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nieceandtows

When someone walks over a certain part of the loft floor, all the smoke alarms in the house beep (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Honestly I am so bloody baffled by this.

I removed the smoke alarm that would be affected by vibration from the loft floor (which was in the room directly underneath), but the other alarms still go off when someone walks up there (they're all wired together, so when one goes off they all go off). I removed the one that's in the loft too, but it still happens.

I have no fecking idea what else to do 😅 should we go in under the loft floor to have a look, or into the ceiling underneath the loft floor? Any suggestions for what to look for? Should I be concerned that vibration is affecting wiring? Is it spooky ghosts?

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sounds like there might be a loose connection which is getting jiggled?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Thanks very much, I can't believe I didn't think of this - I think I was just so frazzled by the alarms blaring my brain couldn't think properly. I'll be lifting up the floor for a look tomorrow!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I presume your alarms are wired into the main electrical system. Are they also connected to each other using the red wire? This is typically used so that if one alarm detects fire/etc, all of the others start alerting as well

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

As an added hint, your smoke alarms might have something indicating which one specifically set them all off. Mine flashes red from that one every 30 seconds or so until it gets reset.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What u/JoBo said.

I’d look at your wiring. My first thought is there is a short being crated as you walk over that area. It is pressing the wires together

And to be honest I really can’t think of anything else.

Yes I’d look at the floor in the loft. I’d also guess that’s easier than taking apart the ceiling.

I’d also poke in and around the wiring harness for the alarm

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks very much, looks like tomorrow will herald my inauguration into carpet lifting!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

My first thought is to try to narrow down where the issue could possibly be. Maybe disconnect all but the one furthest away from the spot on the floor. If it still beeps when you walk there, try disconnecting that one and connecting the second-furthest.

(Of course, if they're daisy-chained, you might not be able to connect them independently. But if you can, it could help.)

Any wiring that could possibly run through the area where the spot on the floor is, disconnect it and try the spot on the floor again.

Do that until you've got it narrowed down to "the connection between point A here and point B there." Confirm that if the entire system is fully connected except for that wire, it doesn't go off.

Then try disconnecting just one end. Then the other.

Then, disconnect both ends and break out your multimeter with a continuity detector. Connect two wires in that suspect cable that shoudln't be connected and walk over the spot on the floor. (Go slow, because some continuity detectors take the better part of a second to detect and start beeping.)

Theoretically, that whole process should help you narrow down where exactly the problem is before you start tearing up floorboards or whatever.

Also, if you do narrow it down, you might be able to get away with tying a new replacement wire to the old wire and pulling it through, which would be a lot less invasive if you do manage to pull it off.

Though, if the issue is a nail through the wire or something, your best option might be to just open a hole in the floor right under "the spot" on the floor.

Good luck. This is a weird one.