Fire alarms going off randomly... no fire, no smoke, no fumes?

Home Security Systems
1

Our fire alarms have started going off randomly, but there’s no fire, no smoke, or fumes. We’ve already changed the batteries in all four alarms, but they keep going off for a few minutes and then stop. We live in a rented house and have been here for 8 months without any problems. Anyone know what could be causing this?

2

Sounds frustrating. Are your alarms hardwired or just battery-operated? If they’re hardwired, it could be an issue with the wiring. Sometimes even a loose wire can cause alarms to go off.

3

Summer said:
Sounds frustrating. Are your alarms hardwired or just battery-operated? If they’re hardwired, it could be an issue with the wiring. Sometimes even a loose wire can cause alarms to go off.

They’re hardwired with battery backup. I guess it could be wiring, but we’ve checked the batteries, and everything seems okay.

4

@Brian
If you’ve already checked the batteries, maybe try cleaning the alarm chambers. Dust, humidity, or even drafts can trigger false alarms. Compressed air should help clear out any debris inside.

5

I had this issue a while back, and it was because of condensation inside the detectors. Could be moisture build-up causing a false alarm. A dehumidifier might help if that’s the case.

6

JustinScott said:
I had this issue a while back, and it was because of condensation inside the detectors. Could be moisture build-up causing a false alarm. A dehumidifier might help if that’s the case.

That’s interesting. We haven’t had any moisture problems, but I’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the tip.

7

If they’re going off intermittently, it could be the wiring. Have you checked the control panel for any error codes or issues?

8

Trevor said:
If they’re going off intermittently, it could be the wiring. Have you checked the control panel for any error codes or issues?

I haven’t checked that yet. We’ve disconnected the one we think is causing the problem for now.

9

@Brian
That should help in the short term, but you might still want to get the wiring checked out if it keeps happening.

10

Could be a faulty detector. If cleaning it and changing the batteries doesn’t work, it might just be time to replace it.

11

Had the same issue a few years ago. Turned out to be a bad connection between the alarms and the main panel. An electrician fixed it pretty quickly.