I love my F250SD.

However, the chime is driving me crazy. Start the engine it chimes, turn off the engine & open the door w/ key in ignition it chimes, leave lights on it chimes. Many times I WANT to do these things and can't stand the dinging.

Dealer says there is no way to disable the speaker without hurting other stuff. Baloney!

I'm about to do it myself. Notice speaker is way up in the back of the fuse box -- hard to reach.

Anyone done this already? Would love to hear tips/advice as to pitfalls to watch out for.

thx!

- Pete

 

Pete,

Your dealer is not giving you baloney about disabling your chime. Unlike earlier vehicles, your SD chime is connected to your GEM module and if you unplug it, you will cause no end to problems. There IS something you can do however. If you remove your ignition switch, you will see a thin flat piece of metal that makes contact with another piece below it when the key is in the ignition. If you put a small piece of tape between them, they will not make contact and your chime will not ding when the key is in the ignition with the door open. This does NOT do anything for the headlight chime. You'll just have to put up with it.

To remove ignition switch:

1) Place key in, and turn to "on" postion.

2) locate small hole directly below ignition switch in the plastic shroud that covers the steering column.

3) place a phillips screwdriver (or other blunt-ended tool) in hole and push up to release the pin the holds the ingition switch in place.

4) pull ignition switch straight out.

To re-install, just press it back in and turn it to the "off" position.

Hope this helps...

 

Thanks so much for the tip and instructions. If I can't get rid of the buzzer altogether, this will be a great approach.

I was thinking of taking out the speaker, measuring its inductance (probably 4 to 8 ohms), and replacing it with a resistor. That should keep any GEM-related circuitry happy. Thoughts on this?

 

There was numerous posts about this very subject around 4 months ago on the old forums. All it takes to disable the "key in ignition" chime is to disconnect one wire.


1. Remove panel under dash.
2. Locate the brown six wire connector on the right side of the steering column.
3. Find the black with pink stripe wire.
4. Unplug connector.
5. Remove the red hiky that holds the wires into the connector. (if I remember correctly, that's how they're held in)
6. Remove the black with pink stripe wire.
7. Tape or heat shrink loose wire.
8. Plug connector back in and reinstall panel.

That's it, only takes like 5 minutes and you don't even have to destroy anything. Another nice thing about it is all the other things that use the chime still work. (lights on, door ajar, etc.) I've had it disconnected for four months now with no side effects.

 

The very first thing I've done to every vehicle I've ever owned is to remove the chime/buzzer. I can't stand the damn things. When I got my new SD and realized that I was going to have to put up with it to some degree, I decided that I would just have to adapt. Now after a month, I find that I like knowing when my headlights are on in the daytime. Did you know that it also chimes if you try to move forward with the parking brake engaged?

My point you ask? Leave it mostly intact, and use either mine or JC's method of disabling the annoying ignition sensing chime. You'll probably find that you like it that way.

Just my 2 cents, and worth every penny!

Sam

 

Well I went home and clipped that black/pink wire and it worked super. It's incredible how great it is to open the door and not hear the ding.

I also found that if I put the key in "ACC" then I can leave my headlamps on when the engine is off with no ding.

you are right the ding-on-parking-brake is a nice thing. so it's good to still have the buzzer. i guess now I only wish it didn't beep 7 times when I start the engine.

well it's much quiter now and I'm much happier -- thanks for the tips!

 

It chimes when you try to move with the parking brake applied? Huh, I haven't noticed that one yet. I'll have to give it a try.

 

Well do I ever feel cheated! After reading your posts about the "chime going off when the park brake is set and trying to move the vehicle" I went out to the garage to try it. I guess they didn't get mine hooked up cuz there was nothing. That and the headlight reminder would be the only two good things the chime is for.

 

you have to drive for a few seconds ... it's painful to do it on purpose.

 

Thanks for the info, I'm sure someday in the near future I'll drve off with the brake set and wonder why the chime is going off.

 

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Nov-02 AT 10:05 AM (EST)]Good News Folks,

For those of you that do not want to tamper with the ignition, this modification works for the 2002 models as well....

The key in ignition chime was driving me crazy so I went home last night and looked for the black and pink wire (it was right where the instructions said it would be except the wire bundle coming from the steering cloumn was yellow and the connector was gray).

Rather than clip the wire, I separated the conector took the male side of the connector apart and pulled the pin connected to the black and pink wire out of the connector. I put the connector back together (minus the pin with the black and pink wire) and WALLAH! no key in the ignition ding!

While I was at it, I also deprogrammed the seatbelt reminder and the autolock feature according to the instructions in the owners manual.

I am a happy boy!!!!!!

Thanks!!!!


Gary M.

White 2002 F250 SD, SC, SB, 4x4, 6.8L v10, 3.73LS, 4spd Auto, Reverse Aid Sensor, Class IV Hitch, Offroad Package, Manual Hubs, 40/20/40 Bench Seat, Camper Package, Lariat, Putco Locker Side Rails, Mud Flaps, K&N Filter, Vent Visors...

White 2002 Ranger 4x2 3.0L V6 XLT 2 door supercab with the power group, auto, chrome wheels, mud flaps, body side molding, vent visors, and the 60/40 bench seat as my daily driver