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Smoke Detector Chirping - Desperate to make it stop

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by rich351854, Dec 8, 2007.

  1. rich351854

    rich351854 New Member

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    I am hopefull that somebody can help, I have a van metre ASPEN and one of my smoke detectors is randomly chirping (I think), I have replaced the backup battery and everything...does anybody have experience with this?
     
  2. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    A new battery has always solved the problem for me.
     
  3. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    I had this issue with chirping even without the battery in it, but I found the reset button the one you test with and after installing the new battery pushed this button and it reset. The chirping went away. Yes, it's very annoying sound.
     
  4. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    We thought we had this problem once. Could not for the life of us figure out why one of the detectors kept chirping, even after removing batteries and resetting two of them. Eventually I figured out that it was NOT the smoke detector but the CO2 detector instead. It was in the same hallway and it didn't even occur to us that it was there. We felt pretty stupid but were thrilled to end the noise.
     
  5. WesGurney

    WesGurney New Member

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    I had a similar problem when I decided to replace all the batteries in mine a few weeks ago.

    A bunch of them were randomly chirping after I replaced each of the batteries.

    To fix it, I tried these two things which I found in the manual for my model (mine are AC power with battery backup):
    1) Remove the battery and unplug the unit from the AC power. With it unplugged and no battery, hold down the test button for 30 seconds to discharge any remaining power in the capacitor in the unit.
    2) Take a vacuum and use it on the vents of the smoke detector. Evidently dust can build up on the sensor which will cause it to chirp because it needs cleaning.

    Reconnect it and put a new battery in.
    If it still continues to chirp, then the unit is probably bad. The manufacturer says you should replace your units every 8-10 years.

    Hope this helps!

    Wes
     
  6. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    We did the EXACT same thing.
     
  7. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Oh, good! So it isn't just us. :p
     
  8. rich351854

    rich351854 New Member

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    Thanks so much, whatevery it was is fixed
     
  9. jim

    jim New Member

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    We did too - at 2:00 AM. The CO2 detector was only 6 months old.
     
  10. afgm

    afgm Ashburn Farm Resident

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    A blast of canned air also works well.
     
  11. marielaveau

    marielaveau Voodoo Queen

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    all of mine were doing that a few years back, I replaced the batteries, reset ... etc. STILL chirping. I ended up replacing all of them. It stopped :happygrin:
     
  12. phitnessfiend

    phitnessfiend New Member

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    :bow:Thanks for this...saved the night. I had done everything I could to the smoke detector on the ceiling, googled it and was about to take a hammer to it...when my wife suggested I look on the forums. Who needs google or yahoo when you have the broadlands forum. :clap:
     
  13. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Yeah, but the hammer would have been more fun!
     
  14. boomertsfx

    boomertsfx Booyakasha!

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    shotgun!
     
  15. jjenkins

    jjenkins New Member

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    I'm glad to see I am not hte only one to have this situation :)
     
  16. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Ditto! We felt like idiots. Now I feel less like one (on this issue anyway).
    I'm glad my post helped people.
     
  17. Ozgood

    Ozgood Not a space alien

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    But why does it seem that all our smoke and CO detecters start to chirp at 0200?????

    It is some conspiracy.. I just know it
     
  18. boomertsfx

    boomertsfx Booyakasha!

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    To me, that's a good thing ... least you know you'll be alert if something bad happens in the middle of the night!
     
  19. jjenkins

    jjenkins New Member

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    Or pissed off that something has awoken you :)
     
  20. Dawne

    Dawne HOA Sec/Treas, Tech Comm

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    Keep in mind that smoke detectors have a life expectency of about 10-12 years. Many Blands homes are approaching that age. Do you really want to risk it all for the $100 or so it costs to replace them? I found the same ones online for about $10 each. They even came with new batteries. Took about 15 minutes to replace them all. Worth the peace of mind.
     

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