If you smoke detector is constantly beeping every 30 seconds or so then this more than likely means that it is time to change your batteries in the smoke detector, that is if you have a battery operated smoke detector beeping. There is a good rule of thumb that you should always be checking your smoke detectors to ensure that they are working properly, and you should replace the batteries in your smoke alarm twice a year to be on the safe side. If you do this not only will this ensure the safety of your home and whoever is in it but it will also stop smoke detectors from beeping at 2am in the morning, which is when they always seem to start beeping and going off.
What Kind Of Batteries Do Smoke Detectors Use?
This depends on when the smoke detector and where the smoke detector was made. In my experience most of the new models of smoke detectors us 9 volt batteries, while some are hard-wired, and some are a combination of both. If there are any new smoke alarms that are out there that are different than this I would like to be made aware of this as it is not my nature to give out false information.
Smoke Detector Keeps Beeping After Battery Replacement
Some smoke detectors will keep beeping even after you replace the battery for a couple of reasons. The number one reason a smoke detector wont stop beeping after you replace the batteries is that the batteries are bad. Batteries do go bad if they are stored for long periods of time or now in there package. I have many years experience working in an apartment complex and many of my technicians have had the same problem with a smoke detector chirping after installing a fresh new 9volt battery.
But there are some smoke detectors that need to be reset. This is what I do every time I replace a smoke detector battery and being that I have worked maintenance at a complex with 500+ units I do this almost every single day so I know what the hell I am talking about. Take the smoke detector down and remove the battery. Push the button to test the smoke alarm without the battery in it, guess what, you will here a beep! This is because the smoke detector still has a little bit of a charge from the worn out battery.
Push the test button again – you will here a small chirp or nothing at all. Now the smoke detector is reset, insert the new battery and test. This works for me 99% if the time, as I said before I service smoke detectors for a living. Now there have been a few times when I ran across that smoke detector that won’t stop beeping after battery replacement. If you tried to reset the smoke detector like I said above and it is still beeping, just trash it and get a new one. Smoke detectors are recommended by many professionals to be replaced every 10 years, some less some more, but this is when you know for sure that it is time to replace your smoke detector, you do not want to take any chances when it comes to the safety of your home and your family.
Hard-Wired Smoke Detector Keeps Beeping
If you have a smoke detector that is not battery operated and just hard wired and it keeps beeping, then you may not have any power to the smoke detector. Ensure that the breaker to the smoke detector is on and working, you can check this with a volt meter, or most smoke detectors will have a power indication light on them also.
If you have any questions about a beeping smoke detector that I did not cover or have something to add then feel free to leave a comment.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
I have a smoke detector that is hard wired and battey operated. I have changed the battery multiple times, pushed the reset button & reset the breaker and the chirping noise still remains. Any ideas as to what else I can do?
Al, the smoke detector may be defective or old, so I would replace it. Remember smoke alarms aren’t meant to last forever, only about 10 years or so depending on what kind of conditions they have been through, heat, cold, painted over etc.
Al, We have a hard wired and a batery opereated. We had them put in May of 2009. Only 1 of my hard wired smoke detector keeps going off(right by the bathroom.). I have changed the batteries, hit reset. Any ideas?
Hello Al, I posted the comment above, but give you the wrong e-mail. It’s the same question, We have a hard wired/battery smoke dector. Had them put in May/June of 2009. At the time only the wired smoke dector(near bath room) was going off(like a beep). Now all of a sudden all my smoke dector one by one are going off(beeping). Do I need to change all the batteries, reset everything, reset the breaker? Any ideas?
I am having a similar problem. I have one hard-wired smoke detector that keeps beeping. It’s not consistent at all, but I have changed the battery back up, etc but it will randomly beep for no aparant reason. Sometimes it only beeps once, other times it’ll beep a few times in a row and then stop for a week or so. The house is only about 4 years old, so the smoke detector isn’t old. When I bought the place, I wasn’t left the manuals, so I’m not sure what to do. Any ideas?
