Hi,This morning I opened my trailer to get ready to go on a trip. Suddenly an alarm started beeping. I looked all around and finally found the source, coming from near the bottom of the wall in the seating booth. It is a carbon monoxide and propane alarm. However, the trailer couldn't have carbon monoxide in it, as far as I know, because it has just been sitting in our yard for several weeks. The propane tank is turned off. Does anybody know what the problem could be? Is the alarm defective? Does something in the trailer create carbon monoxide or gas that I don't know about? Thanks.

Couple of possibilities....Low Battery WarningEnd of Life Warning (replace the unit)

Some of them have a flashing LED that has different colors for different issues.Green: NormalRed: Alarmorange or yellow: Detector has reached end of life. Only thing to do is replace it.

Thanks for the quick responses:This is a new 2017 trailer so I doubt if it's an end-of-life issue. It may be a low battery warning. I plugged my house electricity into the trailer (using an adapter of course), but the alarm is still beeping. Maybe it takes a while for the battery to get charged and the beeping to stop.

It runs off your battery circuit. It'll reset after the battery gets some charge. Usually it waits to go off until it knows you're sleeping in there and it's close to 3am.

Low battery or switch needs recycling

carbon monoxide/propane alarm | Good Sam Community

16 Replies

aftermath
Explorer III
Sep 23, 2017
Here is something else to try. I was having trouble with mine as well. The classic alarm going off at 2 AM. I don't know how these things can tell when it is the middle of the night.

I read the literature and mine says to press the "test" button regularly. I did this and haven't had a problem since. I test it when I dewinterize just once a season. The tech guy said that dust can build up, along with spider webs and other outside nasty things and the test sequence can clear these things out.

If you have power to it you might want to at least give this a try before you replace it.
Jackfate
Explorer
Sep 23, 2017
Since there weren't farting dogs in there I'd guess low camper battery.

Final answer
Ava
Explorer
Sep 23, 2017
There might also be the possibility of bugs getting in and interfering with the operation of a detector. That is a fairly common problem in some homes detectors.
delwhjr
Explorer
Sep 22, 2017
There is also the possibility it just plain failed. Random electronics failure.
Jim2007
Explorer
Sep 22, 2017
My co2 . Detector is on battery only... so chip means battery are low.....or could be that detector. Is at end of its life.... Jim2007.
westend
Explorer
Sep 22, 2017
it has just been sitting in our yard for several weeks.

Do you have a battery disconnect switch or are you disconnecting a lead from the battery when you park the trailer?

The battery will discharge from the parasitic loads of alarms, circuit boards, etc. in a short time if the trailer is not powered. Do this routine a few times and you will be buying a new battery. No flooded battery will withstand being discharged completely and routinely.
naturist
Nomad
Sep 22, 2017
Typical life for CO detector is about 7 years from date of manufacture, so possible but not likely it is at end-of-life. More likely low voltage reset time, but that is usually not more than a few minutes in my experience. But then I disconnect my battery to keep it from going flat in storage. So maybe a flat battery would cause it to alarm while the converter was trying to get the battery charged.

But whatever the cause, you need to get it resolved. That alarm is a true life saver, don't just remove/disconnect it. Your life (and that of your entire family) depend on it.
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Sep 22, 2017
Just because it's a 20117 unit means nothing concerning 'end of life' on the sensor. You have no idea how long the detector sat on the shelf before install, could be a couple years old for that matter.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Sep 22, 2017
I get all kinds of "chirps" happening when my battery gets low if not plugged into shore power 24x7.
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 22, 2017
What is the battery voltage?