backup. I changed the batteries today, four of them show a green light and one has a flashing red light; it's not beeping.
By Dean F.
It can drive you to distraction, the constant unexplainable beeping of an electric smoke detector. Often it just needs the battery replaced but it may be a signal that it needs greater attention.
There are a number of factors that can cause that annoying beeping of your smoke detector. This is a page about smoke detectors beep when the temperature drops.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
My hard wired smoke alarm went off last night. What is considered chirping when the battery is low?
My smoke alarm started going off recently for no apparent reason. When I fan it with a towel, it stops. Any ideas?
