Gas and CO2 alarms, what am I missing?

[FJ40 Cruiser]

I hope this is the right forum for my questions.  I have a Travel Lite slide in camper that has a CO2 alarm and a gas alarm.  Both made by Attwood.  While the camper is not being used I normally leave it unplugged and the battery disconnected.  Prior to using it I?ll hook up the battery and 110 to charge it and maybe turn on the fridge (on AC).  I find that after about 10 to 12 hours one or the other alarm will go off.  After hitting reset they will go off again in a few minutes.  This continues until I disconnect everything.  This happens almost all the time the first few days of use, and usually late night or early morning.  The gas alarm will go off even when the gas has not been on in 3 to 4 months and the CO2 also.  The camper is not stored near any gas or CO2 sources.  Any ideas other then pulling the fuses on both?  Do the sensors wear out?  They are just under 3 years old. Charging the battery causes a gas, is this what they are sniffing? Thanks in advance.

 

[Karl]

The carbon monoxide (CO) detector and LP gas detector 'sniff' for different things. The LP detector will alarm for things like cleaning fluids, alcohols, ammonia, and numerous other things. It's mounted low, as LP is heavier than air. The CO detector is more selective and usually means there is a buildup of some products of combustion. Are you doing some cleaning when this happens? Do you have any gas appliances turned on or the generator running? Have you tried opening windows and turning on vent fans? The sensors can fail but it's not very likely. Having both of them fail at the same time is very, very unlikely. I would NOT recommend removing fuses to quiet them. Better to find out the cause, rather than eliminate the symptom. It may save you from serious illness...  or worse. 

 

[AlGriefer]

Most of those detectors are a great indicator of battery charge.  If the battery is low, they'll go off.  They willalso alarm if the sensor is dirty, so try vacuuming the slots on them.

Al