'no power' to new wired doorbell even though there's voltage?

[sdsalsero]

I am trying to install a new Arlo wired video-doorbell and I think the primary issue is getting power to the unit. I'm sorry for the long description (below) but I want to be sure to include all relevant notes. I super appreciate any suggestions!

- First I confirmed the following:
 . the transformer was labeled "16V 10AMP"
 . the actual output of the transformer was 23VAC
 . the voltage at the doorbell was 26 VAC ?! Not sure how that's possible...

. my iqAmerica PC-7520 chime used just the standard 2 connectors

- I can't actually reach my chime so I installed the power kit across the 'same' connectors but on the other end of the cable. Electrically, that should be identical to connecting it to the leads inside the chime, right?

- when I first connected the Arlo, the ring of lights turned white. But this part was very frustrating- I'm standing in front of my house, in bright daylight, trying to determine if the lights were actually lit or not?! I really wish they used something else to indicate 'ready', e.g. flashing or 'running' (around the circle)

- cupping my hand over the unit, I could still see the lights so I assumed it was ready. Though, really, they just looked like white 'dots', i.e., they were not bright ... so I wasn't 100% sure it was receiving power?

- I entered my wifi info, then tried to initiate the sync. But the doorbell never flashed, i.e., never indicated that it had received the info.

- eventually I realized that my phone was on 5 GHz wifi, not the 2.4 GHz supported by the doorbell. By the time I figured-out how to force it to 2.4, the doorbell was no longer responding. So, I think the power was NOT working and I'd just been running on the original built-in battery

- at this point I started checking the voltages, and disconnecting/reconnecting everything. When I reconnected the doorbell it started flashing a slow red LED. But I could not find any documentation for what that meant ?!! (note- this was not the ring of LEDs, it was the standalone LED in the middle)

- I found a third-party webpage (talking about the wireless model; I have wired) which said that this flashing-red was the wifi sync. So then I thought that maybe the sync HAD started but was failing because of the 5 GHz vs 2.4. I tried doing the reset but it never changed the flashing-red LED, i.e., I don't think it had gotten far enough in the setup to do a reset

- Finally, one possible further complication: my chime expects a diode to be placed across the doorbell leads, probably to allow some trickle charge? But, now, with the original doorbell/diode removed, if I manually short those connections, it still chimes. So is the chime doing something that is preventing the doorbell from receiving the trickle-charge? I don't see how, as the doorbell is still directly inline to the circuit. (If/when I get the doorbell to work, THEN I might try reinstalling that diode. But only if the chime stops working, I mean why bother if continues to work without it?)

[sdsalsero]

bah! I just realized that the 'legacy' diode (from the chime) was actually still in-place. So that was possibly interfering with whatever the Arlo power-kit and doorbell were trying to do? I have now removed it and re-confirmed that there's 20 VAC at the doorbell leads, but the doorbell has not lit-up again.

Do I have to wait for it to re-charge? Presumably it had some built-in charge when I first connected it but now is dead. How long should it take to re-activate?

[sdsalsero · Accepted solution]

ok, so I'm making progress:

• I removed the diode which was previously installed for the chime, but the doorbell still didn't seem to be charging
• I switched the power-kit to 'bypass' mode, i.e., allow it to charge the doorbell at full-speed rather than trickle-charge
• an hour later, the doorbell was back! And I was able to complete the setup. The Arlo app now shows that the doorbell is 28% charged.

Once the doorbell reaches 100% charge I am going to switch the power-kit back to regular mode, and see if both the chime works and the doorbell continues to maintain charge.

I am going to mark this Question as Solved, and per this final reply of mine.