The Fundamentals of a 2-Door ~ 2-Note NuTone Door Chime System 

This Video covers all of the Fundamental Information that you may need to know about standard 2-Note Doorbells. There's an Index of different Topics after the Title screen. Of course, you'll get the most complete overview of this topic - if you watch the entire Video - Chris

You are a blessing to my brain. I wish other people made videos this way, all clear, all covered. It explained exactly how my chime was burned unused because of the stuck button. Moreover, after being unable to figure out the schematics on the new chime and watching this I finally realized how come I have two doorbell buttons but only 2 two-pair wires and a God-knows-where transformer, because everything in our house had apparently been custom made, and I connected everything using only 3 wires, and then cut off the uninsulated part of the fourth wire so it doesn't confuse me or anybody else in the future. Thank you so much!

I wish there's more videos like this on RU-vid. Pratical, useful and making people's like easier. Thanks for making and sharing this!

Finally, the complete doorbell explanation. Thanks!!!

Thanks for this great video; I have a non ringing doorbell but now I know to inspect the plunger. . I browsed your others and I’m feeling very sad seeing your other videos. When we bought out 1966 house it had vintage 1966 Nutone intercoms everywhere and bad us - we removed them except for one since that one is mounted in a custom wall panel. Even worse I no longer remember where they all were. Now I think they’re rather cool, sort of your fault, lol.

Timing is everything, decided today was fix the 1955 NuTone doorbell. Thanks for confirming my thought process.

This is a helpful and informative video with some humor added. Thank you!

Thank you so much for the excellent explanations. With your help, I was able to fix a rear doorbell which has not worked in years. I traced the wire through the house (no easy feat) and found that it had been damaged by one of the plumbers who have worked on the house over the years. I bridged the damaged wire and even the light in the button works! I had given it up for dead long ago. Thanks again for your help.

Perfectly explained, video helped me troubleshoot a problem......THANKS!

Great instructor! Easy to follow and understand.

Excellent presentation of the subject. Well done and thank you

Awesome video, thank you for posting

Such a helpful video. I’ve been pulling my hair out for a few days trying to figure out why the doorbell stopped working - it’s because the plastic tube melted and warped. Used the work around for the back door single chime until I can get a new door chime (and a new doorbell that doesn’t stick!). Thank you!!!

Thanks for the comprehensive breakdown! Just moved into a building with a two tone nutone doorbell that was installed in the 50s, and it seems to work - I came along looking to find out what I could use to lubricate the plungers! Appreciate it!

Thus is the best video I have seen. I am still trying to figure it out. I can't find the transformer.

Very well done, Thank you.

On a DC circuit, it's a good idea to place a reversed biased diode across each solenoid coil to dissipate that kickback (back EMF). But doorbells run on AC circuits, so that doesn't make sense. My only doorbell problem came when I tried one of those first generation "smart" doorbells that replaces just the button. After about a week, I was awakened in the middle of the night, I'd be awakened by a continuous buzzing sound _somewhere_ in the house. It lasted for a couple hours and have stopped by morning. It took me a couple nights to realize it was coming from the solenoid in the door chime. The device had an internal rechargeable battery that it would top off by drawing a little current from the transformer. Since it just replaced the button, it was in series with the door chime. That trickle of current that enabled charging flowed through the chime, and was enough to partially energize the solenoid. So it didn't strike the tone bar, but did cause the plunger to vibrate at the 60 Hz frequency from the transformer. And since it had resonator cavities on either side, that little vibration made a surprising amount of sound. The support people assumed I'd gotten a bad device and sent me a replacement. Same story. After about a week, it started buzzing, usually around 1 AM. And it always happened in the middle of the night, because battery voltage is lower when it's cold out, so that's when the device decided it was time to charge it back up. So then the support people wanted me to install a magic diode, which, of course, made no difference. Then they suggested I remove the old door chime and replace it with their $200 electronic one. At that point I just put the original button back.

Best explanation so far I seen

Thank you so much for this video! Very easy to understand, amusing as well. I am troubleshooting a family member's doorbell right now. I'm getting somewhere, but still a little confused. I can see that their chime has fried the 'front' side coil; the coil evidently got very hot (copper has discolored and there is black, burnt, bubbled-up substance on on it), the hot plunger melted the plastic caps, and was stuck in the on/charged position. Only one button in our case (front door). I was originally thinking the meltdown on the 'front' chime coil with a stuck plunger was the issue, maybe someone just held the button down too long and toasted it, so I originally just switched the wires over to the 'rear' coil, but still got nothing when I push the door button. So next, I took the chime off the wall. I have 2 white wires and two red. Pretty certain we have the standard/common wiring configuration. I (eventually) touched each wire together and still got no sparks anywhere, soooo, if I understand correctly, we're not getting any juice from the transformer as we should be. I think the transformer got fried too?? I'm just not understanding how or why that would be the case. What was the CAUSE of our issue, which somehow fried both the coil and the transformer? My guess is that the switch/button at the door maybe got stuck or someone held the button down? After a few seconds or minutes, maybe the coil and plunger started to melt down, and after being on long enough, the transformer eventually went too? Would that make sense? At this stage of my troubleshooting, I'm thinking we need to replace it all. The chime is toast cuz of the melted coil. The transformer doesn't seem to be supplying any power anymore. And the button at the door, I'm guessing was the cause for it all, if it got stuck? I'm now hunting for the transformer. Thanks for the location tips! Lol. I'm hoping Earl was lazy in this case. If you see this comment, I'd love to know if you think I'm on the right track, or if there is something else I should check or do. Regardless, thank you so much!! Hugely helpful, sir! (:

15:00 that's what I am going through right now lol thank you for your video, it is helping me a lot!

Thank you!! My doorbell from the 50s works again with the lighter fluid trick!

Great tutorial! I'm thinking of using these solenoid plungers for make-shift actuators to press buttons.

Thanks for this great video. I wish more videos were this way because it not only helps you fix any problems but also helps you understand how and why the problem happened. My wiring is one of the 5% because there is a loose wire that is simply capped and does not do anything BUT there is also an additional wire that goes to the transformer screw on the chime. i.e., there are 2 wires connected to the transformer (plus the regular single wires to the front and rear). Still trying to figure that out.

Excellent video.

Great video, thanks. Now I will bypass the solenoid and hook up my Reolink.

This is a really great design. My 1959 chime still works perfectly.

just moved into a home with an art deco Nutone chime that didn't work; this video helped me fix it!! Thank you

Nice explanation sir. I just changed a nutone chime and a transformer. There was no voltage coming out of the transformer. Then the push button lit up but the chime was not ringing. I noticed one of the plumber's tip was melted, so I just decided to replace the chime as well.

My brain loves the way you explain. I actually understood everything you said, and it made sense. Thank you so very much!

Great tutoring video, I also like the assume part.😂😂

Thank you so much for your video! I have an Emerson Rittenhouse C8329 door chime which I believe was installed in the early 70s. The spring coil of the front plunger is not working and the plunger sank to the bottom without bouncing up. I think one of the solution is to rewire it to the rear plunger. But otherwise, do you have any suggestion as to how this plunger / spring coil may be fixed?

This was a super helpful video! I have a NuTone door chime from the late 60's that the P/O had disconnected. I have successfully mapped ( and labelled) the three pairs of wires - Two from the front, two from the back, two from the transformer. However - When I wire everything back up, I still can't sort out why it isn't working. I have diagnosed that the front and rear switches work by using a the multimeter beep mode, and have tested that the transformer wires are 20v. (I don't know where the actual transformer is, so I'm thankful that I have proper voltage). Even when I bypass the front/rear switch and try to test the chime itself, when I wire the transformer directly to T and the other wire to either F or R (to close the circuit), the chime won't activate. When I test the chime itself, there is an open circuit between all three terminals (eg; T F, T R, and F R). Should there be continuity between all three terminals on the door chime? Or is this a sign that the chime is broken?

