Why do smoke alarms chirp intermittently?
The “chirp” will only be caused by issues surrounding the battery or miss-wiring. However, a homeowner may confuse the chirp with an intermittent alarm. Try and get the homeowner to be specific as to what they are hearing. A “chirp” will have a higher pitched tone and sound in equal intervals about once every minute. An intermittent alarm will be random, sound usually for several seconds and have a lower pitched tone. Any of these situations can cause unwanted chirps: • Battery Pull-tab is Still in the Alarm The battery pull-tab must be removed after AC power is provided to the alarm. • The Battery Drawer is Open The battery drawer must be completely closed for the battery to make contact with the terminals. • Low Battery As the battery in a smoke alarm becomes weak, the smoke alarm will “chirp” about once a minute to alert you that the battery needs to be replaced. Note: Only the alarm with a low battery will chirp. No signal is sent through the interconnect wire. The other alarms wil
