How Do I Reset the Fire Alarm on My Security System?

You can reset the fire alarm on your security system by making sure that the smoke detector is free of smoke and then disarming the panel twice with your Master Code to clear the alarm. But a 4-wire smoke will require that a power relay is activated in order for a reset to go through.

When resetting a fire alarm on an alarm system, there are two main things that need to be done. The alarm must be cleared from the system, and the sensor (in this case, the smoke detector) must be physically reset. Unless both of these actions are taken, the fire alarm will not clear on the security system.

The alarm is cleared by disarming the system. The process for resetting the smoke detector differs between different types of devices (2-wire, 4-wire and wireless). For 4-wire smokes, power will need to be cut to the device to reset it. This is typically done using a relay. Then a second disarm will completely clear the alarm from the system.

Complete the following steps to reset the fire alarm on your security system:

1. Silence the alarm. Enter a valid user code on the panel or keypad to silence the alarm. This can be done using the system's Master Code or a regular user code.

2. Reset the smoke. The process for resetting the smoke will depend on what type of smoke detector is being used. A wireless smoke will reset with a second disarm, which will also clear the display from the panel.

A 2-wire smoke must have its power cut by the system. Disarming the system a second time will cut power to that zone for a few seconds so that the device will reset. The fire alarm message will then be cleared from the keypad.

For a 4-wire smoke, the device will also need to have its power cut for a reset to occur. But this cannot be done from the panel alone. Instead, a power relay will cut the power to the device. If the relay is manual, a user will need to activate it to reset the smoke. If the relay is automatic, disarming the panel (a second time) will activate the relay. Then the panel must be disarmed again (second or third time) to clear the alarm from the panel.

3. Confirm the reset. If the fire alarm was cleared from the keypad, then the reset was performed successfully. But if the keypad was not cleared, then something went wrong. This could be because there is still smoke inside the chamber of the smoke detector, or the smoke detector could be malfunctioning. Wait for the smoke to completely exit the smoke detector and try again. If that doesn't work, consider cleaning or replacing the smoke detector.