I bought a 2001 Navigator a few months ago. I had it off road to clean it up and repair some of the known mechanical problems. I took it out for it's first test drive a day or so ago. There are still a few problems but most annoying among them is the constant chiming while driving the car for the first 40 seconds each time I start it.
I don't think it is seat belt related, as the dash light and seat belt chime go out as soon as I buckle the seat belt. About 12-20 seconds later the other chime sequence begins. The sound is different from the seat belt chime. It seems to be somewhat lower in volume. The sequence is 5 chimes, then 5 seconds, repeating five times. It doesn't seem to be effected by the movement of the car, either in forward or reverse. The chime sound seems to be coming from the GEM module, but that's as far as I've been able to figure out. The E brake doesn't work but it does release fully. It doesn't seem to effect the chime.
Any ideas?

 

Check your owner's manual....

 

Check fuses 22 & 30 under the dash.

 

No need to check fuses, see the owner's manual.

 

I've checked all of the fuses and have (and read) both the owners manual and the complete shop manuals (8" thick) and can't shed a light on where to turn next. I don't own a STAR tester, so I am limited in how far I can follow the shop manual.

 

+1, checking the owners manual.
IIRC, 5 beeps means the SRS has failed its readiness self cheek.

 

If the SRS failed a self check, shouldn't there be an airbag light coming on as well?

 

Simple question: What happens when the airbag light is burned out and another fault is present?

You obviously didn't read the sections on the SRS in either.

 

One of 3 conditions cause the beeping, a blown fuse for the air bag (SRS) module, a burnt out air bag light, or a bad air bag module.

 

You could've tipped him off and told him specifically to start at that section.

 

Easy to confirm, does the airbag light come on when turning the ignition on?

 

I'll assume no since he didn't mention the air bag light remained on after starting the vehicle, like it would do if the beeping was a result of an SRS issue. But we'll see what he comes back with.

 

Thank you for all your of your help. I rechecked fuses #8, #20 & #22. All were good. I then checked the SRS section of the shop manual (thank you Alloro) for information and found that my chime pattern was identified as an alternative SRS warning when the air bag warning light (AWL) was not working. The AWL light was not going on in either the start or run key positions. The manual stated that I couldn't go any further with the SRS fault diagnosis until I got the AWL functioning. I removed the instrument cluster to find that the POS PO had removed the AWL and the brake warning light bulbs, base and all. I swapped out two other bulbs temporarily to troubleshoot. The AWL was now in a blinking sequence three, then six. Back to the manual to look up lamp fault code (LFC) 36. All four LFC 36 listings had to do with the driver air bag - either resistance high or low or problems with the air bag shorted to ground or battery. My first thought was "I hope the car has the airbag". I removed the steering wheel cover and luckily, the car came with one! That's as far as I got with it today.
I guess I'll try to narrow it down to the specific diagnostic trouble code (DTC) when I have access to the proper scan tool. I can't forget to replace the two bulbs I swapped from the instrument cluster.

 

Change the clock spring, the sliding contacts for the airbag circuit are worn.

 

The horn wasn't working as well. I had thought of that as a future project but now when you add that to the mix, it sounds like replacing the clock spring is the answer. I'll pick one up and let you know what happens, but I'm confident you're right. Thanks again.