Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Hooking up a buzzer to a Motion Light

Hello guys...

Just joined the boards and searched before I asked.. but I cannot seem to find my answer. I'm definetly no electrical engineer, but I'm not a complete moron either.. so bare with me.

I have purchased a couple "Driveway Alert" systems, last one being from Chamberlain which I thought would have been decent, but was very dissapointed with it's wopping 6'-8' range! Basicaly what I now want to do is buy a good outside motion security light and also wire it to my bedroom to some type of buzzer or alarm that would go off when the lights come on. I would imagine this would require some type of relay or something. A wiring diagram would be awesome... any help would greatly be appreciated...

Thanks in advance..

It's really more of a regular electrical question than not, but it's not tough. You wire a 120v coil relay in parallel with the lamp(s) on the outgoing side of the motion switch. With that you can switch anything you like.

Bear in mind that it's probably going to be easier to wire in the primary side power for a door bell type transformer and use that to power a door bell type device.

It's really more of a regular electrical question than not, but it's not tough. You wire a 120v coil relay in parallel with the lamp(s) on the outgoing side of the motion switch. With that you can switch anything you like.

Bear in mind that it's probably going to be easier to wire in the primary side power for a door bell type transformer and use that to power a door bell type device.

MrRonFL,

Thank you very much for your response. I really appreciate your feedback and it's encouraging to hear your say it's not that difficult. Would you mind elaborating, as I am not really familiar with the electrical terminology? When you say..."You wire a 120v coil relay in parallel with the lamp(s) on the outgoing side of the motion switch", where can I find such a relay? Home Depot? Radio Shack?.. and when you say to the outgoing side of the motion switch.. you have to excuse my incompetence.. but what exactly does that mean? And I don't mind at all using a door bell type transformer.. but when the "alarm" goes off would be a constant alarm? I am looking for something that sends an audible signal as long as the lights are on... in other words. When some hoodlums walk up my driveway and start playing with my vehicles in the middle of the night... I need to wake-up!! I really appreciate your help and would like to start working on this tomorrow morning. Please let me know what I would need to complete a job like that. Thanks again....

Hookay, just realize that things have names, and it's hard to describe something like this if you can't follow the terminology.

I'm going to give you the simplest and safest version. I don't think you are up to relay wiring.

The motion detector is just an elaborate switch.

Your lamp(s) on that light have a hot and a neutral. The hot is interrupted by the motion switch.

If you connect the power leads for a doorbell transformer to the neutral and to the same hot leads that the actual lamps are connected to, when the lamps are actually on, the transformer will also be energized powering your buzzer. When the the timer on the motion times out and turns off the light, the transformer also looses power.

It's simple, and once you are wired in on the primary (120v) sided of the transformer, everything for your buzzer is 16vac.