AboutDave Neuweiler Expertise The design and application of burglary and fire systems for homes and businesses. Helping alarm owners understand how their system works. Helping to troubleshoot false alarm problems. Questions about monitoring issues.
Experience Over a quarter century in the industry. Experience in installation, service, and monitoring centers. Training manager for a national protective services company; director of education and training for a national trade organization for for alarm dealers.
Dbvirago wrote at 2007-05-24 22:40:48
I have to add to the original answer. I am here looking for a cure for a chirping Firex. I can attest to the fact that they do chirp after the power is disconnected and battery removed. There must be a backup battery inside the unit.
Ed wrote at 2007-11-03 17:46:38
There is still some power stored in the unit once the battery is removed. Press the test button while the battery is out and the alarm will go off and drain any of the sored energy. Same thing happened to me and I was amazed at first also. Hope this helps.
bob wrote at 2009-03-23 19:26:11
Yes, a bit of vacuuming may be called for. But, try hitting the reset button that gets tripped when a low battery occurs. You need to hit reset not just put in a new battery . . .
3) Reset the alarm.
Most current model smoke alarms have a processor that retains certain error conditions, such as a weak battery. The error condition should reset when the battery is replaced but sometimes it does not and must be manually reset to clear the error.
To reset an AC unit with a battery backup:
Turn off the power to the smoke alarm at the circuit breaker. Remove the smoke alarm from the mounting bracket and disconnect the power. Remove the battery. Press and hold the test button for at least 15 seconds. The unit may chirp or alarm for a few seconds before going silent. Reconnect the power and reinstall the battery. The unit will chirp once when the power is restored and should not chirp afterwards."
To reset a DC only unit:
Remove the battery. Press and hold the test button for at least 15 seconds. The unit may chirp or alarm for a few seconds before going silent. Reinstall the battery. The unit will chirp when the battery is first connected but should not chirp afterwards.
