There are gremlins living in my fire alarms

joxang · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:26

This is hard to explain.

We have two hard-wired alarms downstairs, one for heat and one for smoke. As of three days ago, they started beeping intermittently, about once every 5 minutes, building up to this morning at 3am when they started doing triple or quadruple honks every half an hour.

Over the past few days I've changed both batteries and I've cleaned every visible bit on both alarms with compressed air.

There is still beeping and it's driving the whole house nuts. Also, I suspect that one of them is actually working, but I CANT TELL WHICH ONE IS BEEPING! They're right next to each other on the ceiling, the lights don't go off when they beep.

I've tried standing on a chair underneath them hoping to catch a beep and try to localise it, but here's the darndest thing. They just will not make any noise when I'm watching. I've stood there for 10 minutes and nothing, and the moment I go into my room the damn thing lets off a quadruple "in your face" honk and continues until I go stand in the hallway again.

Next step is to take a hammer to both alarms. :mad:

Ascendancy · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:30

Take the battery out of one and see if the other one still beeps?

joxang · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:38

Ascendancy said:
Take the battery out of one and see if the other one still beeps?

They're hard-wired. Battery is back-up. They're supposed to bleep when there's no battery connected or when the batteries are low.

Django x2 · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:40

indeed. Also, in some cases of hard wired, in order to reset the alarm, you have to perform a test (pressing the test buton) once the battery has been replaced.

danza · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:43

Have you checked for fire?

joxang · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:54

Lucero said:
indeed. Also, in some cases of hard wired, in order to reset the alarm, you have to perform a test (pressing the test buton) once the battery has been replaced.

Yep done that

.

And nope. Checked everywhere, no fire

!

MeEsH BaKkA · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:58

joxang said:
This is hard to explain.

We have two hard-wired alarms downstairs, one for heat and one for smoke. As of three days ago, they started beeping intermittently, about once every 5 minutes, building up to this morning at 3am when they started doing triple or quadruple honks every half an hour.

Over the past few days I've changed both batteries and I've cleaned every visible bit on both alarms with compressed air.

There is still beeping and it's driving the whole house nuts. Also, I suspect that one of them is actually working, but I CANT TELL WHICH ONE IS BEEPING! They're right next to each other on the ceiling, the lights don't go off when they beep.

I've tried standing on a chair underneath them hoping to catch a beep and try to localise it, but here's the darndest thing. They just will not make any noise when I'm watching. I've stood there for 10 minutes and nothing, and the moment I go into my room the damn thing lets off a quadruple "in your face" honk and continues until I go stand in the hallway again.

Next step is to take a hammer to both alarms.

This is rather strange. I have been covering fallout for my firm over the weekend, since Friday I have had 7 call outs relating to bleeping alarms. This is a very unusual type of call (I'm talking domestic btw, I cover council housing) are your alarms Ei brand by any chance? It must have something to do with atmospheric conditions, my firm is stumped as to why they are all playing up over the last few days...

randomshenans · 12 Dec 2011 at 12:59

Ha we had one of these problems, which is normally the battery low. But that got changed. Still did it. Weird. My step dad had a look at it, all seemed fine. Still did it. Couldn't work it out so disconnected it, took it outside to the shed, removed the battery. Still did it. Thing was possessed!

Bumhug · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:01

Have you pressed the test button? Mine started doing the same thing couple of weeks ago, holding in the test button seemed to reset it and not done it since

Slade2 · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:10

The same thing happened to my FireAngel one last week but I just binned it since I still have three anyway. Also the pre-smoke alarm was going off at work this morning. Maybe there is just more smoke in the air today or something?

Cosimo · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:23

danza said:
Have you checked for fire?

He's still here.

joxang · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:29

MeEsH BaKkA said:
This is rather strange. I have been covering fallout for my firm over the weekend, since Friday I have had 7 call outs relating to bleeping alarms. This is a very unusual type of call (I'm talking domestic btw, I cover council housing) are your alarms Ei brand by any chance? It must have something to do with atmospheric conditions, my firm is stumped as to why they are all playing up over the last few days...

Whaadya know, it's an Ei141.

Coincidence :eek:

?

SMN · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:31

joxang said:
Whaadya know, it's an Ei141.

Coincidence ?

Looks like the uprising has begun. If I were you i would duct-tape them to the wall...

I for one welcome our Fire Alarm overlords...

MeEsH BaKkA · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:31

joxang said:
Whaadya know, it's an Ei141.

Coincidence ?

I don't suppose you live near Enfield?

joxang · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:34

MeEsH BaKkA said:
I don't suppose you live near Enfield?

Oxford.

Called our landlady, she's going to send round a guy with replacements next week. For now I'll just sleep in fear (and with earplugs).

MeEsH BaKkA · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:44

Are they mains supplied and if they are has the breaker tripped supplying them?

joxang · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:47

MeEsH BaKkA said:
Are they mains supplied and if they are has the breaker tripped supplying them?

They're wired into the ceiling, so I assume that means they're mains supplied. No breaker trippage. Any idea if I can turn them off somehow without messing with the wiring?

Ascendancy · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:57

joxang said:
They're wired into the ceiling, so I assume that means they're mains supplied. No breaker trippage. Any idea if I can turn them off somehow without messing with the wiring?

I had hardwired ones in my last place, but if you took them off the ceiling they were connected by some kind of plug that you could pull out of the back of them, so perhaps yours are similar?

MeEsH BaKkA · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:57

It's common practice to have them on the same cct as the light to stop people turning them off, but sometimes they are on their own separate mcb. Ei alarms usually shut up once you unclip them from base, but you would have to take both off as I assume they are linked.

Scythe · 12 Dec 2011 at 13:59

My smoke alarms don't even work. Gotta love robbing student landlords..