topic Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently in Cameras and Doorbells

Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 19:27:05 GMT

I have recently installed the Nest Doorbell (Battery) and connected it to an existing electronic chime that has been working for the past 20+ years. The transformer for the chime matches the Google specified requirements for voltage, VA, etc.

Here's the issue:

When the Nest Doorbell button is pressed, the indoor electronic chime plays the full chime once every 4th or 5th Nest Doorbell button press. Other times I hear crackling/buzzing type sound for a second or two instead of the chime. The chime works fine if I revert back to original state i.e. traditional door bell button with no Nest Doorbell. So, I know the chime works fine.

The electronic chime setting in the Google Home app is turned on with a duration of 9 seconds for the chime to play fully. Should mention that there is a similar crackling/buzzing sound at the end when the chime plays fully but much shorter in duration.

Would appreciate any suggestions to make chime play every time instead of the current 4th or 5th time. There are no issues with receiving phone alerts with video every time without any issue.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:11:22 GMT

Sounds like a loose connection.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 01:40:27 GMT

Thanks, theman1, for the suggestion.

I have checked for loose connections on the Google Doorbell itself and do not see anything loose. The wires are screwed in tightly using the Google provided wire adapter. Unless I need to look somewhere else for loose connections.....

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 02:02:06 GMT

Have you got any photos of this door chime. The brand? Maybe there is a circuit board with capacitors or a chip that is causing the problem. Do you have any power over Ethernet networking equipment?

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

Brad — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 19:16:01 GMT

Hi there,

I apologize for my late response and thank you for all of your patience while waiting for a reply. I can definitely understand how frustrating your situation must be, but I wanted to make sure that your issue was addressed. Do you still need help with this issue? I know that there's been a delay in response since you posted.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Best Regards,

Brad.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 19:27:35 GMT

It is most likely a transformer or resistor need to be adjusted to the circuit.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 23:56:50 GMT

Thanks, theman1. Apologies for the delayed reply.....I did not get any notification on updates to the thread.

Availability of time and warm weather let me step outdoors to look at the connections again. I can confirm that there is nothing loose. Just to be sure, I took the Google door bell off and unscrewed the wire connectors. I was able to confirm that the wire connectors and the door bell are functional by connecting two ends without the doorbell. Sure enough, the doorbell sounded out the full chime.

Screwed the wire connectors and mounted the door bell onto the wedge and I am back to square one i.e. chimes do not play. So, loose connections can be ruled out, faulty door bell or faulty transformer can also be ruled out. Google notifications pop up fine when someone presses the bell. Video shows up fine. Just the chimes not playing.

I have attached pictures for the original door bell button, the chimes box, wiring to the chime box, the transformer and the innards of the chime box. You will the original door bell button has a resistor but I thought this was not needed with the new version of the Google Door bell. Chime box innard 01Chime box innard 02Original outside door bell buttonInside the original outside door bell buttonTransformer 01Transformer 02Transformer 03Chime boxChime box without the coverChime box with the cover and flaps openChime box wiring info

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:18:57 GMT

Brad, I still continue to have the problem. Any assistance/guidance you cab share would be helpful and appreciated. I have just replied to theman1's message. For some reason, I am not getting notified when new messages are posted

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 01:57:28 GMT

Need you to use a multimeter to measure the voltage from the transformer. Need you to possibly try a different chime. Also, what settings do u have for chime duration on/off electronic mechanical.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 03:36:46 GMT

The diode is not supposed to be needed. But, u might have too much too little voltage.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

Brad — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 17:06:56 GMT

Hey all,

As @theman1 states, you will want to check your voltage using a multimeter. It will be your best method to determine if there is enough power being generated and sent to your Chime for it to work. In the meantime, here is a Troubleshooting Guide to look through and use to troubleshoot the issue. Please let me know if you need further assistance!

Best Regards,

Brad.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:28:33 GMT

Brad, thanks for the assistance. It took me a few days to go and buy a multimeter. I am not sure where I should be checking the voltage and so I did both ends. Here are pictures for the voltage but also a few others that puzzle me. Hopefully, you can help me understand them better.

Thermostat AC VoltageThermostat DC VoltageDoor DC VoltageDoor AC VoltageDoor DC Amps

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:32:16 GMT

theman1, that was my understanding as well i.e. the new battery version of Nest does not need a diode. See the photos in my previous post regards voltage. Any suggestions you can share would be appreciated. I took advantage of the weather and checked the old setup to see if it was functional i.e. remove Nest doorbell and go back to traditional door bell. The old set up works fine and the chimes play fine. Reinstalled the Nest doorbell and I am back to square one i.e. the chimes play every 4th or 5th time. I only hear some sort of static/crackling/buzz for the first three attempts.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:33:32 GMT

The chime duration is set to 9 seconds. Eight seconds did not play out the chime fully. 10 seconds did not sound right. Nine and half is best but that is not possible.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 15:43:40 GMT

voltage should be: 8 to 24 V AC

power should be 10 to 40 VA

frequency should be 50 to 60 Hz

so I already see some problems

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 02:14:25 GMT

Thanks, all. Would help me understand the readings better if you can point out which of them are off as seen in the pictures. Just getting educated.

