Old fashioned doorbell wiring

frash

I have one of these old doorbells which works grand most of the time unless something bumps off it (it's at skirting board height).

Mostly I just take the cover off - give it a bit of a knock, put the cover back on & it's grand but this isn't working anymore and I've no clue how these are wired.

Can I just get a replacement bell & wire it up?
Does it have to be the same bell or could I get something different? Would the voltage be there with existing transformer or do these old ones take minimal voltage?

I don't want to go back to battery operated so please no suggestions for that route.

Pics here
https://imgur.com/gallery/WZzkiR5/comment/2063953277

sky6

The old one's were pretty much bullet proof so I'd try cleaning the Contacts well and check the wiring.
You might need to also check the output from the Transformer to make sure that is not the problem.
There usually 12 Volt output so if the transformer is not the problem then it should do any new 12v Bell.
A Multimeter will do the job for you and are quite cheap to buy now.

Lumen

Screw in a sacrificial door stop next to it.

Hotblack Desiato

My local Lidl had multimeters yesterday, €12.99. I think bell transformers are usually AC output.

Don't overtighten the centre screw or you will get little or no sound, the dome needs to be free to vibrate.

WildCardDoW

frash wrote: »

I have one of these old doorbells which works grand most of the time unless something bumps off it (it's at skirting board height).

Mostly I just take the cover off - give it a bit of a knock, put the cover back on & it's grand but this isn't working anymore and I've no clue how these are wired.

Can I just get a replacement bell & wire it up?
Does it have to be the same bell or could I get something different? Would the voltage be there with existing transformer or do these old ones take minimal voltage?

I don't want to go back to battery operated so please no suggestions for that route.

Pics here
https://imgur.com/gallery/WZzkiR5/comment/2063953277

Is it just me or is that a link to a random imgur comment?

frash

WildCardDoW wrote: »

Is it just me or is that a link to a random imgur comment?

If you scroll up there's pics there
I had embedded them but they were massive

Thanks for the replies - I've a multi-metre in the shed somewhere just no idea really how to use it!

Am I putting red where the brown wire is & black on the other side and seeing what the dial goes up to?

witnessmenow

frash wrote: »

If you scroll up there's pics there
I had embedded them but they were massive

Thanks for the replies - I've a multi-metre in the shed somewhere just no idea really how to use it!

Am I putting red where the brown wire is & black on the other side and seeing what the dial goes up to?

If you just want to check the voltage level, if your multimeter had 3 holes, make sure the Black one is common and the red one is in "V" one (not the "A" one)

Set your multimeter to "V~" mode on the dial, and then you can you do what you mentioned. (Red to brown etc)

frash

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Don't overtighten the centre screw or you will get little or no sound, the dome needs to be free to vibrate.

Maybe it was this but I took the cover off to confirm the power was there, put the cover back on & now it works again.

Temperamental bloody thing!

Thanks for the help all