"IF you have only a front door button, it doesn't matter which wire goes where. Either way will work." Except the bell will have a different chime between the front door and the back door. And, since you only have two wires, I'm guessing you only have one door on the bell. The wire out of the wall with voltage on it at all times should go to "trans"...transformer. The other wire out of the wall should be the button. If you don't have power from one of the wires, it sounds like a transformer problem. If you do have power, is it what your new bell requires? Does your new bell come with a transformer? My transformer on my old house was in the garage plugged into the same outlet on the ceiling that my garage door opener was plugged into. I always thought that was a strange place for someone to put it!

I love my push button garbage disposal switch! I can't answer your electrical question, but in my shopping experience, the only company I found making push button switches is Classic Accents. They are carried on the CA website, and they are also the brand carried on Rejuvenations website. If you look closely at photos, they always have a stylized 'CA' on the button. I think they are hugely overpriced (50 bucks for a three way!), and I haven't been all that impressed by the quality (my dimmer broke, and my husband had to fix the wiring on a differnt one). And yet, I continue to buy them because they are the only ones I have found. Maybe I need to look anew... :-) francy

It is certainly possible that the electrician or the installer messed something up. Are you paying both of them directly or is the furnace contractor paying the electrician? The electrician might have unhooked the transformer in a panel or junction box. Someone might have accidentally cut the low voltage cable, the button could be broken or the doorbell could be broken. Do you know where the doorbell transformer is? If this is a typical installation, it makes 16VAC from 120VAC. The transformers are frequently mounted directly to the main electrical panel or a sub panel, but they can be anywhere on a junction box as well. I have seen them on a combined circuit providing power for a furnace or boiler. If you can find the transformer, it might be easy to tell if it still has power because it will be a little warmer than the surroundings and it might be humming a little. (I can't say what tune, they all have their own preferences.) The easiest way to check to see if the transformer is producing 16V is with a test light. You can rig that will a robust automotive lamp and a couple of wires (preferably with alligator clips on the ends. See if the test light gets bright by touching the wires to the low voltage output of the transformer. If that checks ok, you have to test the doorbell, the button and trace the circuit to see if it has been cut. The circuit is simple and uses low-voltage, two conductor, cable. There is a loop between the transformer and doorbell with the button on one conductor in there somewhere. If the circuit is intact, you should have power at the doorbell when the button is pushed.

One possibility is that your meter is reading "phantom voltage" and the transformer actually can't supply significant current. To find out, check the transformer's voltage under load (when the doorbell button is pushed). Or connect a car dome light or tail light bulb across the transformer's secondary (screw terminals) to see if it lights. If it still reads 12 volts, or the bulb lights, remove the transformer, doorbell, and button from the house. Wire them to one another on your workbench. If they work there, either the house's doorbell wiring is faulty, or a connection to one of the components wasn't properly made. Wait, you said the transformer is in the garage? Any chance that it's downstream from a GFI?