I'm so glad I found this place! :) I'm trying to fix my father's WE Bell 554 (1968 vintage, in glorious avocado). According to him, the ringer began behaving erratically and then stopped. I found that when I put the bias wire over to the left (the high bias setting, right? Anyway, it's in the curled-in part of the "G"-shaped slot, not the upper part of the "G") it rings faintly, but not on the other setting, regardless of how the volume lever is set.
It also looks to me like the clapper wire has been all bent up - it's got a couple of near right-angle bends in it and the striker is above the level of the bells (I can't figure how it ever managed to ring at all, unless it's by making the whole phone vibrate). The photos and diagrams I've dug up show the clapper going through the same opening as the bias wire and the...stop wire, is it called? But this phone has the clapper in front, with nothing but air between it and the front cover.
The stop wire (if that's the correct term for the wire that hangs down near the bias wire and the clapper) also looks like it might've gotten bent. It points more nearly straight down than the ones I see in pictures.
I'm tempted to go in and try to bend things back to where I think they should be, but thought I'd better ask for some advice first. I apologize for not posting a picture, but my camera isn't up to the job. Any advice you folks can give would be much appreciated!
Welcome Wayward. I was going to suggest a photo until I read your last line. It's difficult to really diagnose a problem without one. It does sound like someone tinkered with the ringer. A loss of magnet strength or a bad coil could make the ringer weak. I don't know the official name of the stop wire but do know that it can effect the ringing if it is really out of shape. Normally they just hit or clear the top of the copper colored tab that the bias tension spring goes through. Horizontally (going by memory) it is about a quarter of an inch or less from the stop. There should be a little mark on the frame bridge that goes atop of the bias tension spring. The clapper wire should align with this mark. I don't think a bent clapper though would result in a weak ringer.
Generally the best position for the bias tension spring is to the loose side, or to the right as you're looking at the gong side of the ringer.
I know this isn't much help. Are you sure the ringer is connected properly?
Thanks for the welcome, Dennis! (You're not the only one to read my screen name as "wayward" ;D Been using it too many years to switch, though)
Yes, this may be the last straw that forces me to buy a decent camera. Unfortunately I live in another state and only get out here where the phone is on weekends. I'll see if I can do a drawing and scan it when I get home tomorrow night, though. That might help some.
The end of the stop wire does extend below that copper tab about 1/8". (I'm looking at it hanging on the wall, so "down" is toward the end with the bells.) Not sure what the stop is that the stop wire is 1/4" or less from... I think I found that mark on the frame bridge - it's very faint. The clapper wire is to the left of it a bit. And, as I mentioned, the clapper seems to be on the wrong side of the frame bridge and too far up and towards me to even hit the bells. Somebody must have used a lot of force to do that and I'm a bit scared to try and force it back, at least until I understand the thing better.
I see things move when I put the bias wire on the left setting and call the phone to make it ring, but it doesn't even seem to try to ring when the bias wire is on the right hand setting. So I too am wondering if the problem is purely mechanical, but I'm sure the phone has not been rewired, at least in many years. I see a yellow plastic-covered wire that's unconnected at one end, but I think it's always been that way, and I saw it mentioned by someone else during my earlier web search...maybe it's for a party line??? The free end is near the coil, but it looks like it was never stripped, and there's no place that looks like it could have come off of. The two cloth-covered wires to the coil are attached OK.
Thanks for the help!
JoAnn
JoAnn, sorry about the Wayward miscue. I studied the name before I commented (wayrad). I was looking at it forward and backward trying to see if it was someone's name spelled backward.....oops.
It does sound like someone bent the clapper wire, maybe to silence the ringer?? The yellow wire that isn't connected to anything at one end...where does it connect on the other? Is it a mounting cord wire or is it connected to the switch. In 1969 many of the switch wires were no longer being soldered to the network but attached under the screws with a spade tip on the end of the wire. If it IS a switch wire it should be connected under terminal L2. If it is a mounting cord wire (line cord) it would have been connected to terminal "G". A yellow mounting cord wire not connected to G would not effect the function of the ringer. If you would like to see a photo of a "normal" C4A ringer let me know and I can post a couple from different angles.
I'm currently on Long Island and the phone's in Connecticut, but IIRC the yellow wire disappeared up behind the whitish ceramic block that had numerous other wires connected to it (with spade tips). But I was unable to trace the yellow wire's other end...too many things in the way. Will check again next weekend and get back to you. I have a vague memory of noticing that wire was loose many years ago and my mother telling me it had always been like that, though.
She did sometimes put things in there to silence the ringer, but the bent clapper seems a bit drastic - I mean, that clapper wire is stiff, and someone would've really had to yank on it with pliers. Possibly a neighbor who liked to tinker...
I'm going to try attaching a drawing I made this morning. I should be able to get a photo within the next couple of weeks (I was looking for an excuse to buy a camera - now I have it!) Hopefully that will make things easier...sorry I can't illustrate the problem properly just yet. I certainly appreciate your help!
OK, let's see if I can manage to link to some photos I uploaded to Photobucket. There should be clickable thumbnails. If you would prefer the photos to be uploaded directly, let me know and I'll change it.
