How to change batteries in carbon monoxide detector

If you have received a Carbon Monoxide Detector Low Battery message on your panel, you will need to replace the battery promptly to ensure the device continues to function properly. Information to order replacements can be found in our article, How to Order Replacement Batteries.

How to Replace Battery

1. Disarm your Cove panel before you begin this process
2. Open the CO Detector by turning the detector counterclockwise until the back cover releases.
3. Pay close attention to the orientation of the (+) and (-) sides of the battery in the button
4. Place the new CR123A battery in the detector
5. Wait 20 seconds while the CO Detector resets
6. Turn the CO Detector back in place on the mounting plate

To ensure that your Carbon Monoxide Detector is functioning properly, run a Complete Sensor Signal Test.

1. Enter into your Settings
2. Click on System
3. Click Test System
4. Click the greyed out Test button

You will only have to test your Carbon Monoxide Detector, of course, have the option to run the complete test. Once your sensor verifies with the monitoring station, you can exit the test by pressing the Home button on the panel.

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We recommend replacing the batteries in all of your alarms at least once a year, or any time the unit indicates the battery is low. The general rule is to replace the batteries when you change your clock for daylight savings time and / or when you switch your clock back. When the battery requires replacement, you must remove the old battery and replace it with the same battery type.

Locating the model number

Our alarms have a variety of different battery installation procedures, depending on the model number of your alarm.

To locate the model number on the alarm, perform the following steps:

• Remove the alarm from the wall or ceiling.

  • Most alarms are attached to a mounting plate and can be removed by turning the alarm counterclockwise.

• Locate the model number on the back panel of the alarm.

• Once the model number and correct battery type have been identified, install the battery using the directions found in the user’s manual.

  You test both a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector in the same way. Just hold down the “test” button until you hear a loud beep or series of beeps. That will let you know that the detector is working and the batteries are good. It’s recommended to test all your detectors once per month and change out the batteries once a year.

  Changing the batteries in your smoke or carbon monoxide detector is easy. In fact, the hardest part is usually remembering to go out and buy the batteries. Make sure safety is first and you’re standing on something sturdy if you can’t reach the detector from the floor. Then you’ll just remove the cover (usually by twisting to the left) to expose the battery and other mechanisms. Remove the old battery, then use the guides to match up the positive and negative areas of the new battery. Replace the cover and you’re done!

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  Swapping out the batteries in your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector isn’t hard, but it is important and can help keep you and your neighbors safe.

  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - When we turn back the clocks tomorrow night, fire safety experts say it's a good time to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as change the batteries in both. 

  The days of simply putting up the detector, keeping the batteries current, and not worrying are gone. 

  "Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors do have a limited life," explained Patty Davis of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms do have expiration dates marked on them and in general the rule of thumb for a smoke alarm is about 10 years, it's a little bit less for a carbon monoxide alarm." 

  After that, they become less sensitive to the very things they're meant to detect, and if you need to replace them, Davis said to seriously consider getting inner-connected detectors so if one goes off, they all go off.

  "So, then you have valuable time to get out of the house if there's a fire, and it starts in another part of your house while you're sleeping," Davis said. 

  If the alarms have not expired, think: "Time change, battery change." 

  "We encourage consumers to take advantage of a when they change their clocks," she said. "Make sure that you're changing the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Really they're a major line of defense against being killed or injured in a fire or carbon monoxide event in your home."

  There are so many incidents every year of deadly fires where the homes had detectors but they were not working. 

  TIME CHANGE, BATTERY CHANGE:

  Time change and safety checks (Pt. 2) 02:25

  
  

  So, if you push the test button and it works, do you really need to change the battery? 

  Technically no, but you still don't know how much longer that battery is going to last.

  However, here's a twist for you - the guidance on where your detectors should be installed has changed over the years. 

  It's not an understatement to say we trust our lives to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that we install in our homes. 

  Davis said that changing the batteries once a year is recommended but switching them out with the time change twice a year is a good idea. 

  "Important to have smoke alarms on every floor of your home, outside sleeping areas as well as inside each bedroom," she explained. 

  That's right, you read that correctly, she said in every bedroom. 

  "Because if there's a fire in the bedroom, you'll be notified immediately," Davis said. 

  As for carbon monoxide detectors, Davis recommends about the same - installing them on every floor and outside of sleeping areas. 

  She added that unless you have a sleeping area there, they should not be in the basement or in the attic. 

  "You can get false alarms from your carbon monoxide alarm if it's too close to your furnace," Davis cautioned. "You might also have a heating unit in your attic some homes do have that."

  She said with every member of your family, decide on an evacuation plan and where you'll meet outside. 

  "Practice that plan ahead of time so you know what to do if the alarm goes off," she said.

  The meeting spot is crucial because people are killed every year going back and forth into a home for someone who is already out safely but not in sight. 

  In:
  • Your Day Pittsburgh

  John Shumway

  

  John Shumway joined KDKA in October 1988 as a General Assignment Reporter. During his years at KDKA, he has anchored the morning and weekend news and is currently a featured General Assignment Reporter on the station's 4, 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.

  How do I get my carbon monoxide detector to stop beeping?

  Reset your Carbon Monoxide Detector First, look for a button called 'silence' or 'reset'. Hold this button down for 10 or more seconds. Release the button, and the LED lights should blink or turn back on. Your unit might also let out a singular beep.

  Why does my carbon monoxide detector keep beeping even after I change the battery?

  If a CO alarm is at its end-of-life, replacing the battery will not stop the beep. Some CO alarms have a feature that will silence the signal for 30 days, but this will not solve the issue as the CO alarm will continue to beep after the 30 day period ends.

  How do you reset carbon monoxide detector after changing battery?

  Here's how to reset your carbon monoxide detector:.

  Find the Reset button. It's on the front panel, though the exact location and size of the button vary by brand and model..

  Press and hold the Reset button for 5 to 10 seconds..

  Release the Reset button, and listen for a beep. Some models may also flash a light..

  How do I know if my carbon monoxide detector needs a new battery?

  When the CO alarm emits a quick beep every 30 seconds and the red LED flashes, you may need to change the batteries. Replace the batteries in the alarm. If the alarm continues to emit a quick beep every 30 seconds and the red LED flashes, the alarm has reached the end-of-life.