Wiring Mechanical Chime...will battery charger still work?

Hi: when the Ring 2 is connected to a transformer for the purpose of powering a mechanical door chime, will the transformer still recharge the Ring’s battery? Or is it a case of either the transformer is acting as a supply to the Ring’s battery charger OR it is activating a mechanical chime, but not both?

(I have seen the wiring diagram that shows a transformer between a Ring and two mechanical/remote chimes and I understand that. Just not sure if wiring it that way will maintain the trickle-charge to the battery)

tks

Hey @Jubilee. I’m happy to chime in and offer some guidance here. To clarify, do you have your Doorbell 2 connected to doorbell wires at your front door? If so, it will receive a trickle charge from the doorbell circuit which will help keep the battery topped off. If you receive a large number of motions, dings, or Live Views, you may still need to manually charge the battery if it gets low.

If you have your Doorbell wired directly to the transformer, I’d recommend reviewing this Help Center Article here. You’ll need to make sure a resistor is in place in order for this configuration to work. This will still provide the trickle charge mentioned before, so it’s important to keep in mind that the number of events your Doorbell receives can drain the battery more quickly than the wiring will keep it charged.

Caitlin: this is a new install and I am intending to directly connect my Ring2 to a transformer (no old doorbell involved) as I want the benefit of the trickle-charge. But I would also like to connect to a remote mechanical chime.

I have the wiring diagram for connecting Ring2—Transformer—Mechanical Chime: my question is, if I wire it this way will I still get a trickle charge?

thanks in advance for your help

@Jubilee Thank you for the clarification. The Doorbell will still receive a trickle charge when it is wired directly to a transformer. Just remember that a resistor is required for that configuration to work, as outlined in our Help Center Article I referenced above. I hope this helps clear things up! :slight_smile:

Caitlin: are you absolutely sure about the need for a resistor? Remember, I am proposing to connect a mechanical chime, not just connect direct to a transformer. I’ve seen YouTube vids including a couple done by Ring that seem to say that no resistor is needed if a mechanical chime is to be connected…and that no resistor, but a diode, should be used if the chime is electronic.

Please clarify…thanks

@Jubilee When connecting a Doorbell 2 directly to a transformer, a resistor is required. A resistor is not required if you’re wiring the Doorbell 2 to existing doorbell wires from a doorbell circuit. So if you have an existing doorbell that has a mechanical chime and you are wiring it to these doorbell wires, then a resistor is not required. If you are connecting it to an existing doorbell, you can reference this Help Center Article here for instructions.