I saw this replacement (Newhouse Hardware Wired Tri-Volt Doorbell Transformer)at Home Depot for about $15...seems like a good deal

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Newhouse-Hardware-Wired-Tri-Volt-Doorbell-Transformer-3TRAN/############

Replace the hashes in the link above with ############

The friendly folks at Google want to remove it and replace by hashes.

Any reason/concern that this would not work?

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

mldcmx — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 18:16:44 GMT

Hi sdarisi! I came across your post looking for a solution to a similar problem I’m having. Mine is the electronic chime doesn’t ring at all. Your electronic chime actually looks exactly like mine! Have you gotten this sorted out? In the meantime, I’m going to post my setup and what I did with a little more electrical detail incase someone else can help us out.

My current equipment is.

-Google Nest Doorbell (specified that a 8 to 24 VAC, 10 to 40 VA transformer is required)

-Electronic Chime (has 5 terminals, Front, Trans, Rear, Spkr+, Spkr-)

-Nutone Scovill 105-N Transformer (rated at 15VA, 16V)

My current setup is.

-no diode used.

I checked the following:

-I measured various points on the diagram to confirm that there’s a stable circuit going through the whole doorbell system.

-I have confirmed that the transformer is sending out ~18.5v with a multimeter (I used the ACV-200 setting because I assumed we are dealing with alternating current only)

-When pressing the doorbell, the voltage between the two terminals labeled Front and Trans on the electronic chime goes from ~3.2v to ~18.1v for about 10 seconds, then reverts back to ~3.2v

Current Google Home App configuration

Previous Status

The chime only rang once before after I installed the Nest Doorbell. The story was, after hooking up the Nest Doorbell, I pressed the button. The chime didn’t go off. So, I decided to install the diode that came with the original doorbell switch, having no clue I was suppose to change the electronic chime settings in the phone app. I pressed the nest again and it rang. Cool! So I left it. Now it doesn’t work at all no matter how many times I pushed it or configure the phone app.

Other information that may or may not help.

-I hear a slight buzzing sound coming from the chime’s speaker though, but I don’t think that’s relevant to the situation because I assumed that’s from the residual 3.2 volts constantly being sent to the chime.

- I vaguely remember measuring the voltage somewhere when the diode was installed and it read around ~30v. I can't confirm right now because I don't have it installed. I probably don't want to if it's giving me that reading.

I am not looking for a workaround for this problem because I already have several Google Nest Minis around the house to simulate the chime. I want to solve this electronic chime problem specifically. Any suggestions would help!

Thank you for your time!

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

mldcmx — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 18:13:27 GMT

When working with doorbell systems, I believe you’ll want to keep your multimeter setting at ACV 200 unless you are working with batteries. So I’ll only be looking at your AC readings going forward.

The first picture I’m looking at is the one you posted as “Thermostat AC Voltage.” The reading looks correct because the Transformer (device you are measuring) is rated 10VA, 16V, so 18.5 volts seem about right.

The next picture I’m looking at is the one you posted as “Door AC Voltage.” This is the concerning one because it says 81.7 volts when you should be getting around 17 to 18 volts. Your readings go outside Google’s specified 8 to 24 VAC requirement for the Nest Doorbell. I would ask the question “are you sure you are measuring the correct transformer and that it connects directly to your indoor electronic chime?” but you said your old doorbell has been working for decades. You would think it would have burned out long ago if the readings have been that high, but I may be wrong with my knowledge on how electronic doorbells work.

By the way, did you end up replacing your old chime? Would love to hear any updates on your progress.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

theman1 — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 22:06:58 GMT

If you measured somewhere and it was 30v it is too high.

Re: Indoor electronic chime does not ring consistently

sdarisi — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 03:41:33 GMT

mldcmx, interesting to read about your issue. Unfortunately, I have not resolved my issue. Initially, it looked like it might have been a bad transformer based on the multimeter readings.

I ordered and installed a brand new transformer ((Newhouse Hardware Wired Tri-Volt Doorbell Transformer from Home Depot) but the results are the same. I see the same exact performance with the new transformer. I now wonder if the multimeter is bad. I will pick up a new multimeter and confirm.

For my setup, the chimes sound every fourth attempt or so. Rest of the other times, no sound other than a short crackling/buzzing type of sound for a second or two. The crackling/buzzing plays even when the chime plays but it is at the tail end and for a much shorter duration. I cannot figure out what the issue is but will keep a watch on the forums just in case you/someone else figures out the solution. Will update the forum if I stumble into the solution. The good news is the camera works and the phone alerts popup. If this continues, I will just go back to the traditional doorbell button.