Fuse in Doorbell?

[shivinski]

So, i've just moved into a new house and the doorbell doesn't seem to work. The actual button looks like a normal doorbell [fig.1]

It looks like the whole doorbell seems to be hardwired into the house so my impression is that it runs off the mains.

I thought to fix it, the first thing I'll look at is the button in the porch and straight away after I took it apart [fig.2a] found that it contained a fuse [fig.2b][fig.3]. This I thought was slightly strange as the two wires running into the doorbell are only quit thin and I find it hard to think they would contain a dangerous current.
But alas, the fuse is blown (which I'm guessing is the nature of my doorbell not working) so something that was strong enough to blow it must have run through the doorbell wires in the past.

So now I'm wondering, has anyone seen this kind of doorbell set up before?

What kind of current is running through the actual doorbell and why is there a fuse in the actual button?

And would it be safe for me to just wire across the two fuse connections or do I HAVE to buy a new fuse (I have no idea about this fuse, all I can make out on it are the words "Type-A")?

fig.1
**broken link removed**
fig.2a
**broken link removed**
fig.2b
**broken link removed**
fig.3
**broken link removed**

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

It's not a fuse, it's a bulb (festoon bulb) that lights the button up.

Somewhere else will be the bell itself, plus a low voltage PSU - they may not be mounted anywhere near each other. Bell transformers are usually VERY reliable, as they are made to high safety standards and intended for permanent connection to the mains.

 

[cr0sh]

Somewhere else will be the bell itself, plus a low voltage PSU - they may not be mounted anywhere near each other. Bell transformers are usually VERY reliable, as they are made to high safety standards and intended for permanent connection to the mains.

To expand on this, you'll typically see them in weird locations; depending on the house, they are typically tucked out of the way where they aren't visible (unless the house is so old it was a retro-fit, or the builder didn't care about aesthetics). For instance, in my house (built in 1973), the transformer is in the laundry room near the water heater; in other homes, I have seen them inside a closet, up on the wall of the garage, or inside a "recessed" lighting fixture over the kitchen. They basically look like a small transformer on a metal plate, fairly ugly - and so normally hidden.