Wiring a doorbell and chime

[DIY GUY]

Hi just joined here today to hopefully get a bit of help. Moved into a home that's 14 years old and want to fit a new bell and chime box, fitted the wired button to my door there was bell wire that was attached to old button so unwired and required and fitted new button. Thing is where the old chime was removed there is just another bit of bell wire for me to connect to new Honeywell unit. Should this not have some sort of mains cable or at least some other wire coming out of wall along with bellwire from a transformer or whatever? It just doesn't really make sense to me, to me it looks as though the bell wire is running from the wall directly to the button outside but I may be wrong, searched everywhere for a transformer but can't come across anything. I'd really like to get to the bottom of this If not looks like I'll go for the easy option and get a wirless button to go with my wired/wirless Honeywell unit. Thanks

 

[Murdoch]

If the old unit didn't have batteries, then you need to locate a transformer, normally close to the fuseboard and see if the output is compatible with the new one...

 

[DIY GUY]

Thanks for the reply, I can't really remember if the old unit had battery's I don't think it did, it was removed last year some time. Where I removed it there is just one bell wire coming out of wall. My new unit has battery's, if I connect that to the bellwire and if bell wire runs from hole in the wall directly to the push button outside would this work? On the Honeywell unit I have it looks like there should be a connection going from unit to bell but also a connection on the unit going out to maybe transformer. But I only have one bell wire hanging out of the hole in wall.

 

[Andy™]

the cable will be either directly between the chime unit and outside, in which case you need a battery powered chime unit. or there will be a bell transformer somewhere. they are either wired as supply to chime unit and separate cable to push button, or cable to push button & chime unit go to transformer and they are linked there

EDIT: id guess you have the latter and there is a transformer somewhere...

 

[Lurch]

Have a look at what the old wire was connected to. Usually it's wired differently for transformer or battery operation.

If there is a transformer it would usually be next to your consumer unit.

 

[DIY GUY]

So do you reckon the one bell wire at push button and the one bellwire at the chime sounds about right and that I just need to figure out where the transformer is?   By the looks of the instructions I should have bell wire wired into two parts on chime A1 & A2 then another cable going into AC1 & AC2. I'm so confused sorry if not explaining correctly 

I've checked beside consumer unit and can't see anything there, if a door bell has a bell wire connected to it then it runs to a chime with battery's should it work? 

 

[DIY GUY]

If my doorbell has a bellwire running to a battery chime should it work? 

 

[Lurch]

So do you reckon the one bell wire at push button and the one bellwire at the chime sounds about right and that I just need to figure out where the transformer is?

Maybe? I don't know, I can't see it. It might be one wire going from chime to door, or it might be 2 wires from door and chime to transformer. You might need to test it to find out. If there is a voltage on it when the button is pressed there is a transformer, if not then there perhaps isn't, so test for continuity.

By the looks of the instructions I should have bell wire wired into two parts on chime A1 & A2 then another cable going into AC1 & AC2. I'm so confused sorry if not explaining correctly

I meant on the old one, if it worked then the connections would clarify whether it was mains or battery.

 

[Doc Hudson]

A few minutes testing with a continuity & volt meter would quickly establish what you have and/or need.  However keep the basics of how circuits work in mind:  Any circuit needs wiring between a supply, switch, load then back to supply. With wired doorbells the supply is either some batteries inside the chime unit or an external transformer. If it has batteries in the unit then all you need is a pair of wires to the door push. If it is an external supply then you also need a pair of wires from the transformer, typically to within the chime unit.  But also don't forget a battery chime unit will be a DC supply whereas some bell transformers are an AC supply.

Doc H.

 

[Sharpend]

And some bell chimes come with transformer in them in which case you'll need an ac feed as well as bell wire to bell push. 

 

[DIY GUY]

Thanks for all replys, I'll need to wait till I get to work tomorrow to get a meter to test. So before I do a proper test I really reckon that the bell wire coming from bell outside is coming direct to out the hole in the wall that I have, in this case do I just put battery's into the chime and pop the wires in the chime and it should work? Thanks again