- 1). Turn off power to the smoke detector. This will generally require turning off breakers one at a time until you find the right one. If the smoke detector has a power light, that can be fairly easy. If not, then you may have to remove the smoke detector before you can use the multi-tester to tell if it's de-energized.
- 2). Open the smoke detector cover per the manufacturer's procedure. If you don't have the instructions, look for text, a catch or a hinge that will give clues to opening the smoke detector.
- 3). Remove the screws that attach the smoke detector to the wall or ceiling.
- 4). Disconnect the smoke detector.
- 5). Wire the black, white and ground wires from the new smoke detector to their matching household power supply wires.
- 6). Mount the new smoke detector to the ceiling or wall where the old one was previously attached.
- 7). Turn power back on to the smoke detector.
- 1). Disable your fire alarm system. You most likely will need to contact your monitoring agency or the fire department.
- 2). Open the smoke detector cover per the manufacturer's procedure. If you don't have the instructions, look for text, a catch or a hinge that will give clues to opening the smoke detector.
- 3). Remove the screws that attach the smoke detector to the wall or ceiling.
- 4). Note how the existing detector is connected into the system. If necessary, make a wiring diagram so you can reconnect the new detector in exactly the same way. For a four-wire unit, the red and black wires are power for the smoke detector; the yellow and green wires are for the alarm contacts.
- 5). Disconnect the smoke detector from the system wiring.
- 6). Install batteries into the new smoke detector, if needed.
- 7). Connect the new smoke detector exactly as the old one was connected.
- 8). Mount the new smoke detector to the ceiling or wall, and close the cover.
- 9). Restore the fire alarm system to normal operation and notify your monitoring agency or the fire department that work is complete.
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