Question:
smoke detector false alarm, Help Trying to help out a, neighbor. We have the same in house fire detectors, wired to the main breaker panel. there 3 in each house, he has one that is sounding at odd times a few times a day, I have removed the unit, and swapped it with one of mine, I have no problem with it, but he still gets an alarm at odd times. the wires in the unit are tight should I be looking for something down the line to be lose or try something else, the units are not in direct sunlight. Any help will be appreciated, he will sleep better and so will I.

Answer: Two possibilities, first, these are probably photoelectric smoke detectors,which means that they "see" smoke,but can confuse dust with smoke. So be sure they aren't located in a dusty area. Second, they should not be located in certain areas, such as attics, and peaks, or corners of rooms for that matter. If you can get a copy of the manufacturers directions, it will guide you here. Also, they should have 9volt batteries in them as backups, which when low should give you a periodic beep, but sometimes the units act erratic. As far as the wiring goes. Black to black, white to white and if it uses an interconnect, red to red