Why is my fire alarm beeping randomly?
If you have a BRK, Kidde or First Alert smoke alarm the random “beep” is normally due to problems regarding the battery or perhaps bad electrical wiring. Having said that, a homeowner could mistake the beep with an intermittent alarm. Try to have the homeowner to be precise about what they’re hearing. A “beep” or “chirp” will use a high pitched sound and go off at regular intervals around once a minute. With an intermittent alarm is going to be random, goes off typically for a few seconds and will have a low pitched sound. Be sure that there is not chirping coming from a plugin carbon monoxide detector near the smoke alarm. Any one of these conditions below may cause unwelcome chirps:
The battery Pull-tab (used to prevent battery being used before purchase) is still inside the alarm? – The battery pull-tab need to be taken out right after AC power connected to the smoke alarm.
The Battery Drawer on the side is Open? – The smoke alarm battery drawer needs to be properly shut to allow the battery to make a connection with the terminals.
Low Battery – As the smoke alarm battery gets weak, your smoke alarm will begin to “chirp” roughly once a minute, alerting you that the battery needs replacing. Be aware: Only the smoke alarm which has a low battery will be chirping. There is no signal is sent via the interconnect wire, so all the other smoke alarms will be quiet.
Suggestion for Builder Service Managers
Through long periods before occupancy wherever power is turned off, Builder Service Managers who are maintaining brand new homes before sale ought to be certain to open up the smoke alarm battery drawer on the alarms to prevent the battery from depleting. If electrical power is restored briefly (e.g. showing the house) the smoke alarm will chirp when the drawer is open. The alarm now senses there is no battery.
Battery is there but something is obstructing the terminal – The battery might have positive contact with the terminals within the alarm. Check if the battery pull-tab or for any other obstruction removed. Make sure that the battery has not been forced in the battery draw the wrong way!
Is there another device or appliance going off? Home alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, monitors, along with other devices may have the same low battery or alert sounds.
