fire alarms

[daved150]

Re: fire alarms

cool....thats that...mine still are broke

Re: fire alarms

Problem solved... when he opened the first one to replace the battery, it fell out on to the floor. He was trying to figure out which way to put the battery in. Naturally it was in wrong. He read on the manuf. tech support site there were several comments about if the battery is in wrong then they will go off.

[daved150]

Re: fire alarms are driving us nuts!

Dave... how did you fix your fire alarms?

We've got 5 alarms upstairs. One of them started chirping last night at 3 am. We weren't able to get any sleep for it constantly going off. We bought new batteries. Replaced the batteries in 4 of the 5. Turns out that 3 of them are going off alternating. We just got back from the store with a can of air to blow them out... still chirping. 2 of the 3 have green lights solid. One has no light at all. They are only a 1-1/2 years old. Put in by a certified electrician and to met the building inspectors code. They are all the same kind. The kick is you take the battery out of them and it still chirps... so if we don't get this fixed tonight we get to listen to them all weekend until we can get somebody out here to fix it... or Everlast goes ballistic and rips them out of the ceiling whichever comes first.


some PLEASE help!!!!

BINGO!!!!
we need to buy new ones...i tried all the suggestions and it didnt work. i gotta buy 2 more

fire alarms are driving us nuts!

Dave... how did you fix your fire alarms?

We've got 5 alarms upstairs. One of them started chirping last night at 3 am. We weren't able to get any sleep for it constantly going off. We bought new batteries. Replaced the batteries in 4 of the 5. Turns out that 3 of them are going off alternating. We just got back from the store with a can of air to blow them out... still chirping. 2 of the 3 have green lights solid. One has no light at all. They are only a 1-1/2 years old. Put in by a certified electrician and to met the building inspectors code. They are all the same kind. The kick is you take the battery out of them and it still chirps... so if we don't get this fixed tonight we get to listen to them all weekend until we can get somebody out here to fix it... or Everlast goes ballistic and rips them out of the ceiling whichever comes first.


some PLEASE help!!!!

Re: fire alarms

If you have any of those mechanical heat detectors, they will be dome-shaped devices with a metal disc on the underside of the dome. You don't need to remove one of those to see if it's blown, it will be readily visible by the absence of the metal disc in the middle of the dome's underside, you may also see a small rubber ring where the disc used to be. If that metal disc has fallen off of the detector, the detector is blown and needs to be replaced with another one of the same temperature rating - either 135 or 200 degrees. These detectors don't make any sound or draw any power. To remove one, look for a slot on the side of the detector, you'll need to insert a small screwdriver into the slot and twist it slightly to push a locking tab out of the way, then twist it counterclockwise. If there's no slot for a locking tab, simply try twisting it counterclockwise.

[daved150]

Re: fire alarms

a couple of these dont open...how do i tell. also, home was built in 96 if that makes a diff (also..owners who hod it built were extreme cheap fuks!!! i swear!!)

Re: fire alarms

No problem....

One other thing I though of after I made my last post, since the powers that be don't want me to be able to EDIT....

If you have a basement, an attic, or a garage with living space above it, your home may have been equipped with mechanical heat detectors as well, if one of those detectors activates, it will cause all of the smoke detectors to sound via the interconnect circuit. Those mechanical detectors are one-shot devices - if one of those activates, it will need to be replaced. The way to find out is to look for the metal disc in the center of the detector's dome, if that disc has fallen off of the detector, the detector is blown and needs to be replaced. I ran into a situation like that several years ago as well.

[BoobooKitty]

Re: fire alarms

Thank you very much from me.

[daved150]

Re: fire alarms

That could have caused the problem - That particular Lifesaver model is not compatible with Kidde or Firex, so if one of them triggered, many of them could have been damaged through the interconnect circuitry. To confirm, you could try disconnecting the interconnect wire (usually red, orange, or yellow) from the house wiring and try plugging it in without the interconnect wire connected. If they work without the interconnect circuit wired, that's the problem. It doesn't matter if they've been sitting for a while before this all happened, it was most likely the one time that one of them triggered, which would have caused all of them to sound via the interconnect circuit, if the interconnect circuits between brands are not compatible, the detectors can damage each other, but this won't be apparent until one of them triggers for any reason - that's all it takes.

I'm willing to bet that if you simply replace all of them and make sure they're all the same brand, they will work fine. Again, I offer this advice as a licensed electrician who specializes in fire alarm systems - and not just your normal every-day home smoke detectors....

BTW, the new models with battery backup will have a constant green light to show that it's getting house power and a red light will blink about every 30 seconds to show battery presence, in an interconnected system that red light will blink fast (about twice per second) on the detector that causes an alarm.

that what i'm gonna do...i dont know if i got the money, but i'm gonna see...thanks bro for all you help. you ever need aanything regarding autosales...let me know

Re: fire alarms

...To sum it all up......one is dated 1997 (Lifesaver) the other 2005 (Kidde), one of them we bought about a year ago (Firex), the third one I cannot see a date (Firex) and the fourth one is in our bedroom and I believe Dave said it wasn't hooked up to the wiring (Not sure what brand it is) There are no red lights of any kind on any of them.

That could have caused the problem - That particular Lifesaver model is not compatible with Kidde or Firex, so if one of them triggered, many of them could have been damaged through the interconnect circuitry. To confirm, you could try disconnecting the interconnect wire (usually red, orange, or yellow) from the house wiring and try plugging it in without the interconnect wire connected. If they work without the interconnect circuit wired, that's the problem. It doesn't matter if they've been sitting for a while before this all happened, it was most likely the one time that one of them triggered, which would have caused all of them to sound via the interconnect circuit, if the interconnect circuits between brands are not compatible, the detectors can damage each other, but this won't be apparent until one of them triggers for any reason - that's all it takes.

I'm willing to bet that if you simply replace all of them and make sure they're all the same brand, they will work fine. Again, I offer this advice as a licensed electrician who specializes in fire alarm systems - and not just your normal every-day home smoke detectors....

BTW, the new models with battery backup will have a constant green light to show that it's getting house power and a red light will blink about every 30 seconds to show battery presence, in an interconnected system that red light will blink fast (about twice per second) on the detector that causes an alarm.

[BoobooKitty]

Re: fire alarms

k....most likely we will just not use the wiring and change the batteries cuz we all know this won't get fixed. lol

To sum it all up......one is dated 1997 (Lifesaver) the other 2005 (Kidde), one of them we bought about a year ago (Firex), the third one I cannot see a date (Firex) and the fourth one is in our bedroom and I believe Dave said it wasn't hooked up to the wiring (Not sure what brand it is) There are no red lights of any kind on any of them.

[daved150]

Re: fire alarms

this is the easiest way to go

yep....thats the way i'll probobly go

[FUZO]

Re: fire alarms

time to start replacing

Just go the easy way. DC powered, hang 'em where-ever, change the batteries spring & fall, and you're all set. They'll even give a little "chirp" if you forget to change a battery and that battery gets low.

this is the easiest way to go

[horsepwr]

Re: fire alarms

time to start replacing

Just go the easy way. DC powered, hang 'em where-ever, change the batteries spring & fall, and you're all set. They'll even give a little "chirp" if you forget to change a battery and that battery gets low.

[daved150]

Re: fire alarms

i was thinking that one must be bad...but, all of them have a steady green light