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- Joined
- Mar 24, 2013
- Messages
- 1,143
- Age
- 81
- City
- Renton, WA
- Vehicle Year
- 02 2X4; 08 FX4
- Transmission
- Automatic
The chime on my 91 suddenly got very quiet. So I began a search for one.
While searching, I ran across this repair procedure online someplace. I didn't do it quite like described. I left the old foam in place and added 1/16th inch or so high density self-stick foam to the black retainer ring (if you wipe off the old foam, I would use 1/8th thick foam). I cut in into a 1/8th wide (or so) strip and placed it where it would contact the disk in the same place as the old foam (just stick it on in a circle). I put back together keeping black stripe on the metal disk in the same position it was in originally. I think you could use the 1/8th inch high density self stick foam you can get for weather stripping at ACE hardware. Just cut it to the width you need.
It worked like a chime (charm)!! I have included the original write up below.
Ed
How to fix your dead warning chime module
________________________________________
I'm one of those idiots who always leaves his headlights on whenever it's a foggy day outside and drains the battery. I found my warning chime module to be completely dead, and similarly for units I pulled out of the junkyard. It is located directly under the ashtray behind the dash and has a 7 prong harness.
The problem with these modules is that the foam that surrounds the piezo transducer and prevents it from contacting the piezo electromagnet rots away over time and the transducer just sticks to the magnet and makes no, or very little, sound.
Remove the module bracket from the dash with 1 screw. Unplug the module. Take the module off the bracket by removing the 1 screw. Lift up on the 2 plastic fingers to open the plastic housing. Pop the circuit board up and out. Then stick something (very small screwdriver) into each of the 4 holes on the housing to pop off the transducer retainer. The transducer is just a thin metal disk about 1 1/2" diameter. Wipe off all the rotted foam from it.
Then take a bit of the about 1/8" thickness packing foam, which is usually pink in color. Use a knife and the transducer as a template to cut out a piece of foam the size of the transducer. Then go in about 1/8 inch from the outer edge of the foam and cut out the middle, making a "donut" out of it. Put the transducer back in the housing, put the donut on top of it, then snap the retainer back into place. Put everything back together and tada, your annoying ass warning chime is back to life!
The thickness of the foam is important, if it is too thick the sound will be too quiet but if it is too thin the magnetized bar will stick to the transducer and prevent it from vibrating. Experiment for best results.
While searching, I ran across this repair procedure online someplace. I didn't do it quite like described. I left the old foam in place and added 1/16th inch or so high density self-stick foam to the black retainer ring (if you wipe off the old foam, I would use 1/8th thick foam). I cut in into a 1/8th wide (or so) strip and placed it where it would contact the disk in the same place as the old foam (just stick it on in a circle). I put back together keeping black stripe on the metal disk in the same position it was in originally. I think you could use the 1/8th inch high density self stick foam you can get for weather stripping at ACE hardware. Just cut it to the width you need.
It worked like a chime (charm)!! I have included the original write up below.
Ed
How to fix your dead warning chime module
________________________________________
I'm one of those idiots who always leaves his headlights on whenever it's a foggy day outside and drains the battery. I found my warning chime module to be completely dead, and similarly for units I pulled out of the junkyard. It is located directly under the ashtray behind the dash and has a 7 prong harness.
The problem with these modules is that the foam that surrounds the piezo transducer and prevents it from contacting the piezo electromagnet rots away over time and the transducer just sticks to the magnet and makes no, or very little, sound.
Remove the module bracket from the dash with 1 screw. Unplug the module. Take the module off the bracket by removing the 1 screw. Lift up on the 2 plastic fingers to open the plastic housing. Pop the circuit board up and out. Then stick something (very small screwdriver) into each of the 4 holes on the housing to pop off the transducer retainer. The transducer is just a thin metal disk about 1 1/2" diameter. Wipe off all the rotted foam from it.
Then take a bit of the about 1/8" thickness packing foam, which is usually pink in color. Use a knife and the transducer as a template to cut out a piece of foam the size of the transducer. Then go in about 1/8 inch from the outer edge of the foam and cut out the middle, making a "donut" out of it. Put the transducer back in the housing, put the donut on top of it, then snap the retainer back into place. Put everything back together and tada, your annoying ass warning chime is back to life!
The thickness of the foam is important, if it is too thick the sound will be too quiet but if it is too thin the magnetized bar will stick to the transducer and prevent it from vibrating. Experiment for best results.
