If your First Alert smoke alarm beeps 3 times after a new battery is installed, try replacing the battery first. If the issue persists, check to make sure that the battery drawer is sliding in and out easily and completely.
3 Chirps approx. every 20 seconds Off Off Condition: Sensor Trouble/Sensor End-of-Life Alarm. Recommendation: Reset the alarm. If this does not clear the problem, replace alarm.
This battery characteristic can cause a smoke alarm to enter the low battery chirp mode when air temperatures drop. Most homes are the coolest between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. That's why the alarm may sound a low-battery chirp in the middle of the night, and then stop when the home warms up a few degrees.
Some smoke alarms also double as carbon monoxide detectors. When it gets cold outside, it's normal for people to crank up the heat. Furnaces, space heaters, fireplaces — these are some solutions to warming up a home.
Most people don't change the batteries in their smoke detectors often enough and that's the most likely reason why they go off unexpectedly.
Three beeps, at 15-minute intervals = MALFUNCTION. The unit is malfunctioning. Contact the manufacturer or the retailer where you purchased the alarm.
Smoke alarms alert you with three beeps in a row. Carbon monoxide alarms alert you with four beeps. A single chirp means the battery is low or the detector should be replaced.
While it's important to call 9-1-1 if your CO alarm is sounding continuously without stopping, a CO alarm that chirps every 30 seconds is not an emergency. It probably means your CO alarm has reached its end of life and should be replaced. CO alarms have a life expectancy of around seven years.
It means there's a memory issue.
A carbon monoxide detector is a must for any home and just as important as a smoke detector. CO detectors should be placed near all bedrooms; they're the only way you will know if carbon monoxide is affecting the air quality in your home, and can help prevent serious illness and even death.
Whether the smoke detector is battery-operated or wired, they have a battery backup if there is a power loss. Inserting the battery incorrectly in the smoke detector will cause it to beep a few times frequently. By removing the battery and inserting it correctly, you can stop the carbon monoxide detector from beeping.
If the carbon monoxide concentration in the air is much higher, signs of poisoning may occur within 1-2 hours. A very high carbon monoxide concentration can even kill an exposed individual within 5 minutes.
The CO alarm sounds if your sensor detects a buildup of carbon monoxide in your home—usually before you start sensing symptoms. With a low CO level (50 ppm), it may take up to eight hours for the alarm to go off. Higher carbon monoxide levels (over 150 ppm) can trigger an alarm within minutes.
Check that the battery is snapped in completely so it cannot be shaken loose. It is possible that battery connections may not be making good contact with the battery. Disconnecting and re-connecting the battery once or twice will likely fix this.
What Does an Emergency Alarm Chirp Mean? This meaning is probably the most self-explanatory. When your carbon monoxide detector chirps 4 times in a row and pauses, this means it has detected unsafe levels of carbon monoxide. This means your entire household should evacuate immediately and seek fresh air.
Possible false alarm causes
Fossil fuel-burning appliances may not be burning fuel completely. Check pilot lights/flames for blue color. Appearance of yellow or orange flames indicates incomplete combustion—a source of carbon monoxide.
Your carbon monoxide alarm is going off for one of the following reasons: It is doing its job properly and detects CO pollution in the air. It is a false alarm caused by other household items. The detector is malfunctioning or the batteries need changing.
Self Checks/At-Home Testing
There isn't a self-diagnosis option for carbon monoxide poisoning, but anyone with confusion or a loss of consciousness should have 911 called for them.
The most common source of CO poisoning is unvented space heaters in the home. An unvented space heater uses combustible fuel and indoor air for the heating process. It vents the gases it makes into the room, instead of outdoors.
Clothes dryers. Water heaters. Furnaces or boilers. Fireplaces, both gas and wood burning.
“Emergency physicians usually see carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of one of two main culprits: One is when people warm up cars in a closed garage. The other is from unvented space heaters,” says emergency medicine specialist Baruch Fertel, MD.
Most people with a mild exposure to carbon monoxide experience headaches, fatigue, and nausea. Unfortunately, the symptoms are easily overlooked because they are often flu-like. Medium exposure can cause you to experience a throbbing headache, drowsiness, disorientation, and an accelerated heart rate.