Why does my lighted doorbell button hum or not ring with an electronic chime?
A lighted button passes a small current through its lamp and the chime all the time, which is what keeps the button glowing. Mechanical chimes with tone bars ignore that trickle..
Updated: October 23, 2026Original publish date: October 23, 2026
Why does my lighted doorbell button hum or not ring with an electronic chime?
A lighted button passes a small current through its lamp and the chime all the time, which is what keeps the button glowing. Mechanical chimes with tone bars ignore that trickle. Electronic chimes often do not: they hum, chirp, or treat it as a half-press and refuse to ring. Lee prints the same warning on its lighted buttons. Fix it by using an unlighted button, such as the BC203 for two units or the DH1605 for one door, or by changing to a mechanical chime.
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Which doorbell button do I need for a duplex?A duplex with one shared front door needs one button per unit on a single plate, so each visitor can ring the right household. Pick the Lee BC203 if the chimes are electronic or.Is there a doorbell button for three apartments?Yes. The Lee BC208 three-family station puts three unlighted buttons and three name plate pockets on one plate about 7 inches tall, in polished brass or polished chrome. Each.Can one transformer run two doorbell chimes in a two-family house?Yes, if the transformer has enough capacity. Two mechanical chimes on a 16V 10VA transformer is marginal; a 15VA unit such as the T1615 handles two, and a 30VA unit or the DH910.Can I keep separate transformers for each unit with a two-family button?Yes. Each button on a Lee two-family or three-family station is an independent switch with its own two terminals, and nothing on the plate connects one button to another. One.Do lighted doorbell buttons work on a battery-powered chime?No. The lamp needs the constant trickle of current that only a transformer-powered circuit provides, and on a battery chime that trickle would drain the batteries. Use an.