Hello, I came across your video on door chimes the other day. I have to say after spending quite a few days looking at other videos on this subject yours was the most informative. With that said, I feel you left out some critical information. I am talking about the transformer. You never went into any detail about how to finish wiring this part of the system. The way it is drawn, you do not have the other leg hooked up to the transformer, on the drawing the transformer has no wire at all connected to the other lug. In the real world this will not work, because there will be no voltage going to the chime. I hope you can send me a email if I am wrong. This was a great video, I hope you will correct this. I made my chime like the second one you drew. To test the chime just jumped the wires from transformer to the chime and see if it worked. Mine did not, so simply replaced the unit and it worked. Oh yes, did check to see if transformer had 18 volts on it. Wondering if you could have used rubbing alcohol instead of lighter fluid? I am done, hope to hear from you.

Thanks for making such a great video and interacting with all the comments. My question is: with this unit being so old, would a 24V transformer be fine? Or would it fry the unit

Great Video, on my door bell chime, it has 3 wires, we currently only use the front door bell. 2 wires are actually connected to the chime and they are on front and rear and non to the transformer screw, it still rings. Any ideas on why?

I have a Nutone 2-Note Door Chime from the 1960's where I want to convert the old push button door bell buttons to "Ring" type security door bells. Note that the transformer is also enclosed within the chime box. The "Ring" system requires adding their small power supply units to the Front, Rear and Trans terminals. The weird thing is that with my Nutone unit, there is an additional Com. terminal with one red wire and 2 white wires attached. I only ask because after successfully setting up the "Ring" system, only the rear door bell chime works while the front doesn't chime despite having power to operate both front and rear door "Ring" cameras. Prior to installing the "Ring" system the front door bell did work on the chime. Does the Com. terminal play a role in this issue?

I wish I could attach a photo. My nuTone looks exactly like the picture you drew here. But it also has a free swinging arm on the bottom with a wire attached to it, and a space for the bottom solenoid to pass between. What is that thing?

Fantastic video! Thank you. And, you're funny! Have you had any experience with a doorbell that goes off by itself randomly at all hours of the day and night? The odd thing is that it starts its shenanigans at approximately 5:30pm. What the heck is it about that time of day? There is no timing mechanism that we know about. We're baffled - our house was built in 1926 and I think our Nutone is an oldie. Thank you!

Have you done videos on LED TV fundamental concepts/circuits?

Why is the second layout more complicated? I always mount my transformer on the main breaker panel using a half-inch knockout and run all my wires back to there. I label all my wires as I pull them. Makes wiring a breeze and it's readily reconfigurable if need be.

Any guess why my wire sets for my basic doorbell system (house built in 1982) all have ground wires? I do have a nutone intercom (A516A) but there was never a door unit, nor was the doorbell ever connected to the intercom system.

So if you do the workaround by switching the front door wire to the rear door terminal, won’t the same thing just eventually happen again? How do you prevent the button outside from getting stuck?

Hi - this is very interesting and informative! We have a Google home nest doorbell connected to our NuTone doorbell. The issue is the plunger on the left side (rear) is continuously bobbing up and down. It’s causing the whole unit to vibrate, hence is noisy. Other than that, everything is working fine on it. Can you tell us what’s going on with that plunger thing & how we may fix it?

If the button is an open switch until you press it, how does it stay lighted? Obviously there is 24vac going to the button but is there a diode in those lighted buttons? Some other option?

Im trying to figure out how to wire my current setup and this is what I got into. With my door bell button detached and separated, Im still able to ring the bell with one white on Trans and one blue wire on Front and vice versa. (Total 4 wires, 2 blues and 2 whites). I think the bell shouldn't ring at all no matter what since the button is detached. What am I doing wrong or is it mis-wired somewhere?

Thank you! I learned a lot from your video. This is the original chime that was installed in my 1960 home. It has worked perfectly for 62 years. Recenetly, I installed a video door bell and the chime dings and dongs but the dong comes a second later. Not the expected ding-dong sound. At first it would only ding, but after upgrading the transformer I got it to ding and dong. But again, the dong comes a second later than it used to. Any ideas to fix this? Should I lube the plunger?

