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Project Difficulty:
Easy
Estimated
Project Time: 1 to 2 hours
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| Tools and Materials: |
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Multimeter
Emery cloth or fine sandpaper
Jumper wire
Screwdriver
Wire stripper
Utility knife
Power drill and power bellhanger drill bit, as needed
Stud finder, as needed
Staple gun and insulated staples, as needed
Fuse, as needed
Push button, as needed
Transformer, as needed
Sounding unit, as needed
Bell wire, as needed
Fish tape, as needed
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It's easy to troubleshoot and repair doorbell systems by following the guide below. Before you do, however, check the doorbell push button. Rain, snow, heat, and cold can play havoc with the button--usually in the form of metal corrosion, grit in the assembly, or warpage. Test the button by pressing it. Does it feel stuck or jammed? If so, replace the entire button assembly. If the button feels normal (pushes in easily and pops back out), the problem might be at the wire/screw attachment points within the button. Or, it may be with another part of the doorbell system. See below.
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1.
Troubleshooting
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1) Problem:
No sound coming from sounding unit when the push button is pressed. (Note: If there is a light in the doorbell and it is working, you can assume the transformer is producing low voltage and the bell wire is intact. )
Possible Cause:
No electrical power.
Using a multimeter, check that low voltage is available at the transformer screws. If there is no voltage, the circuit breaker or fuse is off, transformer wires are loose in the junction box or outside the transformer, or the transformer is bad.
Solution:
Turn the circuit breaker on or replace the fuse. Turn off power to the circuit; then tighten the wire connections in the junction box and at the transformer terminal screws. If, after power is turned back on, there is still no low voltage coming from the transformer, replace the transformer.
2) Problem:
No sound is coming from the sounding unit and low voltage is present at the transformer screws. (Note: If there is a light in the doorbell and it is working, you can assume the transformer is producing low voltage and the bell wire is intact.)
Possible Cause:
a) Defective push button.
Remove the push button cover to expose bell wire and wire attachment screws.
Using a utility knife, scrape a shiny spot along each wire just before it goes under the attachment screw head.
Short from one bell wire to the other with a small piece of scrap wire that has the insulation removed from the two ends. (The scrap wire can be bell wire or 14- or 16-gauge wire with an insulated jacket.)
If the sounding unit rings with the wires shorted, remove the wires from under the attachment screws and clean the wire ends with an emery cloth. Reattach the wires. If the push button still doesn't engage the sounding unit, the button is bad.
If there is no sound when the wires are shorted, there is a broken bell wire or the sounding unit is bad; see "b" below.
b) Broken bell wire or a bad sounding unit.
Remove the cover from the sounding unit.
Using a multimeter, measure the low voltage coming in from the transformer--from "T" screw terminal at the sounding unit to the splice joining the transformer wire to push button wire(s) (Fig. 1). If low voltage is present, these wires are functioning.
Have a helper press the push button while you measure the low voltage from the "F" screw on the sounding unit to the "T" screw (Fig. 2), and from the "B" screw to the "T" screw. Low voltage should be present when the push button is pressed.
If voltage is present, the problem is with the sounding unit.
If voltage is not present when button is pressed, the bell wire from the sounding unit to the push button is broken.
Solution:
a) Replace the door push button as needed.
b) Replace the bell wire or sounding unit as needed.
3) Problem:
A buzzing sound comes from the sounding unit when the push button is pressed.
Possible Cause:
Defective sounding unit.
Solution:
Replace the sounding unit.
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2.
Testing a Transformer
You can test the transformer reliably by using a multimeter. In a pinch, however, you can make a jumper wire from 14- or 16-gauge wire. To do this, wear safety goggles and only test the low-voltage side. Strip the jumper wire insulation back about 3/4 inch on each end. Carefully touch one bare end to a bell wire terminal and the other bare end to the other bell wire terminal. If you see faint sparks at the terminals, it means that the transformer works. (Fig. 3)
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