Help me, oh smart mechanically inclined people

[ninjapoodles]

I know you're out there, and that you're smarter than me (it's a pretty safe bet).

OK. It's 5:30 in the morning, and I have not slept ONE WINK all night. Why? Because MY DOORBELL KEEPS RINGING. Oh, sorry, didn't mean to yell, it's just that I'M SLEEPY AND CRANKY. Whoops, there I go again. Pardon.

My daughter's room is upstairs, so she's not being disturbed by the bell. My husband takes an astonishing array of medications that knock him OUT at night (he's bipolar, and manages it very well with medication), so he isn't even waking up. But me? I am jolted upright, pulse racing, every few minutes by the DING-DONG of the doorbell! Sometimes it's just the "DING" and other times it's just the "DONG" and other times it's the whole thing. Make your own crude jokes; you know you want to.

This started about 3 nights ago, when we were in the midst of the Gustav-delivered torrential rains that lasted for days on end. All I can figure is that the malfunctioning of the doorbell has something to do with moisture. Like maybe water got in there, or even extreme humidity that formed condensation...whatever, something like that, and the water is completing a circuit between the dinger and the donger or however doorbells work. Does anyone understand what I'm getting at?

Anyway, we just can't afford to have an electrician out to look at the stupid doorbell. What can I do? If I unscrew the cover and pull out the guts, will I be able to see if anything's amiss, or will I just shock myself into brain-damage? (SHUT UP, everyone who's asking, "Brain damage? How will you tell the difference?"

) Can I do something to silence the actual chime, apart from the doorbell button?

Someone, please, help me. As you can tell from my rambling here and my feverish posting all night long tonight, I'm slowly losing it. More of it. Oh, you know what I mean.

P.S. This random doorbell ringing only starts happening after about 1-2:00 AM, and continues until the sun is up. ??????

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

It is most likely in the Door Bell Button (switch). It is probably only held on by a couple of screws. Just take out the screws and you will see two wires on the door bell button. To stop the rining just unhook one wire. Then take off the other wire and keep the ends apart and only touch one wire at a time. After you take off the first wire tape the end of it up and then do the same to the second one. Then take the button inside and and let it start to dry out, I am assuming that is probably all that is wrong with the button is that it is wet on the inside. If it is getting hot where you are at the best way to totally dry it out is to roll up the windows on the car and just throw it on the dash in the sun. By tonight it should be good and dry and you can reinstall it in the reverse order of the above directions. If you are afraid to take it lose with the power on just turn off the breaker to the doorbell first. To test that you have the right breaker off just flip them indivifualy until you can no longer ring the door bell. mAfter you have then ends taped up you can turn the breaker back on until you are ready to reinstall it.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
What great instructions! Thank you, really. I even know where the breaker box is, and miracle of miracles, it's all labeled (though I don't recall "doorbell" being one of the labels). Honest to gosh, the room on the other side of the button was an add-on to this house by the previous owners, and it was wired by...well, let's just say "amateurs." Or "idiots who had no business touching electronics." Whichever. The lights dim in there whenever the AC kicks on.

I think your diagnostics are right on, because otherwise it's just too much of a coincidence, this happening in the midst of us being waterlogged for days on end.

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

Good Luck. It should be a very easy fix.

 

[sweetcorn]

Water can do strange things to mechanical toys. I used to have minivan with doors that spontaneously lock and unlock , only when it was rainy.

 

[LilBizzy]

I have a doorbell that dingdongs every time a door is opened(even the fridge) and sometimes just randomly throughout the day or night.
There just isnt any way to shut it off. Sometimes it rings so often it sounds like the batteries are dying. But, there are no batteries in my doorbell -----

 

[amazondoc]

At least your doorbell sleeps at night!

 

[max13077]

One of my Dad’s best pieces of advice: “If you can‘t fix something, it means you need a bigger hammer.”

 

[smom1976]

it wont shock you.. mine is just wires right now because we replaced the door and havent bought a new button yet..

anyway it is just two wires that get connected by a piece of metal when you push the button..

my kids think it is cool to connect the wires..

but just unscrew pull it off, two different screws the two wires should be wraped around. Go to home depot or other hardware store pick up a new one and replace just like you took off.

Or let the kids learn about connecting wires.. LOL J/K

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
My Vue does that, too. I'll have to pay attention to what the weather is like when it does that. It drives me CRAZY.