Turn OFF POWER on a Hardwired SMOKE ALARM and Live to Tell about it

Do you need to replace a hardwired smoke alarm? Did a live hardwired smoke alarm wire detach and you want to reattach without dying? Sometimes it's not as easy as you think to located the dedicated circuit for the smoke alarms in your breaker box. We show you how to troubleshoot and safely determine how to temporarily cut power to your smoke alarm. We also explain what a GFI is and why it's needed in certain parts of the home.

Please don't forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel.

Also visit and follow us on:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment Used to Film This Video:

Supplies you'll need:

Turn OFF POWER on a Hardwired SMOKE ALARM and Live to Tell about it

[Scope]

Oh my god thank you. This has saved me so much stress from blindly testing all circuits in my house.

[StephenLawton]

Spot on! I must have missed one of the 15 circuits when i went through what I thought was all the first time. Piece of cake once I found the right one.

[phyllisjrcrestorationdecordesi]

Hi Jay, just wanted to share that I FINALLY decided to follow the steps you shared in this video of how to find the "main connection" for the hardwired smoke detector. Mine was in my Master Bedroom. After turning off the main breaker I changed ALL of the batteries and I NO LONGER have the chirping sound. Your video was THE ONLY video that helped me. Now I'm binge watching your home Maintenance videos. Thank you much.

[PeterJTamburro]

I've been waiting for this video all my life. Same thing has probably happened to everybody. Thanks, Jay!

[TheLite]

Thank you so much!! I bought an older home and the jerk owners before me removed the smoke alarms, never replaced them and the breaker box was not labeled. Your video saved me a lot of guesswork.

[willjames]

Thanks for the video. I had the same experience with a couple Firex G-6 alarms. One additional tip I learned (the hard way) is that if you're using the power light on the alarm as an indicator that you've shut off the correct breaker, you may need to wait a few minutes for the light's capacitor to fully discharge. In my case, when I saw the power light blink shortly after switching off the breaker, I assumed I had shut off the wrong one. I went through all the breakers like this, wasting a lot of time, and questioning whether the alarm was even connected to a breaker in the first place. Afterwards, I found your video and tested only the 15A breakers using an AC voltage detector instead. I found the correct one (which was shared with the master bedroom) on the second try. Lesson learned. New alarms installed. Thanks again!

[steveleo]

Wow thanks. I had to replace old smoke alarms and had the same problem finding the right circuit. Found it on the master bedroom switch (15Amp) and got the job done. Thanks again.

[phyllisjrcrestorationdecordesi]

Hello Jay....over a year later I referred back to your video because the birds were chirping from my Smoke Detectors AGAIN... 😩. I'm Soooo glad I noted in my last comment where my main box was located, because I forgot to note "that" in the main circuit box. I will sleep well once again without the chirping beeps through the night. Thanks AGAIN 👍

[EvonDee]

Thank you!!😊 Mine was the master bedroom, master bath has a separate breaker. My amps were 20.

[juxtapos]

Thanks for the bedroom tip. Mine happened to be on a GFI breaker for the outlets of a bedroom. I was about to give up and wire the smoke alarms without turning off the power like a few times previously. But I figured I might as well try the GFI breakers and one of them was money! I had 4 alarms to install so having the power off helped of course.

[audigit]

I discovered that burning smudge (which is a natural way to clean surfaces and the whole place) which is a great way to remove all trace of a previouse owners habits of smoking, or just being smelly. So, thank you!

[jkk]

This saved me a lot of time! Also, two unrelated helpful tips. 1). If your dishwasher suddenly doesn't power on, first check underneath your sink or nearby cabinet. Electricians will typically install a "light switch" that makes it convenient for them to turn power off at the dishwasher, rather than at the breaker box. If someone accidentally flipped that switch, it will turn the dishwasher off. same applies near the furnace. 2). If your first floor bathroom outlet doesn't work, check the 2nd-floor bathroom GFI outlet to see if it has been tripped.. Electricians may tie those two outlets together.

[chrislee]

Finally, a video instruction that works. Searched endlessly online and on youtube, and got no real help, until I found this video. Jay, you saved me tons of time! I successfully located the dedicated circuit breaker for the smoke detectors, thanks to your video. Thanks Jay!

[Celtic-Texan]

Thanks for making this video. I'm replacing all my smoke detectors(10 of them) with a newer brand that has a different connector, so need to do some rewiring. So when I went to the circuit breaker I noticed the same thing with none labeled "smoke detectors" and also couldn't figure it out when attempting to trace the wires in the attic. So now knowing that they're likely on 15 amp breakers to one of the bedrooms it will be much easier to narrow down now.

[timtim]

*The lesson that starts at **05:50** is very important, THANK YOU for sharing this*

[TinaICXCNIKA]

It's 2:48AM and I just fell in love with you because really, don't chirping smoke detectors usually go off in the middle of the night?! THANKS MAN, for explaining this! Just subscribed 👍🏻

[Pk-bfro]

Thank you so much for making this video. I'm a widower and I wasn't sure what to do with a hard wire smoke alarm.

[buildersedge]

Hi Jay. Hey man. Great video! I've spent much of my weekend trying to figure out wich breaker controls the smoke detectors in my 30 year old home. Yes...I still have the original hardwired detectors. They've never been swapped out. In reading the comments below from others, one gentelman made a good point. He said the light still blinked on his smoke detector even after he turned the power off. He determined that indeed the subject detector did not have power by using a tester like the one you have in your video. Anyway, I'm off to the hardware store to purchase a tester. Not only will it save my ass from getting electrocuted, it will also help to let me know that the power is in fact OFF. Thanks again for putting this together.

[ivanwill]

Thanks for sharing this. Your tip about the 15 gauge breaker, really helped to narrow down what my smoke detectors were connected to.

[tahoemike]

Thanks Jay. Only reason that I searched this out is I got a jolt on the first unit that I needed to replace. As well, as soon as I disconnected one of the leads in the harness (the hot one of course) then ALL of the alarms in the house sounded -- and kept sounding until I connected up the hot again. And got bit again. lol. Then I found your video. Thanks! I had to go through about 9 of the 15 amp circuits to find it, but I did. And it wasn't the master bedroom, which I tried first :-) Thanks again.