How to Wire a Kidde Smoke Detector

A Kidde smoke detector, although designed to be more unobtrusive than a typical detector, functions like typical detectors by sounding an alarm when it detects smoke. To install the Kidde smoke detector, wire the Kidde to the electrical line inside a wall. You'll need to temporarily disconnect the power for the electric line, and you'll need a few household tools. No special electrical skills are required, but you will need to know which fuse or circuit breaker in your fuse box controls the flow of electricity to the power line you will be using beforehand.

Things You'll Need

Table lamp
Batteries
Ladder
Stud finder

Utility knife
Grease pencil
Phillips screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the electric power to the wall where you will be installing the Kidde smoke detector by pulling the appropriate fuse or tripping the appropriate circuit breaker in the fuse box (typically found in the basement or in a closet). Confirm that the power has been cut by plugging in a table lamp to an AC socket that is on the wall.
- 2
  Turn the Kidde smoke detector so that the back is facing you. Rotate the back panel counterclockwise to remove it from the detector. Insert fresh batteries into the battery backup compartment. Reverse the procedure to place the back panel back on the detector.
- 3
  Place a ladder against the wall. Trace a line in your mind from the wall outlet at the bottom of the wall up to the top of the wall to find the metal electrical junction box hidden in the wall -- alternately you can use a stud finder to locate the metal box. Cut a hole in the wall with the blade of a utility knife. Shine a flashlight in the hole. Confirm that you can see the metal electrical junction box -- if not, cut another hole and repeat the procedure until you can see the box.
- 4
  Place the template paper included with the detector against the wall, over the hole. Trace the template with a grease pencil. Cut through the template with the utility knife to cut the wall. Pull the cut-out section of wall out with your fingers. Wipe the inside cut edges clean of loose dust with a soft cloth.
- 5
  Attach the wiring harness supplied with the detector onto the connections on the detector's back. Loosen the screws on the metal electrical junction box that have a black wire and a white wire wound around them. Use a Phillips screwdriver.
- 6
  Wind the end of the black wire from the harness around the screw on the box that has the black wire wrapped around it. Wind the end of the white wire from the harness around the screw on the box that has the white wire wrapped around it. Screw the screws back in.
- 7
  Attach the included mounting bracket to the metal electrical junction box with metal screws using the Phillips screwdriver.
- 8
  Place the Kidde smoke detector against the bracket. Line up the tabs on the detector with the grooves on the bracket. Rotate the detector clockwise to tighten it onto the bracket.
- 9
  Restore the AC power to the electrical line where the Kidde smoke detector has been installed.

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