How to Repair a Broken Doorbell

Knocks on doors often go unheard, especially when homeowners are preoccupied with the sounds of television and family. Even in smaller homes, doorbells are sometimes a necessity in order to realize visitors are at the door. When doorbells aren’t working properly, visitors may think no one is home and you might not notice their presence. This might be a good thing if you don’t care for your in-laws or if you don’t appreciate surprise visits, but chances are you want your doorbell to alert you when someone comes to call.

A broken doorbell doesn’t necessarily require replacement. Problems with doorbells are usually easy to diagnose and easy to repair. Don’t call a home repair professional if your doorbell is broken. If your doorbell is broken, the following troubleshooting and solution guide will help you repair your broken doorbell yourself. After you repair your broken doorbell you’ll have a new sense of self-confidence that will encourage you to tackle and repair other broken items around the home.

Don’t let your broken doorbell stop you from welcoming visitors to your home. Repair your broken doorbell today so you can take down the sign that says “Knock Hard.” Once your repair your broken doorbell you’ll realize once again that having a working doorbell is a real luxury. You can still find other creative ways to avoid your in-laws if you don’t enjoy their company!

The Simple Parts of a Doorbell

Don’t be intimidated by your broken doorbell. There really isn’t much to the working mechanisms of a doorbell. A basic electric doorbell consists of a simple chime, electrical wiring, a twelve to sixteen-volt transformer, and a push button. Since there really isn’t much to the working mechanisms of a doorbell, if your doorbell is broken there could only be a few possible problems.

Testing the Voltage to the Push Button

Although a doorbell doesn’t typically contain enough voltage to cause injury, the transformer could be defective. This could cause injury if 120-volts are surging through the electrical wires and into the push button. The first order of business when testing and repairing an electric doorbell is to test the voltage received by the push button.

Simply remove the cover of the doorbell, and test the doorbell with a neon test lamp by placing the probes against the terminals. If the voltage tester lights up your doorbell is unsafe. The push button is receiving too much voltage, and the transformer will require replacement.

Testing the Doorbell Wiring

Sometimes a broken doorbell simply has a loose wire. Before disconnecting the wiring to the doorbell, take a close look at all of the wiring. Check the connections to the signal unit, the doorbell button, and the transformer. If all of the wiring looks fine, you’ll need to test the wiring with a continuity tester. A continuity tester is a handy gadget to keep on hand, and it’s an easy way to check the wiring of a broken doorbell.

Simply disconnect the wiring that leads from the transformer to the doorbell button. Twist the doorbell button wires together, and check the wires coming from the transformer. If the continuity tester doesn’t respond, the wires are bad, and they may be broken within the insulation. If you determine the wires are broken or somehow defective, replace the wires or connect the broken ends by twisting them together with a wire nut, and wrap the bare wires with electrical tape.

Testing the Transformer

If the wiring to the transformer appears to be attached and undamaged, the transformer might still require replacement if the doorbell doesn’t work. Test the functionality of the transformer using a 12-volt test lamp. If you don’t have a 12-volt test lamp, you can buy one from an auto supply store. Twelve-volt test lamps are relatively inexpensive, and this is also a handy gadget to have on hand. If the test lamp doesn’t light, the transformer is defective and requires replacement.

Since the transformer is connected to household electricity, make sure the electricity is off before disconnecting the transformer or doing any further repairs to the doorbell.

Replacing the Doorbell Transformer

After making sure the electricity that powers the doorbell is off, remove the cover of the junction box connected to the doorbell transformer. Disconnect the old transformer and connect the new transformer in the same manner. Typically the junction box will contain black wires and white wires. Simply connect the black wires to the black wires, and connect the white wires to the white wires. If the transformer was the only problem with your broken doorbell, the doorbell should now be operational. If your doorbell is still broken, you’ll need to replace the signal unit with a signal unit that’s comparable to the old one.