Wacky Doorbell
#1
11-01-02, 06:16 AM
Wacky Doorbell
I live in a apartment complex with multiple buildings, each with 10 units. My doorbell seems to be ringing on it's own. I don't believe it's being caused by pranksters. I just moved to the state of Tennessee so I know it's not anyone that I know. There is no rhyme or reason to the occurrences of the door bell ringing. The only thing that does seem consistent is that most of the time when it rings, there is some one ringing the doorbell of the apartment in an adjacent building. Is this possible? Could some kind of wires be crossed resulting in my door bell being activated when the door bell rings at an apartment in a different building, about 30 feet from my door step?
#3
11-02-02, 09:12 AM
I would have to agree, it sounds like a wireless doorbell. The easiest way to find out is to remove the push button from the frame and see if there are any wires. The new wireless doorbells look just like the hardwired kind, so sometimes this is the only way to tell.
On the other hand, if it's not wireless, it could simply be a matter of crossed wires. If you are in an apartment building, it's very possible all the wires use more or less the same routing. Doorbells use a pair of wires from the push button to the chime. One is always hot, while the other is only hot when the button is pushed, thus activating the chime. If your return wire is crossed with someone elses return wire, then you would have a case of their push button activating your chime. But at the same time, your push button would activate their chime. If you have wireless doorbells, your push button should be activating their chime also.
Another idea is to check your chime and see if it uses batteries, or if it's plugged in to an outlet. If so, it's wireless, and this is where you would change your frequency, make sure your button is the same freq. If the chime has an electrical box (usually blue or gray) behind it, with a transformer (kind of heavy with several wires in and out of it, and a coil of wires around it) then it's wired to the house. PS: be careful with the transformer, it's always hot, and has 110 volts on one side of it. You shouldn't have to remove it, just see if it's there. Good luck!
On the other hand, if it's not wireless, it could simply be a matter of crossed wires. If you are in an apartment building, it's very possible all the wires use more or less the same routing. Doorbells use a pair of wires from the push button to the chime. One is always hot, while the other is only hot when the button is pushed, thus activating the chime. If your return wire is crossed with someone elses return wire, then you would have a case of their push button activating your chime. But at the same time, your push button would activate their chime. If you have wireless doorbells, your push button should be activating their chime also.
Another idea is to check your chime and see if it uses batteries, or if it's plugged in to an outlet. If so, it's wireless, and this is where you would change your frequency, make sure your button is the same freq. If the chime has an electrical box (usually blue or gray) behind it, with a transformer (kind of heavy with several wires in and out of it, and a coil of wires around it) then it's wired to the house. PS: be careful with the transformer, it's always hot, and has 110 volts on one side of it. You shouldn't have to remove it, just see if it's there. Good luck!
