FIXING A DOORBELL DOESN'T REQUIRE A LOT OF EXPERTISE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993                   TAG: 9301180383
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Curt Richert
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
FIXING A DOORBELL DOESN'T REQUIRE A LOT OF EXPERTISE
Doorbells. They herald the arrival of guests and are the tool of neighborhood pranksters in the wee hours of the morning.
Sometimes they foil the earnest friend and ill-intentioned jokester because they need repair.
Doorbells can be maddening because they may work one time and then not later. Because the whole system is simple and inexpensive, it can be repaired with ease. Any of the parts are available at a home hardware store. Anyone can fix a doorbell with a little know-how and tools.
Wires connect a low-voltage doorbell, transformer and push-button. The push-button interrupts the circuit until it is pushed, and that rings the doorbell. The transformer converts normal 120-volt house current to a lower voltage of about 20 or less.
Be sure to check the fuses or circuits to see that the transformer is still getting power.
Check the push-button because problems are likely to occur there because of exposure to weather. Remove the doorbell's push-button and remove any dust or dirt on the contacts that connect when the button is pushed. If the wires have worked loose, tighten them and test the push button.
Still doesn't work? Disconnect the two wires on the back of the push button. Touch them together. If the bell rings, you have a broken button and it has to be replaced. Ifthere is a faint ringing or none at all, that indicates the doorbell or transformer need to be checked.
Check the wires to make sure they are connected to the terminals of the doorbell. Broken or damaged wires can be repaired as needed by cutting the wire and reconnecting with wire nuts or electrical tape.
If the doorbell is the inexpensive bell-clapper kind, replace it and see if it works. If you have a more complex or multi-bell unit, check the transformer next and come back to the doorbell if it doesn't work.
The transformer sometimes is located near the doorbell or in the basement of an older home. If you don't have electronic testing equipment, the only way you can tell if the problem is the transformer is to replace it. Be sure to turn off the power to the transformer before you do this.
If the transformer doesn't seem to be the problem and you have a multi-bell or expensive doorbell, go back to the doorbell and check the wires and connections.
It might be worth buying a cheap bell-clapper model and hooking it up to see if power is getting to the doorbell.

Curt Richert is a staff writer for this newspaper.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB