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Project Difficulty:
Easy
Estimated
Project Time: 2 hours
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Power drill and 3/8-inch bit
Insulated screwdrivers
Continuity tester
Multitester
Fish tape
Two doorbell push-button switches
Door chimes
Transformer to match chimes' requirements
Electrical box
Pliers
Two-wire low-voltage bell wire to reach between push-button switches and transformer
Three-wire low-voltage bell wire to reach the chimes unit from the transformer
Multipurpose tool
Toggle or molly bolts, as needed
Caulking gun and silicone caulk
Stepladder
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Although modern homes are more likely to have chimes than doorbells or buzzers, their wiring systems are essentially the same. Because a doorbell or chime needs less than 120 volts of power to operate, you will have to first install a step-down transformer to reduce house voltage to 16 or 8 volts, or to match the chime requirements. Be sure to use a transformer that is right for the signal system you are installing.
Once a low-voltage transformer is in place, you must make three separate connections to complete the doorbell or chime circuit. One connection is between the transformer and the push-button doorbell switch, the second is from the transformer to the chimes, and the third is between the chimes and the doorbell switch. The push button is a switch that when pressed completes the circuit and rings the doorbell. (Fig. 1)
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1.
Mount the Chimes
Select a suitable location for the chimes, or signal device; then securely mount it on the wall (Fig. 2). Position the chimes at a location where they are most likely to be heard throughout the home. If the wall finish is drywall, use toggle or molly bolts to anchor the chimes. If the wall is masonry, use masonry anchors or screws with expansion sleeves.
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2.
Wire the Switches
Locate a push-button switch at each house entrance. At each push-button switch location, drill a 3/8-inch hole through the exterior siding. Fish the two-wire, low-voltage bell wire cable from the transformer unit to each doorbell switch location, then fish a three-wire, low-voltage bell wire cable between the chimes unit and the transformer. At the transformer, attach a label to each cable to indicate where it leads to (front door, back door, chimes).
Test the push-button switches using a continuity tester; then connect each lead of the two-wire bell wire to either screw terminal on the switch. Drop a dab of caulk behind each push button. Feed any excess cabling back through the hole in the siding, and screw the switches to the house (Fig. 3).
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3.
Wire the Transformer and the Chimes
At the Transformer
Be sure that the 120-volt power has been turned off to the transformer.
Next, strip 3 or 4 inches of the outer covering from the three-wire bell wire cable coming to the transformer from the chimes unit, removing about 1/2 inch of insulation from the ends of each of the three wires. Repeat this procedure for each of the two-wire bell wire cables coming from each of the push-button switches. (Fig. 4)
Twist together one wire from each of the two-wire, push-button cables and attach both of them to one of the terminals on the transformer; if your two-wire cables consist of two differently colored wires, choose to twist different colors together (one from each two-wire cable) for the transformer connection.
Next, connect one wire from the three-wire cable from the chimes unit to the other screw on the transformer; make note of which wire this is, because at the other end of the three-wire cable, you will attach this wire to the center screw on the chimes unit. If your three-wire cable has two differently colored wires that match those contained in the two-wire cable, choose the third color for the chimes-to-transformer connection.
At this point, there should still be four unconnected wires at the transformer: one from each of the two-wire cables from the push-button switches, and two from the three-wire cable leading back to the chimes. Twist one push-button wire to one of the wires from the chimes. Do the same for the other push-button and chime wires. Make note of which wire is for the front door and which is for the back. (Again, if the three-wire cable contains two wires that match in color to the two-wire cable, connect similar colors together for the switch-to-chimes connections for easier tracking.)
At the Chimes
Strip several inches of the outer jacket from the three-wire cable and prepare the ends of the three wires coming from the transformer. Refer to the notation you made as to what wire was connected to which location (transformer, front door, back door). Attach the wires from the push-button switches to the appropriate front or back door terminal on the chimes (Fig. 5). Attach the wire lead from the transformer to the center terminal on the chimes unit (Fig. 6).
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4.
Complete the Project
Use a multitester to check the system (see below). Set the cover plate over the chimes (Fig. 7). Repair and finish the damaged drywall as required.
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5.
Test the Chimes
Once the chimes unit has been successfully installed, turn on the power to the circuit. Press each push-button switch to determine whether or not it is functional. If the chimes sound, then the installation is complete. If the push-button switches don't work, the problem is either with the transformer or the wiring between the transformer and the chimes. There may even be the possibility that the 120-volt circuit is not working. However, if one button works but the other doesn't, the trouble is either in the switch or the low-voltage wiring connecting the switch to the chimes unit. If the transformer makes no humming sound, either it is faulty or the circuit may be dead.
To test the circuit, set up the controls on the multitester according to its instructions (measurement of DC current is performed differently than AC current). If the multitester does not detect power within 2 volts of transformer's rating, replace the transformer; if it does, then have a licensed electrician inspect the circuit.
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