Closeup: (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/wayrad/th_IMG_0013ed.jpg) (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/wayrad/?action=view¤t=IMG_0013ed.jpg)Closeup of clapper, bias wire, and stop wire: (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/wayrad/th_IMG_0012ed.jpg) (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/wayrad/?action=view¤t=IMG_0012ed.jpg)
Closeup of where the loose yellow wire goes: (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/wayrad/th_IMG_0015.jpg) (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y122/wayrad/?action=view¤t=IMG_0015.jpg)
The loose yellow wire actually goes into a bundle with a couple of other wires.
I hope this makes things a bit clearer!
Wow. :o
That ringer will never ring with the clapper rod bent the way it is. Even if the ringer is functioning properly, the clapper ball is so far from the gongs that it'll never make contact. See if you can route the ball through the ringer frame, between the gongs, and get the clapper rod straightened out. The rod should be perfectly straight until it gets to the ball. If you can't get it straightened out properly, you may need a new ringer assembly.
The heavy rod below the clapper rod is also bent, and should be just barely touching the gong frame on the right (as you're looking from the back).
Wow indeed! Someone had a serious angry moment with that clapper. Here is a picture of how it is supposed to look.
The yellow wire is from the line mounting (line) cord and would have normally be connected to terminal "G". It is not needed but you can connect it there to keep it from flopping around.
That is indeed some nasty bendage of that clapper wire.
Thought I'd throw in a "file" photo I took a while back of a ringer in action. One can almost hear it.
Nice action shot, Dennis! Yes I can almost hear it ring. Also notice photography crew visible in reflections from the gongs. ;)
That bent clapper does makes one wonder. Was that someone's idea of how to get the phone to not ring but they could still hear the clapper vibrate?
Yes, Hobie a very unprofessional shot. You can see the photographer in the reflection on the left gong. But I was having fun trying to get a photo of the moving clapper.
Thanks for the help, folks! Wow, that photo sure puts my efforts to shame. Hopefully I can do better after I finish reading the camera manual...
Amazingly, the phone did manage to make a little noise on the left-hand bias setting, even with the clapper like that - it sounded pretty strange, though! I stuffed the clapper back where it belonged and got the stop wire to where it just touched the frame on the right. Now it rings nicely, but it still only rings when the bias wire is on the left (in the curled-up part of the slot). If I put the bias wire on the right, it doesn't even try to ring. Any idea what might be wrong?
I can take a few guesses at what might have happened to the clapper, but the people who would know aren't around any more. If I'm right, the clapper has been like that for years, but it was "sort of" ringing on both bias wire settings until recently. The change my dad noticed recently was probably that it stopped trying to ring on the right-hand bias setting (which is where I found it when I first opened it up).
JoAnn
Quote from: Dennis Markham
Yes, Hobie a very unprofessional shot. You can see the photographer in the reflection on the left gong. But I was having fun trying to get a photo of the moving clapper.
Actually Dennis I thought seeing you in the gong reflections made the shot even more cool. 8)
Quote from: wayrad
OK, let's see if I can manage to link to some photos I uploaded to Photobucket. There should be clickable thumbnails. If you would prefer the photos to be uploaded directly, let me know and I'll change it.
JoAnn your pictures are fine and I'm glad that you're making progress on the ringer. BTW, using Photobucket seems generally a good idea on the forum and I need to start using it myself. It saves some storage space and is a good way to mingle images and text. If an image is important enough that it's best to post it directly on the forum, so that it can't get lost from another site like Photobucket, such as images in the forum's technical section, then we do that.
BTW I don't think I ever said Howdy and Welcome yet. So...there...I said it. :)
JoAnn if it rings well in the one position that's OK. I would imagine that is why they had two settings. One think you can try that is a little more technical is to adjust the clapper while the phone is ringing. There is a screw at the back end of the clapper arm. DO NOT remove the screw but just loosen it while the phone is ringing. Then while it is ringing re-tighten the screw. That has been known to help a weak ringer. You might have to remove the dial assembly from the bracket in order to reach that screw. Maybe not. Sometimes you can thread a screw driver down through the wires and to the screw I'm talking about.
But if it's ringing better with the bias tension spring in whatever position you have it then life is good.
Quote from: HobieSport on May 10, 2009, 03:16:45 PMBTW I don't think I ever said Howdy and Welcome yet. So...there...I said it. :)
Thanks for the welcome!
Dennis: Yes, maybe I should just leave well enough alone. Or I may fiddle with it some more next weekend... Anyway, my dad seems happy with it now. Thanks for all the help, everyone!
I think my mother must have asked the plumber/handyman next door (who died about 15 years ago) to make the ringer less loud. I hung out in his machine shop a lot when I was a kid and can generally recognize his handiwork...there's a certain je ne sais quoi.
JoAnn
Quote from: wayrad
I think my mother must have asked the plumber/handyman next door (who died about 15 years ago) to make the ringer less loud. I hung out in his machine shop a lot when I was a kid and can generally recognize his handiwork...
Mystery Clue solved? The Plumber did it. In the Machine Shop. With the Pliers. ;)
Quote from: HobieSport on May 10, 2009, 07:41:21 PM
Mystery Clue solved? The Plumber did it. In the Machine Shop. With the Pliers. ;)
There
definitely had to have been pliers involved... ;)