Recent Feedback
My mom's smoke alarm continues to chirp at 1 minute intervals. There is no battery in this system. The panel has been taken down & she noticed that the wires are burned inside the panel. The brand is Edwards. It's very old. How can we get the chirping to stop? is this dangerous? Her thermostat is at 76. I told her she should turn that down at least.
Optional Information: Make: edwards Model: don't know
hi, my name is XXXX, XXXXX like to help. Is this an electric smoke alarm or is this attached to an alarm system?
I think it's electric. She has another newer one that is connected to an alarm system, a local company named Toca.
ok, you say it doesn't have a battery in it, so it doesn't have a battery back up then, correct? And does she need that one even though she has one on with the alarm system?
correct. No she doesn't need that one as she has the newer one with the new alarm system.
Ok, if she doesn't need it and has the one on the new alarm system, then i would check the wires to make sure they are all right and to make sure that no copper is showing basically make sure they are safe. Take down the old smoke detector, and put on a blank plate over the box.
Also with the new codes in the last few years they require smoke detectors inside every bedroom and outside bedroom doors along with one on each story of a house. So i would check with your alarm company and see what they would say about maybe adding one at least in the bedroom.
Do you mean the wires inside the wall? And I guess copper would look orangish, right? And what kind of blank plate? Metal? I'm not at her home although I could go out there. Basically though, is this dangerous if I don't get to it immediately? It's been doing this since yesterday & there hasn't beeen any smoke or anything so far.
Yes, I know she has a detector in her bedroom too. Is this dangerous if I don't get out to her house tonight? Tis has been going since yesterday & nothing has changed. No smokle or anything.
if it is an old detector its probably just gone bad, but if she says that the wires look burnt i would check those wires.
hose wires are no longer attached to the house. They're inside the box that has been taken down off the wall.
oh ok they are the actual wires in the detector itself?
right
ok since the detector has been taken down the house wires feeding it still have their wirenuts on them so no one will get shocked?
what are wirenuts? are they at the end of the wires? I can call her right now.
yes they are used to connect the wires together and to protect from electric shock but now that i think about it the detector probably had a small plug on it that she unplugged from the base
I was out there today & just unscewed the box off the wall. I didn't unplug anything.
and there are still wires inside the wall untouched.
are those wires in a box in the wall or are they just stuffed back in the wall?
actually the screw was at the base of the box if that's what unplugging means
how was the smoke detector attached to the house wires?
i have no idea
when it was taken down was there a box behind it?
no
was it on a base plate that you had to give it a twist and then pull off of it?
no, it was a plastic box that I just unscrewed from a screw at the bottom of it.
maybe not plastic though. can't remember
here's the botXXX XXne. the house isn't in danger of burning? just talked to my brother-in-law long distance who said it should be protected by fuses?
in other words, can we wait till Monday to get our new alarm system people out or an electrician?
ok as long as there are no bare wires in the wall no it should be fine. I just want to make sure that it is safe and that what wires it was hooked up to are protected
if you did'nt touch any wires then it should be fine
thanks, I'm signing off & giving you a bonus for putting up with me! thanks
thank you very much, just want her to be safe
Experience: I have 22 years experience in residential and commercial electric.