End of life · Kidde · carbon monoxide
Kidde: CO alarm chirping every 30 seconds
End of life or malfunction. Seven years after it was first powered, a Kidde CO alarm chirps every 30 seconds and does not stop until the unit is powered off; in end-of-life mode it can no longer detect CO. Kidde says the same 30-second chirp can also mean a unit malfunction.
- What you see
- No light named by the maker
- What you hear
- One chirp about every 30 seconds
If it is sounding a full alarm instead: the maker’s emergency instruction
Carbon monoxide alarm
Kidde: a sounding CO alarm means carbon monoxide, which can be fatal. Press the TEST/RESET button, call 911 or your local fire department, and move at once to fresh air — outside or by an open door or window. Account for everyone, and do not go back in until emergency services have arrived, the home has been aired out and the fire department gives the all clear.
From What Should I Do When My Carbon Monoxide Alarm Sounds?.
Smoke alarm
Kidde: never ignore the alarm. First check for fire. If there is one, wake small children and leave at once by your escape plan — do not stop to dress or collect valuables; feel a door before opening it and use another exit if it is hot; stay low in smoke; meet at your meeting place; call the fire department from a neighbour’s house; do not go back in until the fire department says it is safe.
What Kidde says to do about this signal
- Replace the CO alarm straight away: Kidde says it cannot detect CO once it is in end-of-life mode.
- If the alarm is younger than seven years, Kidde says to call Product Support on 1-800-880-6788 about a possible malfunction.
From Why Is My Carbon Monoxide Alarm Beeping or Chirping? and What Causes Consistent Chirping?. If your alarm’s pattern is not exactly this, check the manual for your model: Kidde models do not all use the same signals.
Other Kidde signals
End of life on other brands
The same state sounds and looks different on each make — which is why a chirp pattern cannot be read without the brand.
Sources
Every line on this page comes from Kidde’s own documents, read on the date shown. Nothing is taken from third-party code sites or other makes.
- Kidde: Why Is My Carbon Monoxide Alarm Beeping or Chirping? — Kidde CO alarms, US range (support article). www.kidde.com Checked 2026-09-29.
- Kidde: What Causes Consistent Chirping? — Kidde smoke and CO alarms, US range (support article; no single model). www.kidde.com Checked 2026-09-29.
- Kidde: What to Do When Your Smoke Alarm Sounds — Kidde smoke alarms, US range (support article). www.kidde.com Checked 2026-09-29.
- Kidde: What Should I Do When My Carbon Monoxide Alarm Sounds? — Kidde CO and combination alarms, US range (support article). www.kidde.com Checked 2026-09-29.