Sarah that is odd I have never ran into a problem like that. You might just want to replace the smoke alarms to be safe – that way you know that got brand new smoke detectors, with the manual, and more than likely with the warranty.
We have changed the batteries and reset the smoke detector. It is still beeping. We are planning on getting a new smoke detector tonight, but noticed that after we removed the smoke detector to take into the store to compare, that the ceiling above where the smoke detector was is still beeping. What is located above the smoke detector, above the ceiling, and above the electrical box that the smoke detector is mounted to?
dlm that is very very weird – as every home, apartment or condo is wired differently I cannot determine what is above your smoke detector and what is causing the beeping. Most smoke detectors only come in two parts, the mounting bracket, which is drilled or secured into the drywall right on the electrical box, and the smoke alarm itself. From the way that you are explaining it though sounds like there is a smoke alarm on the other side of the wall, maybe the other bedroom?????
We today we finished replacing all of the smoke detectors. All of them have a green light. All of them have a short flash of red every 50 seconds or so. Two or three of them still beep every 30-50 seconds. What do we do now?
We had a battery-opperated smoke alarm about 3 months ago that started chirping. Replaced the batteries, still did it. We called the company, and they said it had malfunctioned and we should take the CFLs out of the room. So we replaced all the CFLs (which apparently can cause smoke alarms to malfunction) with regular incandesant bulbs and replaced the alarm. Still does it. So we replaced all the CFLs on the top story and got another alarm. Still does it. Needless to say, we’ve been through 8 alarms now, have moved them to three different locations in the room, and it’s still chirping. Now this morning, one downstairs started chirping too. They are not wired together. It’s in my daughter’s room, so we need to take care of it. We also have a plug-in carbon monoxide alarm in the same room, and it’s not going off, so we know that’s not the issue. Any suggestions? Our Fire Marshall is at a loss.
Unless the CFL’s are right next to the smoke alarms I do not really see how that would cause a smoke alarm to “chirp”…plus the majority of smoke alarms detect “smoke” and not heat, though there are plenty of heat alarms that are out there and a mixture of the two, but I have not had any experience with them so I am lost there.
You have to remember the “chirping” is effected by the power it is receiving and that is the way the device is designed to let you know that there is either a wire loose or a battery dieing.
All I can think of is faulty wiring…which can be tested with a volt meter, if you are in the United States you will want to make sure the smoke alarm is getting anywhere between 110 volts or more, if battery operated you will need at least 9 volts from the battery.
You also may want to call the manufacturer of the smoke alarms back too, as you may be lucky enough to get someone on the other end of the line that knows what they are talking about, which is a long shot when it comes to stuff like smoke detectors…along with many other household items. Please let us know if you get this problem fixed and how you did it
the smoke detector still chirps. this is the 3rd set of batteries all from different stores. IT IS NOT THE BATTIES. the detectors are only 4 years old. the BEEPING/CHIRPING is driving my dog crazy . his job is to keep me sane/focused/balance. now we are bother on edge. HELP!!!!
Im in a new house , 1.5 years old , never been lived in, and the builder never left a manual, and Im having a problem with the detector beeping and chirping, I cant check it because i dont know how to get into it and there is no brand name written on it, and the other 2 detectors are easy and their batterys are fine and the green light is always on, so my dilemna is how do i get it to stop, if i reset it, it quits for awhile and then it starts again in a few hours. This detector has 2 lights , one little one and one larger one, the power was off in the house and thats when this chirping started at 3 in the am.
As with dlm above, I see the constant green light and the intermittent flash of red from each smoke alarm. Does this mean that the batteries are good? or bad? I just replaced all the batteries today, and pushed the reset button on each unit. the interconnected alarms have been beeping once in awhile around 2 or 3 a.m. No fire, no smoke, no extreme temperatures. About 2 months ago a team came in to do some weatherization. They did a “blow out” of the house to see if there were any leaks. Could this have blown dust into the units or affected them in some way?
hey, i just recently got installed a brand new ionization which started chirping so i switched to photoelectric and the same thing happens it chirps, help