Hi,doing a remodel where i have to interconnect the two new SD's i'm installing with the existing SD's.The two new bedrooms being built i was going to put on two afci breakers and put the two bedroom SD's on them.Then interconnect them.I was wondering since the existing SD's are on a different breaker then the two new SD's i'm installing i was just going to connect to the red wire only.Is there 120v.on that wire or is it a low voltage when they tell each other to alarm?I was worried that i might have a bolted fault.I hope this makes sense.:smile:
Smoke detectors interconnected
- Thread starter zappy
- Start date
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Okie Sparky
Member
- Location
- NW Oklahoma
I'm pretty sure the red wire is a low voltage 'signal' wire. Had a young apprentice that tied black and red wires together on a smoke detector circuit, in a house that was built at a GC's lot and moved over a basement. I had left a wire stubbed down for smokes in the basement. When we went back to trim, I told the apprentice to strip and 'cap' all of the wires. Instead he stripped and wirenutted them all together.
I didn't know this when I started trouble shooting them at check out. Ended up calling the manufacturer to help me trouble shoot. Narrowed it down to this. The brand of smoke detectors were Kidde. Manufacturer told me if there was 120v present on red wire, detectors were toast. Apprentice wasn't there that day to 'learn' this valuable lesson. Hope this answers part of your question. Why not connect the new smokes to the old smokes.
I didn't know this when I started trouble shooting them at check out. Ended up calling the manufacturer to help me trouble shoot. Narrowed it down to this. The brand of smoke detectors were Kidde. Manufacturer told me if there was 120v present on red wire, detectors were toast. Apprentice wasn't there that day to 'learn' this valuable lesson. Hope this answers part of your question. Why not connect the new smokes to the old smokes.
Last edited:
Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
Why not just place the exsisting smokes on an AFCI and connect with your new install?
Good question,Because i dont know what else might be on that circuit and i hear alot of bad stories about afci's on here so i want to KNOW exactly whats on the afci's.I'm really just starting to use them and i'm hearing on here that they trip with certain vacuum's and electromagnetic fields from other circuit's make them trip and stapling the wire too hard will make them trip.
So i rather just pull the homeruns myself.- Status