Nest Doorbell (Wired) Gen2 - Chime Won't Activate

[mcdemarcay]

Have 2 new Gen2 Wired Doorbells for Front and Rear. Both DBs are powered up and connected to the Home App, all lights active, recognize all presses, motion, etc. Camera view perfect. However,  the Nutone Indoor Chime (mechanical) won't activate the plunger. I can see when someone presses the DB the plunger barely moves towards the chime.  I think it may be under-powered Nutone C905 16v 10va transformer, not the chime. Do I need a higher 16v 30va?

Troubleshooting steps:

1) Voltage tested at the Nutone C905 Transformer 16v 10va 60Hz: Reading between 19v-20.0v

2) Voltage tested at the inside Door Chime by touching the Trans and the 2nd transformer wire that is combined with single wires running directly to back of each doorbell. Same voltage, no drop.

3) Removed Nest 2nd Gen Doorbell from outside wall and tested voltage at two wires and it was same as well.

4) However, when either Front or Rear Nest Doorbell is pressed, the voltage between the Trans and either Front or Rear depending on which one was pressed, fluctuates wildly and the mechanical plunger barely moves (not enough to engage the chime)

5) Prior to installing both new DBs, but after removing the old doorbells, I had to touch the two wires together at the doorbell locations to find the correct circuit breaker. Those tests on both the front and rear doors activated the Door Chime just fine.

6) Checked all wire connections and made sure screws were tight on back of DBs and Chime.

[MplsCustomer]

@mcdemarcay 

And you installed the new "chime pucks" that come with the new 2nd gen Google Nest wired doorbell?

On the old Nest Hellos, some of us could only get our mechanical chimes to work by turning on the "Chime Duration" setting and then turning it off. Maybe that's happening with the new doorbells too.

There is this new help page on transformers for the new doorbells and how to wire them:

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/12153643?hl=en

[mcdemarcay]

I am using all new chime pucks with the 2nd gen DB. No old Nest Hello. I am pretty sure now that I need a 16v 30va, instead of 16v 10va, transformer based on this YouTube video showing testing between the two types. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUO7o_vrEMw I have almost the exact problem the guy shows in the video with the voltage drop not being enough to power both Nest Doorbell and Chime. I ordered a 16v 30va transformer from Amazon and will test it in the morning. Thanks! 

[mcdemarcay · Accepted solution]

The higher 16v 30va transformer solved the issue. The older 16v 10va just wasn't strong enough to power Chime and 2 DBs.

[EmersonB]

Hi folks,

@mcdemarcay we really appreciate the efforts you've made for this concern. We're glad that it's working now. Let me know if you have additional questions.

@MplsCustomer I appreciate your response.

Regards,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hello mcdemarcay,

I'm dropping by to ensure that everything is covered here. Let us know if you have more questions in mind.

Best,
Emerson

[EmersonB]

Hi mcdemarcay,

We haven’t heard any updates from you. I’ll go ahead and lock this thread in 24 hours. If you're still in need of assistance, feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.

Thanks,
Emerson

[FancyHelo]

Same problem here. Works without puck installed. No chime tone when puck is installed. Tried the duration trick - doesn’t work. Power good at 16V 10A. Must be defective puck like many other posts here?  How do I get a new one?

[mcdemarcay]

When looking at the chime have someone press the Nest doorbell and see if the mechanical plunger moves at all inside the chime. If it does flicker it probably means the transformer isn't strong enough when the doorbell is pressed. All my power tested fine with cameras working, etc. until the doorbell was actually pressed. Mine needed the 16v 30va, instead of 16v 10va.

[FancyHelo]

Thank you for the information.  It is disappointing that consumers have to deal with and figure out specification errors of a billion dollar company?  Maybe they will change the specs to be accurate or possibly they aren't to sell more product as including the purchase and change or your existing 16V/10A chime is a much bigger project and would definitely result in fewer sales?  I guess I am stuck now with a bigger project?  Did you just buy a new chime?  Thank you very much! 

[mcdemarcay]

So if you confirm that the chime plunger barely moves then a new chime isn't going to solve it.  Amazon sells the 16v 30va transformers for about $25 and if you can locate the existing one it is pretty easy to change out (just 3 wires but turn breaker off 1st). 

[MplsCustomer]

Any difficulty depends on whether your transformer is in an accessible location. Our old transformer was VERY old (our house is 93 years old) and was part of the cover on an electrical box that was very hard to reach. I ended up (with the circuit turned off) removing the electrical box cover/transformer combination, replacing it with a regular electrical box cover, and running wires to a new location a few feet away where I could install the new transformer.

[Brad]

Hey there,

Sorry to hear that some of are you are still experiencing this. We’re always looking for ways to improve, and appreciate your feedback. You can send it at any time using your devices by saying, "Hey Google, send feedback," or by following the steps found here. 

Best regards,
Brad

[Brad]

Hi there, 

Just checking in to see how the conversation is going. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. We'll leave this thread open for a little longer for follow-up questions and concerns. 

Best regards, 

Brad

[Brad]

Hi there,

Just checking in on this thread and the activity on it. We'll leave this topic open for another 24 hours in case there are any follow-up questions or comments.

Best regards,
Brad