When’s the last time someone rang the doorbell at your house? If you’re like me, not many people have come around for the last year and a half during the pandemic. I have noticed a shift in visitors lately though! Activities are starting to pick up, friends are starting to come over more frequently, and my doorbell is being rung.
But who do you call if your doorbell is broken? You might want to attempt to fix it yourself.
Here’s the four areas of a doorbell that cause it to be broken and ways you can problem solve. Make sure that the power to the doorbell is off prior to attempting to replace any of the following pieces.
Doorbell Button
The button is outside in the elements and sometimes gets worn down. To see if the button is your issue, remove the button cover and carefully undo the wires attached to the screws on the back of the button. Gently put the two wires together. If the doorbell goes off when the wires are together, then your button is the issue. The doorbell button is the simplest piece to fix.
Doorbell Chime Unit
To find out if your chime is causing the issue, you will need a low voltage tester. After you remove the chime cover,
you will use the low voltage tester to test the common terminal and the front or back door terminal. Have someone push the doorbell button. If the tester lights up when they push the button you know your chime is getting power and it is the chime itself that is not working. If your tester does not light up then you have a different issue and the chime is not the culprit.
Transformer
The transformer is an unlikely culprit to cause you doorbell problems, but it is possible. You can find the transformer near the main breaker box or on a junction box that may be near your heating and cooling system. First, make sure the bell wires are securely attached to the transformer. Then, test the transformer with a voltage meter and if the voltage is less than 16 it needs to be replaced. If you do need to replace the transformer we recommend calling a licensed electrician.
Doorbell Circuit / Wiring
If the circuit or wiring is the issue with your doorbell it is probably going to be easiest to call an electrician. You can try and find where the wiring is faulty or loose on your own and patch it with additional wiring and wire connectors. Also look for badly kinked areas. There is not typically enough slack in doorbell wiring to be able to use only the existing wiring to patch which is why you will need to add additional. You can get this and wiring connectors at any local hardware store.
No Need to Worry
While we walked through a couple of culprits of a broken doorbell and it is possible to troubleshoot them yourself, you can always call a trusted electrician to come out and take a look. Here at Lux Electric we know what we are doing and can do it safely and well. We might just the people to take this off your to-do list.
