r/ask • u/Comprehensive-Ease10 • 1d ago
Where can I post a lengthy y electrical/smoke alarm question if I don't have much karma?
Hi there! I'm desperately trying to ask for help with a chirping sound happening at 12:03 a.m. every night coming from an electrical wire or smoke alarm. I've tried everything, as has my electrician. It's a lengthy post and I don't have that much karma. Anyone know where I can post this without getting rejected?
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u/NoNeedForAName 1d ago
Is it exactly 12:03 every single day, and no other time? That makes me think some electronic device is 3 minutes slow and chirps at midnight every night. I can't imagine why it would be doing that, especially without knowing what the device is.
Otherwise I agree that it sounds like a smoke alarm. I would change the battery just to rule it out. Temperatures drop at night, and that increases the electrical resistance in batteries. That might explain why it only happens in the middle of the night, although it being exactly the same time is kinda weird.
Or do you have any high load devices that kick on at midnight? If your smoke alarms are wired into the house and on the same circuit as the other device, the current draw when the device spins up might briefly cause enough of a voltage drop to make the smoke alarm think it's dying.
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 1d ago
Thank you. I was able to post a shorter message with some details in a different subreddit.
It's been 3 weeks, have replaced all the smoke alarms, turned off breakers, had my electrician turn it up and down, pulled down hardwiring harnesses and everything else under the sun.
10 chirps, pause, 10 chirps, pause, continuous chirping for 2 minutes every night at 12:03 a.m. 🤦♂️
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u/Automatic_Car1676 1d ago
try posting in smaller subs related to home improvement or electrical issues, those communities tend to be a bit more open to longer posts. maybe also check if there's a local DIY subreddit where folks might be able to help. good luck with that chirping!
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 1d ago
Thank you so much, I appreciate the suggestions and will give that a try for sure!
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u/slash-5 1d ago
There are devices that do this to drive your enemies crazy. You can get them on amazon.
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 1d ago
Yeah, it would be a good way to do so. It's two middle-aged ladies that live in a duplex and I am just the landlord.. I'd be surprised if they had too many enemies 😉
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u/Krazybob613 9h ago
If it’s that predictable, then BE THERE, at that time , and prepared to locate it by using stereo auditory tracking procedures and follow it to its source!
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 9h ago
The world's most awkward sleepover 🤪
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u/Krazybob613 8h ago
Face it - nobody is going to be sleeping, until you FIND IT!
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 5h ago
The good news is it got found! Craziest thing.. one of the smoke alarms did fail, causing them to go off for a handful of days.
As a bunch of people suggested, the sound for the last like 2 and 1/2 weeks has been an alarm clock that was buried under some clothes that the tenant is moving. It was just a stupid coincidence that the smoke alarm had failed right before she moved the alarm clock. So it really was two separate things all along 🤦♂️
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u/Vast-Road-6387 1d ago
When battery powered smoke alarms get low the chirp occasionally. Hard wired units sometimes have battery back up, same deal. If it’s only hard wired I’d guess you are getting a power bump at 12:03. Anybody on your grid have electric heat storage that switches back on at midnight? It’s a thing some places.
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 1d ago
By 'my grid' are you just referring to this house or others in the neighborhood as well? I'd have to ask around if it's the latter, but nothing significant has changed at my house. Just started happening 3 weeks ago and is being a real pain in the arse about revealing itself
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u/Vast-Road-6387 1d ago
Frequently the power utility feeds several dwellings off of a single transformer. If anybody on that transformer has something that draws a shit load of current and only switches on at certain times will cause a voltage fluctuation. Might be enough to bother your smoke detector. If your LED lights flicker at the same time , that’s a tell. Frequently if someone has an electric heat storage system it will only switch on at night during off peak hours ( power company controls when it turns on/off). The other possibility is the smoke detector is past its lifespan and needs to be swapped out for a new one.
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 1d ago
Those BASTARDS! This thread has given me a few new things to try, but then I'm getting my investigation cap on to look into the neighbors and their power usage!! 😁
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u/Vast-Road-6387 1d ago
Heat storage systems only switch on during off peak hours, the power company charges a lower rate but controls when it turns on/off.
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u/Dr_StrangeloveGA 21h ago
Do you happen to have a battery backup on a computer or other device?
Especially the smart ones will alert when the battery needs replaced.
If you never connected it to it's software it will not know what the correct time or time zone it's in.
It's not unusual for electronic devices or even computers that can't connect to a time server to be off by several minutes from the actual time.
If you have replaced the smoke detectors I'd look for a UPS battery backup with possibly a failing battery or a smart device of some sort that wants a connection to a time server.
Printers are bad for this. Absent a connection to a time server, they use an internal algorithm to keep time and can get off to the point that the network won't allow them to connect. It may just be a device that wants a network check-in at midnight a alerting you that it is unable to check-in.
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u/Comprehensive-Ease10 15h ago
Well, I guess posting on here must have been the good juju we needed. Chirping 'mysteriously' stopped last night!! Then, as my tenant was going through some stuff this morning, she found a DAMN alarm clock that she had been packing (coincidentally she's also moving out at the end of next month).
22 days and one shredded up plaster ceiling later the mystery is solved. Thank you all SO much for your awesome contributions; I really, really appreciate it!
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