soft ding with no dong - needs replacing!

fredphoesh · Jul 27, 2013

Hello guys,
Weve just added a porch to the house, and the front doorbell is now connected by a cable that is about 5 or 6 meters further... and the ding dong is very limp, sometimes a faint ding, sometimes the odd dong... lousy!
I tried buying 4 C-sized batteries but the unit vibrates continuously when I do that.
First off, I have no idea if there is some hidden transformer in my house. I "THINK" the wires shown in this photo are NOT 220v, but there must be a transformer if they are not... methinks.
So to make the ringer loud, I assume I should buy a new one, but dont know how/if I can use these wires to power the new buzzer and if that will help...
As you can tell, I don't know much about it, but would love some advice (not the "call an electrician" type of advice please

Thanks,
Mark.

[ElectriciansForums.net] soft ding with no dong - needs replacing!

Octopus · Jul 27, 2013

fredphoesh said:
Hello guys,
Weve just added a porch to the house, and the front doorbell is now connected by a cable that is about 5 or 6 meters further... and the ding dong is very limp, sometimes a faint ding, sometimes the odd dong... lousy!
I tried buying 4 C-sized batteries but the unit vibrates continuously when I do that.
First off, I have no idea if there is some hidden transformer in my house. I "THINK" the wires shown in this photo are NOT 220v, but there must be a transformer if they are not... methinks.
So to make the ringer loud, I assume I should buy a new one, but dont know how/if I can use these wires to power the new buzzer and if that will help...
As you can tell, I don't know much about it, but would love some advice (not the "call an electrician" type of advice please
Thanks,
Mark.
View attachment 19973

Then call the manufacturer.

Darkwood · Jul 27, 2013

Sorry to hear you've lost your dong ....no man deserves that!!!... have you checked the bell push on your door if the contacts have corroded you may be inviting a volts drop so it doesn't strike hard enough.

telectrix · Jul 27, 2013

best advice i can give is to scrap it and fit a wireless doorbell. you don't need to pay anyone to fit that.

ayjay · Jul 27, 2013

the wires are low voltage from a tranny find the tranny and put the wire into a higher output voltage terminal

Richard Burns · Jul 27, 2013

Longer wires means more resistance from those wires which will reduce the voltage seen at the doorbell.
Using a larger diameter cable would alleviate the problems to some extent but possibly not all.

Bell transformers are often located near or in your main consumer unit so you may be able to see one there.
The other alternative is to get a mains supply to near the doorbell and then run the transformer from that local point.
(the voltage drop will be smaller with 230V than with 12V).

It is unlikely that those cables are 230V since the doorbell shows the supply should be 8-16V, but do not take my word for it as it is possible they could be at 230V, so take care.

baldyspark · Jul 27, 2013

Call a plumber out and show him. He might guide you. Seriously though, wireless is cheap and ten min job and soon it will sound like a chinese phone book. Dings and dongs

ayjay · Jul 28, 2013

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

GLENNSPARK · Jul 28, 2013

dont be a dong....get an electrician in....
then you will get more ding....

Darkwood · Jul 28, 2013

Richard Burns said:
Longer wires means more resistance from those wires which will reduce the voltage seen at the doorbell.
Using a larger diameter cable would alleviate the problems to some extent but possibly not all.

Bell transformers are often located near or in your main consumer unit so you may be able to see one there.
The other alternative is to get a mains supply to near the doorbell and then run the transformer from that local point.
(the voltage drop will be smaller with 230V than with 12V).

It is unlikely that those cables are 230V since the doorbell shows the supply should be 8-16V, but do not take my word for it as it is possible they could be at 230V, so take care.

The system is already pre-installed so must have worked happy for yrs, its highly unlikely that a volts drop in the system due to cable length is an issue ...the transformer usually pump out 15-16v anyway, as its an existing set-up its probably as i said ....corrosion on the bell push or mechanical wear on the striker.

Geordie Spark · Jul 28, 2013

My dong lost it's ding last night, but Tidyboiler soon fixed it.

fredphoesh · Jul 28, 2013

darkwood said:
The system is already pre-installed so must have worked happy for yrs, its highly unlikely that a volts drop in the system due to cable length is an issue ...the transformer usually pump out 15-16v anyway, as its an existing set-up its probably as i said ....corrosion on the bell push or mechanical wear on the striker.

Hello all you guys, thanks a lot for the comments, some funny, some useful

firstly, WRT getting wireless, yeah, could do, but when we build the porch outside the front, pushing the front doorbell a further distance from the ringing unit, the builders used thinnish flex to extend the wire, ran it under the screed through the brickwork, to a new, pretty, illuminated and expensive brass buzzer outside... so that is unlikely to be the issue, though, not all dongs lack dings, and some are less equal than others... so it's not consistent

second, the "transformer" would have to be IN the wall(?), or on the unit, there is no other box anywhere in the house, but if I could up the voltage there, that would be my preference... perhaps the stated variable 8-16v is set to 8 and all I have to do is ramp that up some...

I guess what I would like to do is either find the transformer and adjust it if possible, or get a new doorbell, perhaps a ring rather than dingdong, one which works with lower voltage and can just fit in.

dang, perhaps an electrician is the only way at this point, I doubt we could keep our brass buzzer with a wireless solution since the porch is all face-brick...

thanks again fellas,
Mark.

fredphoesh · Jul 28, 2013

AAH!!
I just heard what I said and think that may be the problem!!!
THe new doorbell is ILLUMINATED!!!
So it's probably sucking up some of the juice needed for the ringing!!
Important info I had not thought of...

So what to do now then, if I want to keep the illuminated button?

tx
Mark.

tidyboiler · Jul 28, 2013

ayjay said:
whry u kica rhy dog? call im fruckoff?

:whatchutalkingabout.........................is it just me or is this written in Swahili?

ian.settle1 · Jul 28, 2013

fredphoesh said:
AAH!!
I just heard what I said and think that may be the problem!!!
THe new doorbell is ILLUMINATED!!!
So it's probably sucking up some of the juice needed for the ringing!!
Important info I had not thought of...

So what to do now then, if I want to keep the illuminated button?

tx
Mark.

When you push the button the light should go out,

Sounds like a volt drop problem as when you push the button you energise's a coil in the bell to make the ding sound when the button is released a spring will return the plunger to make the dong sound

soft ding with no dong - needs replacing!

fredphoesh

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Octopus

Darkwood

telectrix

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ayjay

Richard Burns

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baldyspark

ayjay

GLENNSPARK

Darkwood

Geordie Spark

fredphoesh

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fredphoesh

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tidyboiler

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ian.settle1

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