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Joe Mioux
01-22-2008, 8:06 PM
How do you get smoke alarms to quit intermitent beeping even after you change the batteries.

These are hard wired alarms with battery back ups.

Any and inparticularly quick answers would be appreciated.

thanks

Joe

Greg Heppeard
01-22-2008, 8:10 PM
Hammer? just kidding...I really thought changing the battery took care of that. Are the new batteries good?

Peter Stahl
01-22-2008, 8:25 PM
How do you get smoke alarms to quit intermitent beeping even after you change the batteries.

These are hard wired alarms with battery back ups.

Any and inparticularly quick answers would be appreciated.

thanks

Joe

I use one of those cans of air they sell for electronics and take it down and blow it out with the air. If you can't stop it then take it down until you can replace it. I have a couple bedrooms I don't use so I could just swap it with one of those. Try a different battery plus take a pencil eraser and clean the contacts first.

Jason Roehl
01-22-2008, 8:28 PM
You may have to test it after you replace the battery.

On a side note: sometimes I want to bash the snot out of those hardwired alarms. More than once I've been doing the final painting in a new house or apartment building, power's on, but the batteries haven't been put in the smoke alarms yet. By the end of the day, I'm fit to be tied...

Ron Dunn
01-22-2008, 8:38 PM
Is the back-up battery in a hard socket, or do you clip a little plastic connector to its top?

I'm asking because I once had a detector where you clipped the connector to the top of the 9v back-up battery, and I accidentally broke one of the leads into the connector.

Joe Mioux
01-22-2008, 8:46 PM
Is the back-up battery in a hard socket, or do you clip a little plastic connector to its top?

I'm asking because I once had a detector where you clipped the connector to the top of the 9v back-up battery, and I accidentally broke one of the leads into the connector.

it is a clipped connector.

New batteries,

We have three of these things and all new batteries I did press the test button on one, maybe I better try that on the rest.

joe

Joe Mioux
01-22-2008, 9:03 PM
nope still getting an occaisional beep. about one every 15 -20 minutes.

ARGH!

joe

Jason Roehl
01-22-2008, 9:21 PM
Got a voltmeter? I'd unplug each of them and make sure they're getting power from the hardwire. You may have a loose connection in one or more of them (I suppose checking the breaker is an obvious possibility, too...)

Mike Henderson
01-22-2008, 9:39 PM
My experience is that the cause of intermittent beeps is that the battery is weak. If replacing the battery doesn't help, I'd just change out the whole unit - they're not that expensive.

Mike

Todd Franks
01-22-2008, 9:48 PM
Joe,

I had a similar problem recently with my Firex detectors after replacing the batteries. Evidently, they have a small microprocessor and sometimes get confused and require a hard reset. I had to unplug the offending detector(s) from the AC supply, remove the battery, and hold down the test button until all remaining capacitive charge was removed from the detector. I reinstalled, and no more beeping. I just Googled it again and I came across an answer that said to turn off the breaker, remove all batteries from all detectors, and hold the test button. You might try both methods.

Peter Stahl
01-22-2008, 11:14 PM
nope still getting an occaisional beep. about one every 15 -20 minutes.

ARGH!

joe

Is it just the one alarm or all of them beeping? I never had all of them beep, just one and a new battery usually fixed it.

Martin Shupe
01-23-2008, 1:31 AM
I had one beep, replaced with new battery, it kept beeping. Always happens at 0300, too.

Figured out a spider had put a web over the detection thingy. Once the spider web was gone, the beeping stopped.

So, whoever suggested blowing it out with air would have fixed my problem.

From now on, I'll replace the battery and use the canned air, just in case.

Dick Bringhurst
01-23-2008, 6:25 AM
Mine are BRK. I ended up replacing two of the four in the house to get the bloody beeping stopped. Dick B.

Brian Elfert
01-23-2008, 12:13 PM
My Kidde smoke detectors will beep constantly if they go bad.

The units I have are combo smoke/CO that are hard wired with battery backup and have voice alerts. They have a voice alert for low battery, but beep if the unit is bad.

I have had one die in six years and they are not cheap at $40 each.

Eddie Watkins
01-23-2008, 5:03 PM
One of your units has gone bad. My smoke alarms started beeping a few weeks ago. They were hard wired and wired together so if one goes off, they all do. They would beep a little then quit. They had no battery backup. I finally called the BRK help desk and they told me the detectors are only good for about 10 years. My house is about 10 years and 4 months old so I replaced all of them with units with a battery backup for about $9.30/ unit. I did get a replacement model number from the helpdesk and it was a simple unplug/ replug rather than having to replace the wire ends.

Eddie

Joe Mioux
01-23-2008, 5:14 PM
We have three, one on each floor. They are Dicon 370mb model smoke detectors.

They are all wired together. I did a little searching online last night and found out that these are usually good for 15 years and then they start beaping. My house is just shy of 14 years old.


So i suppose its time to buy some new ones... I am hoping I can find a compatible replacement that will alllow for just plugging in new ones to the wiring harness.

Anyway, thanks all the input. I will make it a point to vacuum or blow them out in the future.

Joe