Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Let me guess, all the smoke detector batteries decided to die before the time change in a few weeks! 

At least they didn't do it at 3 a.m. and wake someone up trying to figure out what that 'chirp' was every couple of minutes like usually happens to me! 

Wierd thing - one detector failed, and it pulled down the entire loop of 107 other devices!

Usually when a single unit fails, it signals a "trouble" condition for itself (giving a specific address/location). This was a true "needle in a haystack" search - the entire data loop for this detector zone went dead.

By pure luck I opened/broke the data loop at a unit that happened to have a 3-legged "T-tap" (meaning one line in, 3 lines out). By metering each outbound leg I was able to find the circuit with a non-standard impedance, and leave it open. Reconnect the other two and bingo - instantly down to 24 dead from 107. Good enough for overnight.

Enter today:
Find the 1 in 24 devices that's internally bad, but not telling you it's bad. Again, the planets are in alignment and I check the very next detector down the hallway. As soon as I pull it from the connector base the leg/loop of the circuit goes normal!  Replace the detector head and everything's normal/green lights/see ya!

The lesson here - a DVM is your friend, and learning to use one can save $$$ and time!!

(yes, I bought both a MegaMillions AND a PowerBall today - can't ignore karma)