Smoke alarm - our electric wired smoke alarm started beeping randomly with no smell of smoke. Ideas?

Question

It is not a battery. It's been 24 hours and the house has not burned down.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

It sound like the life of this particular smoke alarm has ended. You can try to reset it by removing it from the wall or ceiling, opening it up and search for a small plastic button maybe labeled RESET.

If you replace it and it continues to scream at you. bury it and have a decent funeral.

Good Luck

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks. Turns out it was recalled years ago and the mfg is sending us a free replacement.

Answer 2

Does it have a carbon monoxide alam too?? If so..that might be it.

Answer 3

Look at the manual. The beep is a warning of Some kind, you need to look it up.

If you don't have the manual, look at the manufacturer's name and model numbers, and see if a manual is available online.

Answer 4

Clean your smoke alarm. maybe there is still smoke in the alarm. If that doesnt work take the battery out for 20 mins then place back in.

Answer 5

Heat used to send mine off. A lot of times heat from me opening the oven door would set it off but it was in the kitchen.

Answer 6

Does it have a battery back-up in case of power cuts? If so this might need replacing.

Answer 7

Maybe it's a burned out wire or it is malfunctioning due to a power surge from an electrical storm or from the power company switching transformers, etc. I hope you have a battery powered one as a back up.

Answer 8

There could be a couple causes. First, there could be dust in the unit that is causing the random beeps.

Second, depending on the kind of beep, it could be a signal that something has gone wrong with the sensors. We just installed new smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, and it came with a sheet with a list of different beeps you might hear if a sensor goes bad.

If you have the instructions, consult those, or look it up on the web.

Answer 9

Our electric one has a battery back up. Did you check to make sure there isn't one there? Bad thing about electric only is,if wire burns out before smoke is detected it is no good. I have both in my home,plus heat detectors. Cost me over $1000.00 but worth it.

Answer 10

See if the dectector is capable of detecting carbon monoxide, if so get out of the house, its a deadly gas. If not then replace that battery or replace the smoke detector.

Answer 11

It sounds like your battery backup is telling you to replace the battery backup. The battery is used in case you lose power to your alarm. very important.

Answer 12

if it is sending false alarms, I'd replace it

Answer 13

if it is hardwired to elect panel there is a charging circuit for the battery. the beep may be indicating that the charger in the unit is defunct,call the installer

Answer 14

1. Take the SD down

2. Take the battery out

3. Hold down the test button on the front of the SD. It should beep one or two times and kind of sound like it's "dying".
This "resets" it.

4. Put a new battery in it.

5. Re-install SD at the ceiling.

If the random beeping continues, it might not be that SD that needs to be reset. In newer houses, all the SDs are wired together. Often times they have an LED that is green on the front (indicating AC power) but will flash red once every minute or so. This is normal. If it flashes red more than once (usually 3-4 times), that is the SD that needs to be reset. The one beeping isn't always the one with the problem.

This is more common than you would think. Especially with Firex brand SDs.

It could also just be dirty. Take the SD down. Get a can of air (computer stores have it) and blow any dust out. This should be done as regularly as you would change out the battery (about once a year). I suppose a vacuum would work too.

Source(s):

I am an Electrical Contractor