In article

,
(Charles Bishop) wrote:

In article , "Leroy"
wrote:

try this site for basic info:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/doorbell3.htm

This was helpful, and yet, not helpful. I know how a doorbell works, that
the push button is only a switch in one leg of the circuit, but haven't a
clue what might be wrong with the setup I've found. I was looking for test
suggestions on how to track down the problem.

In short, there are two push buttons, and one works, with its wires on
trans and "front door". The second push button has its wires at the
doorbell, but unconnected, and that's how I found them. connecting them to
trans and rear door doesn't work, and one of them arcs when I touch it to
"trans" terminal.

It's possible that there is a problem in the walls, but I'm not sure how
to test to see if this is the case.

As usual, sometimes typing out the problem can help. I think I'll
disconnect the front door setup and connect the rear door pair and see if
this works on its own. I should also check for continuity.

Just forget about typing to think, and try drawing to think. Can you
draw a schematic of the system? If you can, then you can troubleshoot it
by yourself. If you can't, then you can't troubleshoot it even with help
from a bunch of drunks on usenet.