My ADC-VDB770 was super hot a few days ago. Now it seems fine. Any ideas why it would fluctuate that much? The HVAC guy did blow my transformer (long story) but it has been replaced with the following transformer:
The VDB770 back-plate is used as a heat-sink, so if the camera is loose on the back-plate or you have it on the table testing it for an extended period it might heat up.
When was the transformer replaced?
And while a long story, how was the doorbell transformer blown by HVAC work? If the VDB770 was connected at the time there may of course be damage.
Just went and checked on it and now it is pretty dang hot again. It is basically covered by the porch so the sun is not blasting it. Re: the HVAC blowing the transformer…he could not figure out why the therms were still powered up after he shut off the furnace switch. Then he decided to just pull the wires off of the control panel (we have zones/dampers). I saw sparks and realized he blew the transformer.
Long story short, the previous HVAC idiots stole power from the doorbell transformer. The HVAC is now removed from the transformer. I had to tell him how to wire the therms. I should have just did it my dang self.
Oh wow, alright thank you for the follow up. It is certainly possible for damage to arise depending on what exactly happened, if they shorted the circuit, or if too much was drawing power off of it.
A little heat may be normal, but subjectively you describe it as super hot, if it is too hot to touch and leave your finger there, there is likely a problem. Where is the heat concentrated?
Just went out there again and now it seems more “normal” with the heat concentrated towards the back (which makes sense with the heatsink). We are getting storms and the outside temp also dropped by like 20 degrees. Do the diags show the temp on this thing?
Yeah. I could not believe the lack of knowledge from the HVAC dude. I mean I had to tell him how to hook up the therms and also tell him how many stages my furnace has (via Google). I would buy more exterior cams today, but I am scared crapless about the quality of work if I tried to pay a “professional” to install them. Argh. Crazy times for all trades and anything house related right now.
Do the diags show the temp on this thing?
No, unfortunately I don’t have any temp readings in the data from that device. All diagnostics look pretty normal otherwise, and it is not missing supervision checks.
I doubt it would impact anything in this case, but a reboot is the universal first step. Do you notice any ongoing difference if you power cycle it?
Does the mechanical chime still work?
I just installed the ADC-VDB770 to replace the older Skybell which had poor motion detection. The new unit exterior runs hot to the touch and it measures 115 degrees F. Will check after 24 hours to see if it cools down once battery inside is fully charged.
I installed the required power adapter module inside my mechanical chime which no longer rings. Fortunately the nearby Qualsys IQ Panel 2 rings and is a good temporary solution.
The back plate is used as a heat-sink. Alarm.com has actually stated it is normal for temps up to about 140 degrees, which would certainly be hot to the touch.
I tested my new ADC-VDB770 about 20 hours after power up / install and now the indoor chime is working fine. I suspect the battery in the doorbell needed to be fully charged. I also have the bare minimum of doorbell power transformers, rated 16V, 10VA. Since this transformer also runs two small light bulbs on my house numbers at the front of the house, some of the power is used up since they run constantly.