Dead door chimes

Dec 30, 2013 9 Replies
K

My GE umpteen-year-old wireless door chimes have been erratic recently and finally died. Yesterday they would only sound every third or fourth button press, then quit entirely. I still had the second door button/transmitter I got with the chimes and kept in the refrig to preserve the _expensive!_ battery. It doesn't work either. I checked the batteries in place with a DVM and the current door button's battery was at about 80% but the second was 100%. The chime batteries were very recently replaced and 100%. I can't think of anything else to check that I can replace.



Any suggestions for a cheap new one - locally available (mail order shipping is too darn expensive for many things!)? Too hard for an old man like me to run wire from a button to a buzzer.



TIA



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R

Did you check the chime's battery compartment contacts for any corrosion buildup ?? I have this problem occasionally with a wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer.

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T

Hi, If possible decrease the distance between chime and button to see if it works then. Or RF receiver at chime end is a toast.

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K

Retired wrote in news:maOdnYeFafX7KlzPnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Yes. Polished the positive ones and stretched the springs for solid contact.

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K

Tony Hwang wrote in news:QJiwu.107532$ snipped-for-privacy@fx27.iad:

When I tested they were side by side. I suspect you're right about the receiver.

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M

80% of original battery voltage is as good as dead.

The proper way (not that I do it) to measure battery voltage is with a load on it greater than the load of even I think an analog meter. Some digital meters have settings just for checking 1.5 and 9volt batteries, and probably 12. But I just try a new battery if the meter readign doesn't show it's for sure bad.

Then I save the maybe battery in a maybe-bag, and use it for things that don't take much power.

Try the battery from the fridge in the front door button. Then try a new battery there.

Sorry.

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H

On Monday, December 30, 2013 12:01:27 PM UTC-6, KenK wrote: Can you check the battery voltage at the chime unit when the batteries are actually in place? That is the only way you can be sure that under working receiver conditions the batteries are really ok. Checking the output volt age under the tiny load that a modern voltmeter provides simply doesn't ref lect real-world operating conditions for many batteries and the gizmos that they are used in.

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K

" snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

Yes, that's how I did it.

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K

micky wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I did. Didn't work.

Too expensive to buy one for a likely-defunct chime. As I remember from years ago when I purchased the chime, they were very hard to find (tiny,

12v lithium) and, as I said, expensive, IIRC ~ $10!
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T

With electronics that old, I've seen the electrolytic capacitors on the circuit boards go bad and leak which affects the operation of any unit. If it's worth repairing such as something that can't be replaced, I can usually find the small electrolytic capacitors for it. ^_^

TDD

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