Replaced sidedoor doorbell, button illuminates but no chime when pushed. Front doorbell works, both doorbells share the same chime.
OT: Doorbell not working.
- Thread starter NedFromYork
- Start date
Sounds like the lights are on but no one is home.
Why does my doorbell keep ringing when there's nobody there?
Can you post a pic of your ding-dong ?
No. Chime works for front door, but not this (side) one. They share the dame chime.
Take off the button. Remove the wires. Touch the wires together. If the bell rings, it’s the button. If not, find the transformer and make sure the wires are connected properly. It’s possible you’re getting enough voltage for the light but not the chime. Good luck.
I thought McQ posted under a different BWI name....
"No charge".
Peter Sellers' Clouseau is one of my all-time fave characters. I laughed at this clip now as much as I did when I first watched that great comedy... in college in the late 70s, I think.
Thanks for posting that!
I know nothing, but it sounds like theres a problem where the wiring for the side bell connects to the chime. If that's even how it works.
You most likely have a 16v transformer which has gone bad. easy to replace. I suggest when you take down the old chime to take a picture of the existing wiring. But wiring a new 16 v transformer is easy. If it has 2 blacks and a green, then go black/black, black/whire and of coarse green is ground, then you connect the wired transformer to the new chime. Easy peesy.
I had a similar issue a couple months ago. Inside the doorbell itself, there are usually two separate bells. If one shorts out, just rewire to the second bell. The second bell mechanism has a stopper keeping it from doing a second ring (Ding-Dong vs just Ding). You can snip off the stopper so it will do the full two rings. It can take about 10 minutes and doesn’t really require any special equipment.
I was a kid, but I learned to appreciate Sellers from my dad. He loves those movies. Classics.
I think it is the transformer and it appears the transformer is located in the chime box. Hit front door, "piston" thingy goes up and down. Hit side door, get buzzing sound (like a mechanical attempt) but piston thingy does not go up and down.
Wouldn’t that indicate the transform is good and there is a problem with the piston. May just need a little lube to keep it from sticking. Most door bells I’ve seen have two pistons.
It would either be the transformer or your wiring. Since the wiring inside a wall is pretty stagnant the odds that wiring would go bad sitting inside a wall box are pretty rare. The other way to confirm it's not the wiring is to see if your doorbell is light up at night. The doorbell gets electricity and performs 2 tasks: 1 it lights up or glows and 2. it rings. If your doorbell lights up or glows, then obviously you are getting live electricity to it. Which goes to the transformer. They do go bad. It really is an easy fix. But like I said above, some older homes might have 2 black and 1 green (ground) or they might have 1 black/1 white and the green ground. You will also have 2 very small/skinny wires specifically for the function of your bell. Those are typically red & white. Since the homes are all a little different and the transformers are a little different take a few pictures of the existing wiring before you un-install the existing unit.
Then it's very easy. Wire the house wiring to the transformer: black/black, white/white and green/green.... If you have 2 black, then 1 black goes to white.
Once the transformer is wired into your 120, then connect the 2 small red/white doorbell wires to the front of the transformer. Does not matter. 1 wire goes to "transformer" and 1 wire goes to "front door".
Test it before closing up.
Whoa now. You just lost me by using a highly technical term like "piston thingy". Please keep it simple for us non-engineers.
Put a sign on the house next to the doorbell asking visitors to instead use the knocker on the door.
