# Mystery sound driving us nuts!



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

OK - you'll think I'm crazy. For the last few days we've been hearing a 'mystery sound' in our house & CANNOT figure out where it's coming from! it's like a quick, quiet "tinkle" ot "shrrrnng" sound. Happens once about once very hour to hour and a half.It's NOT the smoke detectors - which go "chrip", or our phones. i guess it's a signal that a battery is wearing down - but we can't pinpoint where it's from! i got a call in to the security system guy - to see if it's something in the system... And we had a bit of a power outage in the area awhile back - if that's any clue...
Any suggestions from anyone??


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

computer ?...........maybe software alert ?


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

nope, dont think so. it appears to be getting a bit fainter too...


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

thermostat?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I would guess furnace, thermostat, carbon monoxide detector, or some type of kids toy.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

maybe the frig?

a couple summers ago i was staying at a friend's in the country, they had one of those fancy Sub Zero frigos.

during the night i woke to a loud crashing rhythmic noise. It sounded the way a washing machine goes when it spins out of control with a drastically unbalanced load & the washer starts banging & thumping from one corner to another.

?? it was summer, no furnace. They had no air conditioner, no computer. Still, the noise was obviously coming from an appliance that had gotten itself into deep trouble, so downstairs i went to investigate.

the sound trail led to the kitchen. It was Sub Zero. The frig was rumbling like a bombardier C-series readying for takeoff. I am left wondering Why on earth did they pay so much money for this blumber bus?

consumer reports has this to say:

_The Sub-Zero B1-36U, $7,700, is particularly noisy, which could be an issue if you're sound-sensitive._

jargey you wouldn't be flying a sub Zero B1-36U, would you?


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

obviously - aliens


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

My upright deep freeze has an alarm if the door is opened, or the temperature rises too much.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

no... no.... and no....
still stumped!


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

The power outage sounds like a clue- check anything that has a clock or timer, could need to be reset. Could also be something that has an alert to change a filter or something like that. You might try shutting off one breaker at a time for an hour to see if it narrows it down- anything plugged in would not have power to send the sound.


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## olivaw (Nov 21, 2010)

Refrigerator ice maker? 
Refrigerator cold water? 
Water cooler?. 
Spare bedroom clock radio?
Carbon monoxide/gas detector battery? 
Wildlife, a bird outside welcoming the spring? 
Middle earth fairy folk?


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

jargey3000 said:


> OK - you'll think I'm crazy. For the *last few days we've been hearing a 'mystery sound' in our house *& CANNOT figure out where it's coming from! it's like a quick, quiet "tinkle" or "shrrrnng" sound.


Happens *once about once very hour to hour and a half *

Something on a regular or programmed timed cycle.



> .It's NOT the smoke detectors - which go "chrip", or our phones. i guess it's a signal that a battery is wearing down - but we can't pinpoint where it's from! i got a call in to the security system guy - to see if it's something in the system... And we had a *bit of a power outage in the area awhile back - if that's any clue.*..
> Any suggestions from anyone??


Read some of the responses..hilarious!:biggrin-new:

My microwave will do a faint tone when a power bump occurs. The clock has to be reset at that point.
Also, if I leave a container inside after warming it up, it will beep every minute or two continuously but that is a much louder beep. 

here's is my suggestion and best approach to finding it..

1. TEST and Change smoke detector 9 volt batteries..they are famous for causing weird phantom chirping that doesn't sound like it's coming from them. Same with any CO detectors. They can be tested to make sure the batteries are still ok. 

2. Reset the current time on ALL appliances with clock timers.

3. Unplug temporarily all electronics ONE AT A TIME for the interval you mention. 

4. Make sure if there is a cell phone with reminder, they are all accountable, not hidden in some drawer or under a pillow and check it out.


Electronic timers are pretty much found in all new appliances these days as well as warning piezo annunciators that something needs attention.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Plugging Along said:


> I would guess furnace, thermostat, carbon monoxide detector, or some type of kids toy.


My complimentary Honeywell programmable thermostat has a backup battery. It's one of these 3Volt coin batteries. Should be good for a
"few" years, but eventually, even these need to be changed out.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Found it!!!! The little Samsung Galaxy tablet we got recently (and no one uses)! Son-of-a-...
Surprised no one suggested that (specifically) or recognized the low-battery sound description "shnnnng". Doesn't anyone have one of these? Thanks all!


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

jargey3000 said:


> Found it!!!! The little Samsung Galaxy tablet we got recently (and no one uses)! Son-of-a-...
> Surprised no one suggested that (specifically) or recognized the low-battery sound description "shnnnng". Doesn't anyone have one of these? Thanks all!


Good to know. Wonder if my Apple iPad has a low battery warning...must investigate.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

not 100% sure it's a "low-battery" sound . Not familiar enough with it yet. Maybe it's a "you-left-me-on-too-long" or "shut-me-off" warning or something


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

If it was a low battery warning, worst case you would only hear it for a couple of days.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Glad you found this nois. Fun game. My next guess was a rusty wheel :biggrin:


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

My mystery like this last weekend was like the smoke alarm low battery chirps. 

Start pulling down the three smoke detectors one at a time and flashing fresh batteries in them.
I though ' weird, dated 9/15' - (I Sharpie marker write the date on the side before I add the battery to a smoke detector.)
After all detectors have new batteries the chirp continues,. and it is not easy to locate it.

Pull all the detectors down, and pull the now fresh batteries. Still a chirp.

Pull the carbon monoxide detector out of its plug. A chirp on pull out, then silent.

The two minutes later a chirp from it. This time I know it is the culprit. 
Look more carefully, and there is battery compartment.

Oh, two AA's that I had no recollection of.

This certainly put more action in my 7 to 8am Sunday morning than I am used to.


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## olivaw (Nov 21, 2010)

Once, when I was out of town, my wife called the fire department over an intermittent sound from our carbon monoxide detector. They sent a truck. House was fine but the sensor had malfunctioned due to dust buildup. Now we blow the dust out from our detectors every year.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Most tablets or smartphones have a low battery alert.

The warning sound they make is programmable in settings.

The factory default must be the "shringg" sound. A voice that says "low battery" would probably be better............


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Mystery solved............time to move on to solve the Zodiak killer case.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer

Or the Ricky McCormick notes. The FBI asked for help decoding those in 2012. I haven't heard they were ever decoded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_McCormick's_encrypted_notes


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## mayallen (Aug 2, 2016)

It could be a low battery alert from any of the devices.


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## coptzr (Jan 18, 2013)

Surprised no one first suggested flipping main panel breakers one per each 1/2hr or using cell phone sound meter...glad you found the source


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