Smoke / C02 Alarm flashing red LED (no alarm)

point decay · 25 Jan 2021 at 22:24

Hey

just wondering if anyone knows what the problem with the alarm is. One of our smoke/co2 alarms has a flashing red led next to the RF module LED (Ei3028).

No alarms have sounded, and all the other alarms dont have this flashing light (It flashes twice every 2 seconds or so).

Tia

https://www.safelincs.co.uk/templates_safelincs/files/datasheets/4218_Ei3028_Instructions.pdf

View attachment Mw3urOf.jpg

Liquid_Entity · 25 Jan 2021 at 22:31

One of my 4 started beeping, wondering why my mains powered alarms were doing that. Never realised they have battery backup. Replaced battery and all was well. Maybe battery running out?

Pho · 25 Jan 2021 at 22:32

Page 29 of that PDF - ~~are you sure you don't have CO issues?~~

edit: I confused alarm and LED

point decay · 25 Jan 2021 at 22:36

Liquid_Entity said:
One of my 4 started beeping, wondering why my mains powered alarms were doing that. Never realised they have battery backup. Replaced battery and all was well. Maybe battery running out?

could be, its weird that its the RF module indicator that is flashing though

arknor · 25 Jan 2021 at 22:57

Liquid_Entity said:
One of my 4 started beeping, wondering why my mains powered alarms were doing that. Never realised they have battery backup. Replaced battery and all was well. Maybe battery running out?

most have rechargeable batteries built in now which is worse than a square batteries imo.

you need a whole new smoke alarm when it goes wrong GG, smoke alarm became disposable instead of the battery
also DOD rate of them seems high so the batteries must be the cheapest crap

Liquid_Entity · 25 Jan 2021 at 23:03

Not sure what model mine are. They were here when bought the house last October. These have standard square batteries and they say they need to be replaced in 2024. I got a few years to save up lol

benjii · 25 Jan 2021 at 23:05

It doesn't mention the flashing with no sound in the manual. However, CO detectors have an expiry date as the sensors become less sensitive over time. If it's 5+ years old, it could be related to that.

point decay · 25 Jan 2021 at 23:09

benjii said:
It doesn't mention the flashing you described in the manual. However, CO detectors have an expiry date as the sensors become less sensitive over time. If it's 5+ years old, it could be related to that.

I think its about 18 months old so should be ok, its also wired directly to the mains. Im guessing its lost signal to the other alarms somehow as the indicator next to the LED has a symbol that looks exactly like a wifi signal symbol

benjii · 25 Jan 2021 at 23:09

Does the alarm actually sound? You should test it, if it doesn't make a sound then the flashing lights indicate toxic levels of CO.

point decay · 25 Jan 2021 at 23:13

benjii said:
Does the alarm actually sound? You should test it, if it doesn't make a sound then the flashing lights indicate toxic levels of CO.

the alarms are working, there are three LED's on the front (top) separate from the red flashing LED of the alarm for smoke/ Co2 etc and none of those are lit

Resident · 26 Jan 2021 at 01:02

May sound daft but have you tested it recently?

Ours flash if we haven't tested them in 14 days.

Werewolf · 26 Jan 2021 at 02:26

arknor said:
most have rechargeable batteries built in now which is worse than a square batteries imo.

you need a whole new smoke alarm when it goes wrong GG, smoke alarm became disposable instead of the battery
also DOD rate of them seems high so the batteries must be the cheapest crap

IIRC the batteries are meant to last the lifetime of the sensor (in theory), so you should be disposing of it at around that point anyway because if the battery lasts as long as it's meant to, the alarm is no longer safe/inside specification and should be replaced anyway.

Having said that I bought a pair of wireless interlink battery powered alarms (fireangel?) and something died in one of them after just 18 months, which i was not impressed with (the beep sequence didn't fit anything mentioned in the manual and support never replied to my attempt to contact them).

