Fragile wired doorbell cable (a diy question)

[Peter Johnson]

I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.
Thanks in advance.

[Theo]

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.
Thanks in advance.

Can you get access to some part of the cable to splice in a replacement
piece? eg if it's the outside part that has corroded, can you replace the
outdoor section? Where does it go after leaving the doorbell?

Doorbells don't need anything fancy in terms of cabling, so any cable of a
similar or greater thickness of metal should do.

Theo

[Peter Johnson]

On 27 Mar 2024 16:23:39 +0000 (GMT), Theo

Post by Theo

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.
Thanks in advance.

Can you get access to some part of the cable to splice in a replacement
piece? eg if it's the outside part that has corroded, can you replace the
outdoor section? Where does it go after leaving the doorbell?
Doorbells don't need anything fancy in terms of cabling, so any cable of a
similar or greater thickness of metal should do.

The cable vanishes into brickwork and I do't know its route to the
transformer and bell.
See my reply to John for my current strategy

[John Rumm]

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.

If replacement of the cable is not an option. then I would carefully
strip the ends of the wires you have - perhaps cutting back to a more
sound bit, then solder on extensions, and protect the joint with heat
shrink to add insulation and mechanical protection.
--
Cheers,

John.

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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

[Peter Johnson]

On Wed, 27 Mar 2024 16:51:33 +0000, John Rumm

Post by John Rumm

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.

If replacement of the cable is not an option. then I would carefully
strip the ends of the wires you have - perhaps cutting back to a more
sound bit, then solder on extensions, and protect the joint with heat
shrink to add insulation and mechanical protection.

I had thought about soldering but am unsure about doing it outside.
Will the ambient temperature render the soldering iron less effective?
In the meantime, I've been on eBay and ordered a sample length (.25m)
of bell wire, and some gel crimp connectors.
So now I have choices.

[John Rumm]

Post by Peter Johnson
On Wed, 27 Mar 2024 16:51:33 +0000, John Rumm

Post by John Rumm

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.

If replacement of the cable is not an option. then I would carefully
strip the ends of the wires you have - perhaps cutting back to a more
sound bit, then solder on extensions, and protect the joint with heat
shrink to add insulation and mechanical protection.

I had thought about soldering but am unsure about doing it outside.
Will the ambient temperature render the soldering iron less effective?

Not in any meaningful way.

Post by Peter Johnson
In the meantime, I've been on eBay and ordered a sample length (.25m)
of bell wire, and some gel crimp connectors.
So now I have choices.

Yup gel crimps are fine - although a bit more bulky and difficult to
hide than a soldered connection. You will need to take care when
crimping if the wire is fragile.
--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

[alan_m]

Post by John Rumm
Not in any meaningful way.

OK in a sheltered location but I've found that trying to solder, with a
low wattage soldering iron, in a windy location is problematical.

The insulation on bell wire will probably shrink back a lot with the
heat from a soldering iron so make sure that you put some sleeving or
heat shrink tubing on you new bit of wire before soldering so that you
can slide it up to insulate the bare soldered wires. The main problem
with old wire is that it may/will be oxidised and cleaning it back to
shiny copper so that solder will take could be almost impossible if you
don't have much access to the ends of the wire.

[Peter Johnson]

On Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:32:46 +0000, John Rumm

Post by John Rumm

Post by Peter Johnson
On Wed, 27 Mar 2024 16:51:33 +0000, John Rumm

Post by John Rumm

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.

If replacement of the cable is not an option. then I would carefully
strip the ends of the wires you have - perhaps cutting back to a more
sound bit, then solder on extensions, and protect the joint with heat
shrink to add insulation and mechanical protection.

I had thought about soldering but am unsure about doing it outside.
Will the ambient temperature render the soldering iron less effective?

Not in any meaningful way.

Post by Peter Johnson
In the meantime, I've been on eBay and ordered a sample length (.25m)
of bell wire, and some gel crimp connectors.
So now I have choices.

Yup gel crimps are fine - although a bit more bulky and difficult to
hide than a soldered connection. You will need to take care when
crimping if the wire is fragile.

The bell wire and crimps came in today's post so I got the soldering
iron out. Doorbell service is resumed! (Crimps in stock for possible
future use.)

[Scott]

On Wed, 27 Mar 2024 16:16:24 +0000, Peter Johnson

Post by Peter Johnson
I'm trying to replace a wired doorbell but after nearly 40 years of
(concealed) expose to extremes of temperatures the wire is fragile.
One terminal is just long enough to connect but I can see a crack in
the cable, the other is now too short, there are cracks in the cable
and the wire that I exposed earlier has already broken off.
Has anyone any ideas on how to proceed, and restore the function of
the wired bell, or must I abandon it in favour of a battery device?
I've had to remove the bell and protect what remains of the wire from
the elements with a piece of Duck tape.
Thanks in advance.

I have the same problem. The bell still works but the chime is falling
apart. I wanted to fit a new chime but the cable - which is apparently
Vulcanised India Rubber (VIR) or possibly cloth covered - is
effectively painted in and probably too short. I cannot see a
transformer or any batteries for that matter. I would like to replace
the whole cable but I cannot see a way of doing this. The bell push is
'heritage'.

I know VIR is less of an issue for low voltage but if there is a
transformer involved, could this create a danger if there is a short
circuit?