How to Repair a Doorbell in 11 Steps Home & Garden | When your doorbell or door chime doesn't ring, the fault could be in any part of the circuitry -- the button, the bell or chime, or the transformer. The transformer is the electrical component that steps down the 110-120-volt current to the 10 to 18 volts at which doorbells and chimes operate. You can work safely on all parts of a doorbell circuit except the transformer without disconnecting the power. Head over to the next page for the first step. Have You Ever Wondered... How does a doorbell work? What is an electromagnet? What does a transformer do?Someone's at the front door!Do you have a at your house? Maybe you live in an apartment and have a bunch of doorbells – and maybe even an intercom – at your entrance. You probably don't give it much thought, but doorbells make life a lot easier. With a simple push of a button, your friends, neighbors, and even door-to-door salespeople can announce their presence and request entry into your .
If you have a at your home, you probably take it for . After all, it's just a simple , right? You press a button that completes a that a sound. Compared to modern technology, a may seem a bit boring.However, it's the 's that makes it such a . These little devices put the scientific principle of electromagnetism into action in a useful — and ! The heart of a is an . Electromagnets are coils of wire wrapped around a small piece of metal. When passes through the wire, it creates a around the wire.When you press a button, you complete an electrical that allows household to flow through the 's . The by the is then used to power a that creates the sound.Doorbells are low- devices. This means they require little energy to operate. An important part of a is the . The converts regular 120-volt household to the lower (usually somewhere between 6-16 volts) required by the .A simple uses the created by the to move a to strike two tone bars. This makes that “ding dong" sound you've probably heard many times.
The simplest type of is the . In a , the operates a self- . When the button is pressed, the closes and the moves a contact arm. When the contact arm moves, it interrupts the and the stops. When it stops, the contact arms falls back into position, completing the and starting the process over again.This cycle repeats quickly over and over again as long as the button of the is held down. The sound of the contact arm hitting the multiple times every second creates the buzzing noise you hear as the .Today, electronic doorbells are becoming more popular. Electronic doorbells don't have electromagnets or tone bars. When you press the button of an electronic , a special — called an — is triggered that in turn causes a recorded sound to play. You might want chopsticks to help with tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day!It's Wonderopolis…and we have a whole set of activities for you to try out with a friend or family member: Do you have a doorbell at your house? If not, find a friend or family member who does.
If you can, find several different doorbells that you can test out. Do they all sound the same? How loud are their chimes? Do they all last the same amount of time? Compare the different doorbells you come across. If possible, make a recording of the various sounds and then play them back for a friend or family member. Which one is their favorite? If you're up for a field trip, ask an adult to head to the hardware store with you to check out their selection of doorbells. Can you find a really cheap model that you could buy and take home to test? Have fun examining all the inner parts of the doorbell. Do you see how all the parts work together to make the sound? If you can, hook up a power source, so you can watch the doorbell in action. Have fun seeing how doorbells are engineered from the inside out! Up for a challenge? Imagine what life would be like without the doorbell. A simple door knocker might not be enough. With all the televisions, stereos, and video games in homes today, the puny sound of a door knocker would likely get lost in the sounds of the regular household.
Today's mission, should you choose to accept it, is to come up with alternatives to the modern doorbell. What other devices or contraptions might work? Your ideas can be as practical or as crazy as you want. Let your mind roam. How about a megaphone? You could just leave one on the front porch and whenever someone wants to come in, they can just shout through the megaphone at whoever is inside. Do you see any drawbacks to such a system? If you want, draw or paint a picture of your alternative doorbell system. When you're finished, post your picture to Facebook to share with your Wonder Friends. We can't wait to see what your brain comes up with! Did you get it? An electrically wired doorbell requires a transformer to step down the 120-volt house circuit to the correct voltage and wattage required by your doorbell. A doorbell transformer is a small brass or silver colored box about 2 to 3 inches square with two to three terminal screws on the face. You may need to replace the transformer if it has failed or if you are installing a new doorbell.
First, you must find the original transformer installation location. Check behind your existing doorbell. Remove the doorbell from the wall to see if the original installer placed the transformer in an electrical box directly behind the doorbell. Look inside your coat closet if it is near your front door or the doorbell. Look above the closet door and on the front wall. Turn off your main breaker at the service panel and remove the cover. Some installers will place the transformer at the bottom of the service panel. Look around your garage above your service panel if it is in the garage. Look on the wall of the garage nearest to your front door. The transformer will be near the ceiling to avoid tampering. Check inside your furnace closet. Look above the door and along the walls for the doorbell transformer. Gain access to your attic or basement. Look near the front door location or directly above or beneath the doorbell location. Check beneath the stairs in the basement for the hiding place of the transformer.
Look beneath your stairwell in a two-story house if you have a storage area under the stairs. Some installers place the transformers in areas that are not often disturbed. Ace Hardware: Installing Doorbells : Check a Doorbell Transformer You May Also Like If your doorbell stops working, you may inadvertently miss deliveries or leave dinner guests standing on the doorstep for a while. Your doorbell is one of the first things a visitor encounters when arriving at your home, and a pleasant-sounding doorbell can help... A doorbell or buzzer works on 10 volts, and chimes work on 16 volts. A doorbell transformer changes your standard household voltage... That old doorbell that you bought at a garage sale may have a unique sound, but if it doesn't have a transformer... Someone knocking on your front door will tell you that your doorbell is out of order. After testing it, your first reaction... Doorbells are relatively safe to install because they use low voltage power instead of the full 110 or 120 volts of most...