Forgot to kill the power before my doorbell swap

I was changing the chime unit on my front door yesterday. My kid came home and pressed the button while I had the wires exposed. A loud pop and a small flash scared us both, and now the doorbell just makes a clicking sound. It dawned on me that even quick jobs need the circuit off, no exceptions.

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerscott19d ago

Guess the universe decided your quick doorbell job needed a little more drama. Nothing says 'home improvement' like the smell of scorched plastic and that special feeling when you realize you just fried a perfectly good chime. Now you get to enjoy that classy clicking sound, a constant reminder that electricity always wins the argument. At least your kid learned a valuable lesson about dad's projects.

the_sarah9d agoMost Upvoted

Okay but "electricity always wins" is giving it too much credit. It's more like we lose to our own dumb mistakes. That click isn't the power arguing, it's just a broken thing now. The real lesson is always, always flip the breaker, even for a two minute job. I've been that dad staring at melted plastic.

matthew_owens919d ago

That click is the sound of regret, reminds me of when I crossed wires on a thermostat and my dog hit the test button. Skylerscott is right about electricity winning every argument, right?