Confused by doorbell

frivolous_fay

Hi All,

Recently removed rusty old doorbell button and got a new one. (It hardly ever worked) Didn't have a lot of bell wire to play with, so have bought a new 5m length.

Before we go gouging silicone sealant out of our upvc doorframe, we thought we'd better make sure the new button and wire would fix the problem. So we opened it up



We made a connection between point 0 and 1 (where the white wires join the circuit) thinking that would essentially do the same thing as the switch. But it didn't fire the bell up.

We then made a connection between point 0 and 2, and the bell worked. (At this point my O/H accused me of rewiring the bell and doing it wrong :rolleyes:)

At this point, we can't see how replacing the white bell wire would fix the problem, because connecting the two white points doesn't seem to make a connection.

Can anyone explain this to a layman in a way we can understand, or tell us if someone has wired the bell up wrong? The bell has never worked consistently since we moved in.

TIA!

Rikki

Confused by doorbell

It rings, you open door. Where is the confusion?

As for the technical bit, I don't have a clue. sorry.

lagi

Ok, i am going to have a go. It looks like from the picture 0 + 1 is correct for the bell wire. It looks like the brown wire on 0 goes to a green bulb, this should light when door pressed then make circuit and the other brown wire connects to 2.

Is the green thing a bulb??? If so you could bypass it if you wanted. Do you have a lighted bell push??? On the front panel which we can't see does it look like there is a light behind it?

If 0 + 1 don't work, then probably the bulb has gone.

eslick

buy a cheap wireless one

frivolous_fay

The green bulb is a mercury switch. Retro huh?
The white arrangement on the left is the mechanism for striking the bell (metal plates on either side)
The new button does have an LED in it to light it.

frivolous_fay

eslick wrote: »

buy a cheap wireless one

Meh... the bellwire + new button cost me about £3.50, I reckon that's cheaper than a new wireless setup

frivolous_fay

Only points 1&2 have the brown wires connected to them btw.

lagi

Maybe the bell push is live all the time. Hold your bridging (practice) piece of wire across 0 + 1, when you remove it does it sound?

This would then make the light in the bell push always on, so people could see it at night.

espresso

frivolous_fay wrote: »

We made a connection between point 0 and 1 (where the white wires join the circuit) thinking that would essentially do the same thing as the switch. But it didn't fire the bell up.

Try moving the white wire from 1 to 4 or use the ends of a pair of scissors to temporarily connect 0 to 4.

baldelectrician

If you have an illuminated bell push the system can not run off batteries. You need a transformer to power it - the batteries would only last a few hours if using an illuminated push

You may have to bite the bullet and get someone in- ps wired bells are far superior to wireless ones, it's usually the push button outside that goes.

frivolous_fay

espresso wrote: »

Try moving the white wire from 1 to 4 or use the ends of a pair of scissors to temporarily connect 0 to 4.

Just tried that - it makes a connection, but it's weak... I mean the bell makes a sound but it doesn't go off properly. The same thing happens making a connection between 2&3