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


--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

On 12/30/13, 1:01 PM, KenK wrote:
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



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

KenK wrote:
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


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.

Retired wrote in
:

On 12/30/13, 1:01 PM, KenK wrote:
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



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


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


--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

Tony Hwang wrote in
:

KenK wrote:
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


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.


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



--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

On 30 Dec 2013 18:01:27 GMT, KenK wrote:

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

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.

was 100%. The chime batteries were very recently replaced and 100%. I can't
think of anything else to check that I can replace.

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

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.

Sorry.


TIA

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 voltage under the tiny load that a modern voltmeter provides simply doesn't reflect real-world operating conditions for many batteries and the gizmos that they are used in.

" wrote in
:

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?

Yes, that's how I did it.




--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

micky wrote in
:

Try the battery from the fridge in the front door button.

I did. Didn't work.

Then try
a new battery there.

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!





--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

On 12/30/2013 12:01 PM, KenK wrote:
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


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