JRJ · 26 Jan 2021 at 09:24

point decay said:
I think its about 18 months old so should be ok, its also wired directly to the mains. Im guessing its lost signal to the other alarms somehow as the indicator next to the LED has a symbol that looks exactly like a wifi signal symbol

If you pop the cover off do you have 2 core and earth coming in or 3 core and earth? I'm assuming by the RF module that its probably just regular T&E so taking power from the mains but interlinked by the RF modules, when you test one alarm they all should sound in sequence, does this one?

peterwalkley · 26 Jan 2021 at 09:32

As already said, it will be the backup battery expiring. If you can't just pop a normal 9v battery then replace the thing. 15-20 quid if my memory is correct from when ours last went and its a barely even a 5 minute job to swap in a replacement if you can find the same model number.

Haggisman · 26 Jan 2021 at 15:16

arknor said:
most have rechargeable batteries built in now which is worse than a square batteries imo.

you need a whole new smoke alarm when it goes wrong GG, smoke alarm became disposable instead of the battery
also DOD rate of them seems high so the batteries must be the cheapest crap

This, when we moved in to our house, there were relatively new (about a year old) alarms with a "10 year" soldered in battery. Sticker on them said to replace in 2022.

Needless to say, about 4 years ago the low battery warnings started and we had to replace them (with replaceable 9v battery ones this time!)

loftie · 26 Jan 2021 at 15:23

arknor said:
most have rechargeable batteries built in now which is worse than a square batteries imo.

you need a whole new smoke alarm when it goes wrong GG, smoke alarm became disposable instead of the battery
also DOD rate of them seems high so the batteries must be the cheapest crap

Do they not all have radioactive material inside? Seems daft that anyone would choose to make that disposable over the battery.

bm_999 · 26 Jan 2021 at 17:50

9v pp3 battery to replace more than likely mate. Even though they are mains they all have battery backup

normally with the aicos its 1 bleep every min or so

Or as you also have the wireless interconnected base might be its lost the connection with any other wireless bases aswell possibly

Werewolf · 26 Jan 2021 at 18:27

loftie said:
Do they not all have radioactive material inside? Seems daft that anyone would choose to make that disposable over the battery.

The amount of radioactive material in them is absolutely tiny, and many don't have any at all (it depends on the sensor type).

The sensors also have a limited lifespan (usually around 10 years), so you have to replace them because of that, hence if they put a battery pack in that is expected to last 10 years it's not a major issue, as typically by the time the battery is dead the sensor is no longer reliable and the whole unit should have been replaced.

If you've not checked your smoke/CO alarms recently it's worth taking them down and checking the unit's "replacement" date, usually somewhere near the battery compartment and potentially write it where it's easier to see when say changing the battery if it's a replaceable battery model (I use a red permanent marker and write it on the underside of the alarm, and on the front of the CO alarm).

loftie · 26 Jan 2021 at 18:41

Werewolf said:
The amount of radioactive material in them is absolutely tiny, and many don't have any at all (it depends on the sensor type).

The sensors also have a limited lifespan (usually around 10 years), so you have to replace them because of that, hence if they put a battery pack in that is expected to last 10 years it's not a major issue, as typically by the time the battery is dead the sensor is no longer reliable and the whole unit should have been replaced.

If you've not checked your smoke/CO alarms recently it's worth taking them down and checking the unit's "replacement" date, usually somewhere near the battery compartment and potentially write it where it's easier to see when say changing the battery if it's a replaceable battery model (I use a red permanent marker and write it on the underside of the alarm, and on the front of the CO alarm).

Ah ok, I thought they were all using radiation, didn't know there was another sensor type. I know it's a small amount, but dispose of lots of them and you'd get a bigger amount which is why it seemed daft for them to expire. Also didn't know the sensors had a limited lifespan, so TIL

point decay · 26 Jan 2021 at 19:28

Thanks for everyone's help, the red led stopped flashing about midnight last night. It was too late to run a test from the RF module that covers the flat (noise), but I ran it this evening and everything seems fine.
I can only guess as to what caused it to start flashing but it seems most likely that one of the sensors lost connection to the base station for a short time causing the flashing red LED.