Forum Discussion

TheBeans's avatar
TheBeans
Explorer
Feb 28, 2019

Smoke Alarm

Something new has happened in our rig: replacing the smoke alarm battery has not stopped the alarm from beeping occasionally. Why?

We winterize our rig and put it under cover for the Winter. Twice in the past the smoke alarm battery came to the end of it's life during the months the RV was buttoned up so we had to wait until the Spring before we swapped the battery out....and the beeping that reminded us it was time to put in a new battery always stopped when we did that. Not this time!

I even went and got a brand new battery, thinking maybe the problem with the battery I put in was older and may have lost it's stored juice. Still, the beeping continued with a new (and fully powered) battery.

So, the only thing I can think of is that maybe it's all tied to the RV batteries out on the tongue? They haven't been plugged in this Winter (hubby unplugged during covering it up and forgot to plug the house power back to the rig to keep the trickle going) so is it possible that the RV batteries have given up the ghost and that their demise could make the smoke alarm continue to beep, even when a new alarm battery has been installed?
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Feb 28, 2019
    TheBeans wrote:
    Something new has happened in our rig: replacing the smoke alarm battery has not stopped the alarm from beeping occasionally. Why?


    Replace the smoke alarm, it's due.
  • downtheroad's avatar
    downtheroad
    Explorer
    Feb 28, 2019
    SoundGuy above has good advice.
    You are probably hearing the, "end of life," warning.

    Replace the unit.
  • the_bear_II's avatar
    the_bear_II
    Explorer
    Feb 28, 2019
    They do go bad...
    Kidde has a 10 year smoke alarm that you don't have to replace the batteries
  • Janss's avatar
    Janss
    Explorer II
    Feb 28, 2019
    Same thing happened with ours. Just expanding on others' advice. After reading fine print on the alarm itself, found out you must actually replace the alarm after so many years...new batteries or not.
  • RobWNY's avatar
    RobWNY
    Explorer
    Feb 28, 2019
    Anyone know of a smoke detector for the RV that doesn't go off when making toast? No smoke, No fire, Just your normal toaster doing it's thing. Sets our detector off every time.
  • IB853347201's avatar
    IB853347201
    Nomad
    Feb 28, 2019
    Newer Smoke detectors generally have a life of 6 or 7 years. The one in your TT is likely 6+ years.
    Once they need replacing they will beep until you take out the batteries and discard. If you read the smoke detector manual it will likely confirm this. If you don't have the manual, check online.
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Feb 28, 2019
    RobWNY wrote:
    Anyone know of a smoke detector for the RV that doesn't go off when making toast? No smoke, No fire, Just your normal toaster doing it's thing. Sets our detector off every time.


    If it's close enough it's just doing it's job. I solved this myself by installing an on/off switch so I could temporarily disable the smoke detector while making toast.

  • Janss's avatar
    Janss
    Explorer II
    Feb 28, 2019
    The one I bought from Home Depot has a very convenient push button on it for false alarm. When making toast, I just stand prepared to quickly push the button as soon as the alarm sounds.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    Mar 01, 2019
    SoundGuy wrote:




    SoundGuy....you are the Master of Switches! I know the OEM guys cannot install a smoke alarm shutoff, but they could follow your lead on some of the others.

    Great install,

    Jerry
  • beemerphile1's avatar
    beemerphile1
    Explorer
    Mar 01, 2019
    Are you sure it is the smoke detector or are you guessing? Could it be the LPG detector, or maybe a CO detector? The LPG detector is powered by the RV's batteries and will alarm if those batteries are dead.

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