Top 20 Kidde Nighthawk Combo Gas/co Detector Questions & Answers

Try another hard whack. If that does not undo the initial damage, nada will and you have a nice paper weight.

Carbon monoxide detectors have a fixed life span. You did not post the model number and there is no way to tell how long it ago it or the parts in it, were made.

certainly will -- same as low battery will set of the smoke alarm

Is it about 7 years old? The chemistry of the sensor is only good for 7 years, so by regulation they are required to have a timer that makes them die at 7 years, after which they are no longer accurate and could mislead you into a fatal CO poisoning. I presume you've already tried replacing the battery.

Make sure batteries are good, or maybe loose wires connection.

L6 is actually "Lb", which is a low battery warning. If the 9V battery is missing, or if the battery's power is low, an "Lb" message will display, which blink's alternately with the current CO reading, while chirping. If this happens, you need to replace the battery.

When you first power up the unit, you should see three eights (888) on the digital display, indicating the alarm is in the start-up mode and is warming up. The three eights will remain for approximately 20 seconds.

Perhaps that might actually be read as "Lb"? If so, it would indicate a low battery.

send the detector back and have it replaced, The CO sensor will not alarm to levels of CO below 30 ppm and will alarm in the following time range when exposed to the corresponding levels of CO: 70 ppm CO Concentration 60 - 240 minutes 150 ppm CO Concentration 10 - 50 minutes 400 ppm CO Concentration 4 - 15 minutes The alarm shall include a piezoelectric horn that is rated at 85 decibels at 10 feet. When the unit detects carbon monoxide, the alarm pattern will be four (4) short beeps - followed by five (5) seconds of silence - followed by four (4) short beeps. The unit shall incorporate 2 LED's. A green LED will be illuminated to indicate the alarm is operating properly when plugged into an outlet, and will flash every 10 seconds when on backup battery power. A red LED will flash to indicate that carbon monoxide has been detected until the device is reset or CO is eliminated or will flash to indicate low battery or alarm malfunction. The unit shall at a minimum meet the requirements of CAN/CSA 6.19-01. It shall also include a 10-year manufacturer's limited warranty or Test/Reset Button - Tests the unit for proper operation. Resets the carbon monoxide alarm. • Tamper Resist Feature - If activated, unit goes into constant alarm mode if it has been unplugged or has come loose from the outlet.

Hello there,
First, the sensor that read the gas could be defective and is reading wrongly. Sometimes this functions goes off when there is no problem at all, but is caused by a faulty sensor reader.
Since you actually cnnot percieve any carbon monoxide, you are safe, it is triggering it falsely.
All the best, Elect_Comp

"L6" display & chirping sound, indicates you need to change the 9 volt battery in the detector.

If you have misplaced your User Guide, I have included a link to it, that you can download and print for future reference.

http://www.kidde.com/utcfs/ws-384/Assets/900-0113.pdf

Hope this helps you solve your alarming situation. :)

Haha, same thing just happened to me and really scared me. Thats not a '97' that is an upside down 'Lb' for low battery. According to the manual: "A 9V battery is needed. If battery is low or missing while the unit is plugged into a 120V outlet, an "Lb" message will display which will blink alternately with a the CO reading every second and the sounder will chirp every 15 seconds."

Constant problems with these combo detectors. My best suggestion is unplug it from the wall, remove the battery, leave the battery compartment open, then using a can of compressed air that has a straw nozzle (like you clean your computer with) blow the dust and lint out of the unit. Pay particular attention to the grill vents on the front. When doing all of this, hold the can of compressed air as upright as possible. Replace the battery and plug it back into the wall receptacle.

Hopefully, that will clear up the problem. and accumulation of dust and lint will cause them to false at times.

Pressing and holding the test button for 5 seconds is "supposed" to reset the detector.

CONNECT THE UNIT OUTDOOR UNDER CLEAN AIR IF IT PERSIST, REPLACE THE UNIT.

When you pressed pressed the Test button, it did exactly what it should. It was testing itself and the one set of numbers was for co and the other was for gas, The ' 0' means it tested fine and there is no presence of gas or co in the home's atmosphere at this time. :)

Hello
You either have a gas leak or you need new batterys.Try replaceing the batterys then move it to fresh air for a min.
Once done put it back and see what happens.

Ur detector not close to the kitchen?Tries unplug,replug or take out the battery of the device like 10 -20 mins and replace it with a new battery.The device should reboot itself.Will correct itself most of the times.

According to the Kidde Company. If any Error Code appears on the screen and that Code is not listed in the Owners Manual, you should return the unit to Kidde for repair or replacement. However, you must contact them first and have your Proof of Purchase available.

Hope this helps you.

Yes, there is an expiration monitor. The chemical-based sensor degrades and should be replaced every seven years or so. (It's in the instruction manual). I don't know if the monitor is time-based or actually measures an electrical property of the sensor, but in either case, it's replacement time. At this point, the sensor is no long able to detect carbon monoxide.

From the Kidde support page on this topic:
"For quick replacement options, please email or call the Kidde Consumer Hotline at 1-800-880-6788."

Normally, that means the battery(s) need changing.. But, hundreds people have had problems with this combo detector, it's hard to predict what it is.

But, as I said earlier, "Normally that means the battery(s) need changing." The keyword here is "Normally".

Good luck. I hope that solves your problem.