Kidde Hardwire Smoke Detector Installation Instructions

Decide on the room where you will be installing the Kidde smoke detector. Turn off the circuit breaker at the fuse box that controls the flow of electricity to the room.

Place a ladder against the wall where there is an electrical outlet. Cut through the top of the wall, six inches from the ceiling, using a utility knife.

Place the Kidde-brand wall mount plate on the wall over the hole. Draw a circle around the inside of the hole in the plate, using a pencil. Remove the plate and place it aside.

Cut out the drawn circle, using a drywall hand saw. Pull the cut piece of wall out with your fingers. Dispose of the cut piece in the trash. Place the plate on the wall, over the cut-out circle. Run wood screws through the pre-cut holes in the plate and into the wall, using a Phillips screwdriver.

Measure the distance from the electric outlet to the hole, using a tape measure. Add 10 inches to the measurement for safety. Cut three lengths of electric wire from the spool to this measurement, using a wire cutters. Strip a 1/2 inch off both ends of all the wires with a wire strippers.

Place the Kidde-brand smoke detector on a work surface with the grille facing down. Plug the wiring connector tab into the slot on the bottom of the detector. Rotate the tab clockwise to lock it in position. Scrape the already-exposed ends of the wires attached to the wiring connector tab with the blade of a utility knife.

Wind an end of each of the electric wires around the ends of the black and white and copper colored wires attached to the wiring connector tab. Place a sticker at the other end of each wire. Label the sticker, using a pencil, with the color of the wire it is attached to.

Screw a screw-tab connector over each of the twisted pairs of wires.

Tape the end of a fishing line to the free ends of the wires with a strip of duct tape. Run the other end of the fishing line through the hole in the center of a metal washer. Tie a knot around the washer with the end of the fishing line.

Push the washer, fishing line and wires into the hole in the wall. Place the Kidde-brand smoke detector against the plate, grille side facing outwards. Rotate the detector clockwise to attach it to the plate.

Remove the screws from the electrical outlet plate, using a Phillips screwdriver. Pull the plate off. Loosen the screws on the electrical junction box that is inside the wall now revealed, using the Phillips screwdriver.

Grip the washer that is now revealed in the hole. Pull the washer out of the wall so that you can get hold of the three wires attached to the fishing line. Remove the tape holding the fishing line to the wires.

Wind the end of the black-labeled wire around the upper left screw on the electrical junction box that already has a black wire wrapped around it. Wind the end of the white-labeled wire around the upper right screw that already has a white wire wrapped around it. Wind the end of the copper-colored wire around the lower right screw that already has the same-colored wire wrapped around it. Tighten the screws.

Place the plate back on the outlet and reattach the screws. Remove the ladder and restore the electric power at the fuse box.