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Fuse Box has been buzzing for the past 20 years...

4K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  gregzoll 
#1 ·
My fuse box has been making buzzing sounds for the past 20 years at least.
It seems to be the unit attached underneath the fuse box.
About 10 years ago I added the red clamp seen in the video to stop the buzzing, and it did for a few days... But then it came back.
SO here I am 10 years later asking the internet...
Just what is this noise?
What is that thing attached under the fuse box?
How do I make it not sound like a mechanical honey bee? :laughing:

*** I apply pressure to the clamp in the video just to show how the buzzing changes. If I remove the camp, the buzzing gets a little louder, so I leave it there.

Thanks for your time!
 
#16 ·
Being Canadian, you've got the advantage that with the main breaker turned off, everything in that panel that you could possibly touch will be dead. With the main off, the only live parts are hidden in that closed upper section around the main breaker. So, if you're reasonably mechanically inclined, you could just turn off the main, remove the transformer, and install the new one exactly the same way as the old one.

Sometimes I kinda wish we had those "enclosed main" panels here in the US. Tight panels with the neutral bars an inch from the exposed, live, main lugs make me twitchy..
 
#3 ·
I'm amazed that your insurance company allows you to STILL have a fuse box. Most insurance companies INSIST on a 200 amp breaker panel to cover the electrical needs of your home and help prevent fire.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Okay, let's see if I understand things right:

It looks like that transformer has only 2 wires coming out of it through the bottom, a black and white, and they run up, past the breaker box and into the ceiling of my basement. I'm guessing to the doorbell.
Shouldn't this also have a third "ground" wire?

I can't see through the cluster of wires, and I'm scared to move them without turning off the breaker, but is it safe to assume that there is a hole in the bottom of the breaker box that goes into the doorbell transformer, where more wires hook up from within the breaker box?

 
#15 ·
Okay, let's see if I understand things right:

It looks like that transformer has only 2 wires coming out of it through the bottom, a black and white, and they run up, past the breaker box and into the ceiling of my basement. I'm guessing to the doorbell.
Shouldn't this also have a third "ground" wire?

I can't see through the cluster of wires, and I'm scared to move them without turning off the breaker, but is it safe to assume that there is a hole in the bottom of the breaker box that goes into the doorbell transformer, where more wires hook up from within the breaker box?



Low voltage wiring does not need a ground wire since its not considered dangerous if something became energized at 16 or 24 volts. The wires should indeed hook up somewhere in the breaker box. If you arent sure what to do call an electrician. IF anything, trip the main breaker at the top before touching anything inside.
 
#11 ·
The transformer has two wires that go inside the panel. One to a breaker and one to the neutral bar. It has no ground because the housing of the transformer is attached to the panel. The other terminals/black and white wire, go to the doorbell chime kit. You can verify this by disconnecting one of the wires and trying the doorbell. If you can't see which breaker the transformer is connected to, turn off one single pole breaker off at a time until the humming stops.
 
#14 ·
Just my two cents. That extra loops of wiring can be cut back. Makes it look too amateurish. Also since it appears that is a Canadian panel. Did you pull the proper permits before doing? As far as I know, is that Canada does not allow homeowners to do their own panels in most areas.
 
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