What if I no longer have a front door and would like the rear door to make two tones, could I simply switch the wires?

29:45 and on. Saved me from calling someone to repair my door bell. It’s a stupid setup. I don’t know why people wire the door bell like that. But thanks for the video.

How can you tell if the Transformer is 16vac or a lower voltage one (8-15vac) ? It is a Nutone unit. House was built in early 60's. I can't see any lablelor printing on the Transformer or power unit.

RECENTLY I INSTALLED A NEW DOOR BELL MODEL #SS-7580-03 AND EVERYTHING LOOKS FINE BUT SOMETIMES IT SOUNDS BY ITSELF. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE PROBLEM ?

I get using the chime as the hub, but I'm at a loss how anything works with only using one side of the transformer. Did I miss something in the description that you leave off the drawing?

Thank you for being so thorough. In your drawing, the 2 wires from the transformer appear to go to the same terminal on the transformer in the video, that's not correct is it?

Is it possible to increase the volume of simple Nutone Doorbell? We are not hearing ours and it is working just fine.

So if my door bell light is on but no ring then the problem most likely is the wiring from the door bell to the transformer?

When the doorbell button is pushed, the solenoid is energized causing the plunger to strike the chime. Here is my question- If the button is held down, how does the chime resonate if the plunger is still pushed against it? Wouldn't the plunger act like a finger "muting" a resonating bell?

So both wires are connected to one terminal on the transformer.

Add another thing to the list of jacked up things about my house. I'm a 5%'er.

That was fun. My 1947 is wired correctly but the solenoids were sticking and one of the plungers had lost its brass tip. I set it up in the garage and tested it with a dc 12V supply. But the dynamics were quite different than with the 16 V AC transformer and the long 18 gauge wiring. The "tone bars" actually long tubes can be moved so the strikers hit correctly. But it is still a work in progress. I don't think Earl the electrician can help. Still struggling the get that melodic ding dong. Anyway, I enjoyed your sense of humor and side comments. Squirrel Raids Bird Feeder - Cyclotron Physicist Builds a Squirrel Cafe. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E0LueiUkb9c.html

Earl was a complete A hole when my house was wired because I have searched everywhere and can't find my transformer so my doorbell can work properly. I believe it's in the wall right behind it but tearing walls apart for that ain't worth it

You know that second way.... They do make 4 leg bell wire.. Doing it like that.. If you use 4 leg bell wire it helps keeping things color coded isolated.. One way to wire code And was comon place when we did doorbell wiring was to.... Ok lets just say the bell wire leg colors are Purple brown pink and orange (color code is fictional) Well lets not use color 4 (purple) because purple is an odd wire color.. he's a weirdo.. One way to do this is make brown a transformer color code specific leg.. The transformer has 2 screws.. Wire it like this.. transformer top screw make it brown and send it to the doorchime screw marked transformer.. Now Bottom transformer screw again makw it another brown wire send it to one side of front door button and also send it to one side of rear door button.. Now on the other screw on Front door button it becomes orange send it to to doorbell chime screw marked front. And Other screw on rear door button becomes pink send to door bell chime screw marked rear.. Yeah you'll have extra not use legs.. but its ALL Color coded.. Other way to do it is to use the 4th color and use purple (4th color) Top screw transformer make it purple (instead of brown) send it to doorbell chime transformer screw.. Everything else stays same.. But that means transformer now has 2 colors.. Thats ok because then you know brown and purple are transformer codes and purple is one side of transformer and is designated power to doorchime.. And brown is designated power to push buttons... Thats actually kind of cool!!! Then so this means orange and brown are front door specific pushbutton legs.. And Pink and brown are back door designated pushbutton legs... Purple is doorchime power only.. No way to confuse it.. But there are other color coding that you can do... but using 4 legs bell wire gives you that option to color code and isolate the system.