I've noticed that my interconnected First Alert smoke detectors go off unexpectedly, usually in the middle of the night, and this has been happening every 8 to 12 months. We replaced the old detectors thinking they were the problem, but the new ones are acting the same way. When the alarms sound off, I check the house for a fire and silence them, but sometimes they reactivate or beep on their own for a short while, and they don't indicate which detector triggered the alarm as they should. I'm not sure why this only seems to happen at night, and I've already replaced the batteries as recommended by the manual. Has anyone else experienced this?
3 Answers
I’ve had issues with my detectors going off randomly too, and it turned out to be dust buildup and humidity fluctuations that were triggering them. If your detectors are fairly new (like the 10-year sealed ones), you might want to check if they need cleaning or if they’re just faulty. Some brands tend to have these issues.
It sounds like you might be experiencing a wiring issue or a ground fault somewhere in your system. Have you checked if there are any old hardwired detectors mixed in with the new ones? This can cause confusion in how they communicate, especially during the night when electrical loads fluctuate. Just a thought!
Yeah, I totally agree! Wiring problems can definitely cause these weird behaviors. Checking how they’re all connected might help.
You mentioned changing the batteries when they start chirping, but if it’s been longer than a year since the last change, it might be worth doing a full seasonal check. I had a similar problem and just changing the batteries fixed it for me! I write the dates down to keep track better.
Good tip! I also mark dates on my smoke alarms. It's easy to forget otherwise!
I’ve read a lot of negative reviews about those Kidde alarms. Switched to First Alert and haven't had a false alarm since!