Kidde smoke and carbon monoxide alarm blinking green light

Loud, Continuous Alarming

When the smoke alarm detects combustible products and goes into alarm mode, the pulsating alarm will continue until the air has cleared. For procedures on what to do when your alarm is in active alarm mode, see What to Do When Your Smoke Alarm Sounds.

Table of Contents Show

Loud, Continuous Alarming
Here's how to do a thorough cleaning of your alarm:
Consistent Chirping
Intermittent Chirping (Without a Regular Pattern)
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Testing procedures:
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How to temporarily silence your alarms:
How to clean and reset your alarms:
Resetting a hardwired unit with a removable battery backup
Resetting a removable battery-only unit
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Why is my carbon monoxide detector blinking green?
Should green light be on in a Kidde carbon monoxide detector?
Why is my smoke alarm flashing green and beeping?

If a false alarm is activated, one of the following may be the reason:

The sensing chamber may be dirty
Humidity, steam, or other environmental factors
An electrical condition may be causing power to the unit to be interrupted

First, make sure it's not a real alarm. Then, learn how to silence a nuisance or false alarm.

Here's how to do a thorough cleaning of your alarm:

The arrows are showing the areas to clean using compressed air on an ionization alarm. Shown here is an i12060.

The arrows are showing the areas to clean using compressed air on a photoelectric alarm. Shown here is a P3010.

Consistent Chirping

If a smoke alarm is chirping consistently, one of the following may be the reason:

The battery may need to be replaced. An alarm will chirp every 30 to 60 seconds for a minimum of seven days
With a "low battery" announcement, disconnect the unit and replace the batteries. You can also put a unit into low battery hush for up to 12 hours on newer units by pressing the test/hush button

Intermittent Chirping (Without a Regular Pattern)

Typically, an intermittent chirp is an indication that the battery is starting to lose charge. Rarely, it's due to the white wire becoming loose in the wire nut.

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Hardwired units will have a steady green LED light to show that it's receiving AC power. Battery-operated units will have a quick flash every 30-45 seconds. This does not necessarily mean the alarm is working. Pressing the Test button is the only recommended method.

Testing procedures:

You can test your smoke alarm by pushing the Test/Hush button on the cover and holding it down for a minimum of 5 seconds. This will sound the alarm if the electronic circuitry, horn and battery are working. In an interconnected installation, all interconnected alarms should sound when the test feature on any one of the interconnected alarms is activated. On smoke only models, the sound will stop immediately once your finger is removed from the test button. On combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, press and release the test button, and the signal will go from unit to unit testing the interconnect circuitry as well as the alarm.

If only the unit you push the test button on signals, there's something wrong with the interconnect circuitry either in the wires or in the alarm.

DO NOT use an open flame to test your smoke alarm! You could damage your alarm or ignite combustible materials and start a structure fire. Test your smoke alarms weekly to ensure proper operation. Erratic or low sounds coming from your smoke alarm may indicate a fault in the alarm. Check your warranty and if within the warranty period, contact product support for warranty replacement.

Product Support can be reached at 1-800-880-6788 Monday through Friday 8:00am - 8:00pm EST and Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm EST.

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How to temporarily silence your alarms:

DO NOT USE THIS FEATURE IF A FIRE IS PRESENT. ONLY USE THIS FEATURE AFTER YOU HAVE CONFIRMED THERE IS NO DANGER.

The Hush® feature of most alarms provides the capability to temporarily lower the sensitivity of the smoke sensor for up to 10 minutes. This feature should be used only when a known alarm condition, such as smoke or heat from cooking, activates the alarm.

For hardwired or wireless alarms, only hushing the initiating unit will silence all other interconnected alarms (see below on how to find the initiating unit).
The smoke alarm is desensitized by pushing the “Test/Hush” button on the smoke alarm cover. If the smoke is not too dense, the alarm will silence immediately. If the smoke or debris is interfering with the sensor, the alarm will override the Hush.
The smoke alarm will automatically reset after approximately 8 minutes unless particles of combustion are still present.
The “Hush” feature can be used repeatedly until the air has been cleared of the condition causing the alarm.
Pushing the Test/Hush button on the alarm will end the hush period.

How to clean and reset your alarms:

If you have hardwired alarms, the first step is finding the initiating unit, as that is the key to stopping all of the interconnected units from sounding:

To find the initiating unit, look for one that is flashing RED or GREEN at least once every second while in alarm mode, then follow the reset procedure on that unit.
If the alarm stopped on its own before you could find that flashing light, the initiating unit will flash for 1.5 seconds every 10 seconds.
If there are no obvious signs of a fire, the alarm should be cleaned before being reinstalled. False alarms are most commonly caused by something interfering with the sensor.
To clean, after disconnecting the alarm and removing any removable battery: hold the unit by its edge and thoroughly blow through the gap on the side of the unit with compressed air (like keyboard cleaner).

See examples below:

The arrows are showing the areas to clean using compressed air on an ionization alarm. Shown here is an i12060.

The arrows are showing the areas to clean using compressed air on a photoelectric alarm. Shown here is a P3010.

Resetting a hardwired unit with a removable battery backup

To reset a hardwired unit with a battery backup, perform the following steps:

Remove the smoke alarm from the mounting bracket and disconnect the power.
Remove the battery (for a sealed-battery model, see Battery Settings for a 10-Year Alarm to learn more).
Press and hold the test button for five seconds.
Reconnect the power and reinstall the battery. NOTE: The unit will chirp once when the power is restored, but should not chirp afterwards.

Resetting a removable battery-only unit

To reset a battery only unit, perform the following steps:

Remove the battery (for a sealed-battery model, consult your user guide).
Press and hold the test button
Reinstall the battery. NOTE: The unit will chirp when the battery is first connected, but should not chirp afterwards.

If the problem persists, please call Product Support at 1-800-880-6788 (Hours are M-F from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST).

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Why is my carbon monoxide detector blinking green?

In others, a steady or blinking green light on a carbon monoxide detector can mean it's detected a** low-level presence of carbon monoxide**. If the presence increased, it would cause the alarm to sound. It could also mean it's time to replace the battery, especially if it's also chirping.

Should green light be on in a Kidde carbon monoxide detector?

Why is my smoke alarm flashing green and beeping?

First Alert and BRK alarms have a power indicator light to show you that your alarm is receiving power. Some alarms have a red or green light that blinks every few minutes, while other models blink rapidly or shine a solid light. The light isn't a cause for concern unless the alarm is also beeping or chirping.