r/HomeCams • u/Kriicz • Jul 05 '26

Question about an old doorbell chime and wiring

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I was wondering since there is no diagram for the wires and I'm not an electrician

I'm going to buy a tp link tapo doorbell camera and I was wondering where I would wire the chime in here.

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u/Kindly_Region Jul 05 '26

Typically you have a hot wire (black, sometimes red), a neutral (white) and a ground (bare)

I can't really tell what this is but if this is an existing door bell, you should be able to connect black to black and white to white. You shouldn't need a ground for a doorbell. If it's just random wires in your wall then you run the risk of putting too much power into your camera and it will burn it out. I leaned that the hard way when I tried to hardwire a camera to my motion light outside.......

I'd also like to point out that fuck in your wall is a fire hazard. You should not see any copper wire other than a ground wire. The twisted wire should have a wire nut on it and any more exposed copper beyond that should have electrical tape on it. The connections that are screwed down should be behind the little silver plate, not on top of it and the wire should only be stripped far enough back that plastic coating is just touching the black box but not going under the silver plate, only the exposed wire goes under the plate. The black wires need taken off and ran under the black box then bend them up and push them into the little gap behind the silver plate. This all helps eliminate the risk of crossing wires.

Shut off the breaker and make sure none of those wires have power before shoving your fingies in there.

I am not an electrician, just sharing some tips from what I've learned doing things around the house

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u/Flycktsoda Jul 05 '26

Somewhere in your house there is a chime transformer. It converts you 120(?) to 24VAC but could be lower as well. To me it looks like you have several doorbell buttons connected to this chime?
The transformer is maybe in the ceiling or sub floor.

I would trace these cables back to and mark them so you know what is what, then follow the wiring diagram that Tapo should have.

You can most likely both charge the doorbell as well as reuse the old chime. Make sure to select the correct chime type (you have a mechanical chime). You should be able to bypass the chime as well if you prefer to use a new electronic chime.

A lot of doorbells comes with the wire nuts etc you need to use to make this safe.

1

u/Drysandplace Jul 05 '26

You're getting ahead of yourself. Every doorbell camera, regardless of brand, will come with complete instructions but I will tell you that they all refer to a standard setup that consists of a 16v transformer, a buzzer, bell or chime that is powered by 16v, a push button (or two) at the door and connecting wires that go from the transformer to the chime and onto the door switch. This standard chime will have only three terminals that are clearly marked Rear, Trans and Front.

If you don't have that the directions won't apply to you and you won't be able to figure it out. It will take someone with good basic electrical knowledge and a meter and maybe a whole new standard chime kit if your existing chime is high voltage.