Door Bell Problem....

Hi,
I recently bought a 3 family home in mass for rental property.
One of the tennants called today that lives on the 2nd floor,and said thier door bell isn't working all the time.Only sometimes....
It's an older home in excellant cond.What should I check and how?
Iam handy,but haven't worked on doorbells before.The voltage isn't dangerous is it?
Thanks for tips to check for?

 

Doorbells work on only 16 volts. I'd start by replacing the button outside. A few bucks, a few minutes, and only a screwdriver. There isn't even any need to shut off the power.

 

Hi,
I went to see the door bell in question today.This is a three family
home,and has black box near the door with the "Graystone"Brand on it.
There are three white Buttons there for door bells for each floor.as well as what looks to be a speaker.
There is a screw that looks like it would give me access to look inside.
My question is what would you recomend doing on this?He said it works sometimes?Should I open it up and try spraying WD-40 or contact cleaner.Could it just be dirty contacts?What would you recomed doing,as its not as simple as replacing a single type doorbell button.
It shouldn't harm anything to open the access cover on the front should it?Thanks for your help.

 

Most likely you have one [of the three] butons that doesn't work all the time. You should be able to remove the button that doesn't work all the time and carefully even disassemble it. It might just have corroded contacts, which would prevent it from working all the time. Nevertheless, the three button plate you have most likely uses standard pushbuttons so a replacement would be easy to find if necessary.

Kooter

 

Never spray WD40 on anything electrical.

 

Hi Again,
Thanks for the replies.Could I spray the button in question with contact cleaner?
Also If I cannot get this fixed myself,who would repair this,an electrician,or other?Thanks

 

You can spray electrical contact cleaner on it if your wish but I suspect the button can be taken apart very easily and the contacts cleaned - assuming the pushbutton is the problem, which I think it is. I'll bet you can fix it yourself without having to call a qualified expert doorbell repairman!

Kooter