Chime on / fixed

[James Morse]

Fast chime is always on if the driver door is open. The one that tells you if you had your headlights on (they're not). On the '97.
It just came back from shop this is new it shouldn't chime just with the door open. Help? Move to appropriate category if necessary, thanks.

 

[James Morse]

Hey I found this out if I put the steering wheel tilt all the way down, which is where I normally have it, it doesn't chime. If you move it up even one notch it chimes. I moved it up and down a lot it didn't change it. To me that sounds like a contact in getting loose when changing the tilt up?
Anyway I haven't always had it all the way down and it never did this so probably something got loose when the guy put the steering all the way up he told me he had to move it.
So I can use the truck and not have it chime, but, it ain't right. Maybe somebody else had this or can help where to look. I'd suppose, take off the clamshells and see if anything is loose and gets moved when the tilt goes up.

 

[Curious Hound]

take off the clamshells and see if anything is loose and gets moved when the tilt goes up.

Yup. Do that. Might be a loose wire for the multifunction switch or a wire has rubbed through it’s insulation and shorts to ground when it moves.

 

[RonD]

On the key cylinder you will see a blue unit with a black wire
This is the "Key Left in Ignition" Ground wire
If drivers door is opened and this wire is grounded then Chime will sound

The key in ignition grounds the tabs in the Blue unit thats how it works, pretty simple

I would think that part is OK
Whats not OK is the Black wire, its probably shorting to ground with steering wheel up, should be pretty easy to find that short, follow the black wire

Picture of the Blue unit inside the cylinder: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/attachments/img_0865-jpg.90165/

Picture of it on the outside with black wire: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/attachments/005_zpsa2cb6a23-jpg.279363/

Thats a vehicle with PATS, the white label on transceiver, you won't have that in a 1997

 

[James Morse]

Thanks Eric and Ron. Yes probably as you say the Blue unit is ok, if the wheel is all the way down, no chime, I put in key (with door open), it chimes.
Will do just what you said to find where is black wire shorting. Had it apart before to put in new cruise buttons so no biggie.
Funny how stuff just seems to happen just when you get truck back from shop don't know if other people have experienced that, but it's one reason I prefer fix myself when I can, but I never would have got that hub key out they said it's hardened steel not easy to drill out.
I guess just chock it up to, it was worn, probably would have done it if I'd ever moved wheel up, etc. Not the kind of thing you want to alienate what seems to be a decent shop... plus can't prove at this point it wouldn't have done it before... but you get the idea, it sucks to have someone fix one thing and have another thing appear that is totally unrelated.

 

[RonD]

Only time I ever had the CEL come on while driving in my 1994 Ranger 4.0l was after I had a shop do the clutch
I am getting older and changing clutches doesn't appeal to me much any more

Anyway, they had reversed the O2 sensor plug-ins, easy to do, but still a pain to diagnose
Codes were Rich on Passenger side, Lean on Drivers side, in case it every comes up

 

[James Morse]

OK so you know exactly what I'm talking about. There they messed something... other times like this it seems to just appear, or be noticed, after work on something else. So it makes you think 'they did something' but in reality it almost for sure has nothing at all to do with it and I could look like an idiot complaining about it.

 

[RonD]

If you always had the steering wheel down then no short, shop mechanic may have needed to move it up, higher knees, lol
And usually they leave the keys in the ignition so the chime coming on would be "normal" to them with door open

It comes down to when someone else drives your vehicle, when you get it back something ain't right
Can be just the seat position, steering wheel or mirrors, but something is always different

 

[Curious Hound]

If you always had the steering wheel down then no short, shop mechanic may have needed to move it up, higher knees, lol
And usually they leave the keys in the ignition so the chime coming on would be "normal" to them with door open

It comes down to when someone else drives your vehicle, when you get it back something ain't right
Can be just the seat position, steering wheel or mirrors, but something is always different

I agree. Some things like that are close to failing for years. Then something gets disturbed and finishes the job. Nothing malicious about it and they probably never noticed. Personally, I would just find it, fix it and move on. Not worth complaining about.
On my F150, the little contact piece for key in ignition broke a few months ago when I had to replace the actuator rod that goes down to the ignition switch. Now mine chimes “most of the time” when the door is open. I guess I need to fix or disable that before I sell the truck.

 

[James Morse]

That's exactly right Ron, he told me specifically he moved the wheel up.
So what happened is the little blue contact was flopping around in its mount. There's a cutout for it and it has a hook that is supposed to clip over a flange on the holder for the lock cylinder and it was shorting against the assembly. I taped it in with narrow stretchy tape, just taped around assembly, there's nothing moving there. It has to be really seated down all the way or it can also short against the lock cylinder if there's play in the latter. Anyway, it's working properly, and if it comes back I'll attach it again or get another or glue it or something. It doesn't look broken, just probably worn and when the guy put the wheel tilt up it likely pulled on the black wire and moved it enough to not work right. Crazy. Thanks for pinpointing it so fast.

 

[James Morse]

Yeah Eric you can just tape over it (disable) or maybe the little copper piece is just bent etc and you can fix it quick. Absent fixing it, yeah, I'd disable it, no one will notice (until they lock their keys in? lol)

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I never knew there was a working chime in my choptop until I was under the dash for something and I heard this weak, warbling ding that almost sounded like it was under water. I found the chime module and unplugged it at that point. Certainly wasn’t doing me any good and I didn’t need that when the doors are off, lol