This ceiling mounted smoke alarm, model P3010L, manufacture date 4/15/2019 went off at 4:00 AM and has not stopped. Currently, its under a mattress to muffle the alarm. There was no smoke, no change in room temp or humidity, or other reason to explain the alarm, which as I mention, continues to alarm nearly 6 hours after it initially startled my family and I awake. Any ideas as to why it alarmed, but more importantly, how do I make it stop?
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It should have a mute button. I always found that removing the battery worked also. If no mute button or the battery cannot be removed, then a sledge hammer should work. I am assuming it is the alarm going off and not the beep-beep of a low battery.– crip659Commented Aug 28 at 16:56
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That model seems to have a lot of one-star reviews many noting the battery dying well before 10 years. kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/products/fire-safety/smoke-alarms/…– Jon CusterCommented Aug 28 at 16:58
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Hahaha, yes crip559, I did consider the sledge hammer solution earlier this morning. Jon, am I to assume that this model will continually alarm when the battery dies? As a reminder, the alarm is ear piercing. In fact, my ears are still ringing from when I removed it from under the mattress to find the model number. Given the volume of the alarm, battery failure doesn't seem to be the case, in my inexperienced, uninformed opinion.– UmrkCommented Aug 28 at 17:26
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2 Answers
I just had the same issues and called Kidde customer support which was fantastic.
It turns out they use a photosensor to determine smoke. When the sensor gets dusty, it will produce false positive alarms. You need to clean the sensor out with compressed air. You can disconnect the alarm from power by twisting clockwise and lowering it to remove a clip to prevent more false negatives before discharging the alarm as @MTA suggests.
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Thank you, Adam, for taking the time to reply. As I am working, I contacted Kidde by email (no reply yet) but I am glad to learn their customer support was "fantastic." Interestingly, I have an air purifier running 24/7 in the room where this alarm sounded. I guess it doesn't purify the air that well. Finally, I'm curious, did your alarm stop alarming after you cleaned it? Additionally, I am going to add cleaning my smoke/CO/fire detectors to my regular home maintenance, something I hadn't considered. Thanks again!– UmrkCommented Aug 28 at 19:07
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I also have an air purifier running continuously in this space (a basement). I did not think deeply about the issue because I followed Kidde's advice and the problem resolved. The CS rep even claimed there were cases of a spider climbing within the mechanism and triggering an action.– AdamOCommented Aug 28 at 20:57
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@Umrk Even with air filtration, some dust is bound to accumulate on the light sensor. A good burst of air should clean it off. Commented Aug 28 at 23:32
To permanently silence the alarm and discharge the battery, follow the instructions that came with the unit:
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1Thank you for replying to my question. I was hoping to save this device, then realized how dumb using a defective smoke alarm would be. Hopefully Kidde will replace this unit. In the meantime, I've silenced this alarm forever.– UmrkCommented Aug 28 at 17:46