There have been several threads regarding the key in and seat belt alarms, and discussions on how to disable them. Some people want a permanent method of disabling the alarms, and others have suggested temporary, more easily reversible solutions. I wanted a way to temporarily disable the alarm when the door was open with the key in the accessory position, so that I could work on my car with the door open while listening to the radio, or for some other reason where I might need the key in the accessory position. Rather than just installing an on/off switch, I wanted this solution to automatically reset, so that when the key was turned off the cycle would start over and I wouldn’t have to remember to turn a switch back on. Some people have pointed out that the alarm will not sound if the key is in the on position with the door open, instead of the accessory position. However, I don't know if there are any long term issues with having the key on without starting the engine. Regardless, I didn't want all the extra circuits energized that are associated with the key on position, and the extra drain on the battery. Some people might also want to temporarily silence the seat belt alarm. Those people who have permanently disabled their seat belt alarm could re-activate it after adding this mod, and then silence it whenever they want with the press of a button.
There are a few different circuits that can be tapped into to stop the chime, depending on your goal. To silence the chime for all events, the chime itself could be interrupted. As the seat belt warning chime is not an issue for me, I decided to disable the key in signal which is more easily accessible, which J.A. has described in an earlier article, only temporarily in my case.
The circuit is very simple. If the key is in the accessory position and the door is open, the Chime Cancel button is pressed which energizes a relay, and the chime will stop. The first set of relay contacts electrically latch the relay in the on position, and keep the coil energized when the button is released. When the key is turned off, power is removed from the relay and the circuit will reset, and the chime will sound again the next time the key is in the accessory position and the door is opened. The second set of relay contacts interrupt whatever circuit in the vehicle they are wired to. The circuit consists of a momentary push button which is the Chime Cancel Switch, and a 12 volt double pole double throw relay. A diode is also placed across the relay coil to suppress high voltage spikes which are generated when the coil is de-energized. It is always good practice to include this diode when using a relay for any purpose, unless you use a relay with a built in diode. Observe correct polarity on the diode - the silver band is the cathode, which goes to 12V. The diode I used is a 1N4007.
Here is the Chime Cancel circuit, and the location of the key in signal wire on the vehicle wiring diagram at pin 15 of connector B6:
I cut the wire at connector B6 pin 15, and wired the two ends to A and B of the circuit, which are the normally closed contacts of the second set of relay contacts. Connector B6 can be found at the right side of the interior fuse panel. Pictures I took of the connector weren't very clear, so please refer to
J.A.'s Instructions on how to find the correct wire. Thanks to J.A. for this. If anyone decides to tap into the chime circuit itself, please post instructions on how you did it.
I tapped into 12V ACC power at the fuse panel using an add-a-circuit with a dedicated 5A fuse. If I recall the relay I used draws around 130mA so a 2A fuse would probably have been sufficient, barring any substantial power surges when the relay coil is energized. The relay is shown tied to the wiring harness below the steering column. I have since encapsulated the relay in heat shrink tubing for protection.
I grounded the relay circuit at the frame behind the top of the driver's side kick panel:
When the circuit above is wired to the key in signal, the chime will stop but the dome light will remain on, which is my preference. I have included an alternate circuit below which taps into the existing driver's door open switch circuit, instead of the key in signal wire. This circuit will simulate the door being closed when it is activated, and will turn off the dome light in addition to silencing the chime, for anyone who prefers the dome light to go off.
Again, cut the wire between A and B, this time in the existing driver’s door switch circuit (shown with the door closed), and connect to the relay circuit. In this case, when the circuit is activated it will reset when the key is turned off, OR when the driver's door is closed. An additional diode is used to block 12 volts from being fed back into the body ecu through the relay coil, if the chime cancel button is pressed with the door closed. I have not tested this variation of the circuit and I don't know if the 0.7 volt drop across the diode is enough to inhibit operation of the existing door open circuit, so it is just theoretical at this point.
John at Air On Board made the Chime Cancel switch for me:
If you would like a switch like this, contact John at stores.ebay.com/on-board-air-usa. Be sure to specify momentary contacts. I spliced into the Center Diff Lock switch back light wiring to provide power for the Chime Cancel switch back lighting. This switch uses two leds for back lighting. One behind the words at the lower part of the switch which will light when the vehicle lights are on, and one behind the graphic at the upper part of the switch. The upper led is provided 12 volts through the relay coil and will remain lit whenever the key is in the accessory or on position, and will go out when the relay circuit is active as both sides of the led are then at ground potential. This is the way I like it, but if you don't want the upper part of the switch lit constantly with the key turned on, simply reverse the switch wiring. The upper led will behave differently in the second variation of the circuit.
Note that none of the methods described above will stop the chime if the key is merely in the ignition in the off position, as the circuit relies on accessory power to work. Stopping the chime with the key off was not my goal, as I personally don't see a reason for leaving the key in the off position with the door open.
This describes changes I made to my vehicle’s wiring to implement this modification. Please make changes to your vehicle’s wiring at your own risk.
There are a few different circuits that can be tapped into to stop the chime, depending on your goal. To silence the chime for all events, the chime itself could be interrupted. As the seat belt warning chime is not an issue for me, I decided to disable the key in signal which is more easily accessible, which J.A. has described in an earlier article, only temporarily in my case.
The circuit is very simple. If the key is in the accessory position and the door is open, the Chime Cancel button is pressed which energizes a relay, and the chime will stop. The first set of relay contacts electrically latch the relay in the on position, and keep the coil energized when the button is released. When the key is turned off, power is removed from the relay and the circuit will reset, and the chime will sound again the next time the key is in the accessory position and the door is opened. The second set of relay contacts interrupt whatever circuit in the vehicle they are wired to. The circuit consists of a momentary push button which is the Chime Cancel Switch, and a 12 volt double pole double throw relay. A diode is also placed across the relay coil to suppress high voltage spikes which are generated when the coil is de-energized. It is always good practice to include this diode when using a relay for any purpose, unless you use a relay with a built in diode. Observe correct polarity on the diode - the silver band is the cathode, which goes to 12V. The diode I used is a 1N4007.
Here is the Chime Cancel circuit, and the location of the key in signal wire on the vehicle wiring diagram at pin 15 of connector B6:
I cut the wire at connector B6 pin 15, and wired the two ends to A and B of the circuit, which are the normally closed contacts of the second set of relay contacts. Connector B6 can be found at the right side of the interior fuse panel. Pictures I took of the connector weren't very clear, so please refer to
J.A.'s Instructions on how to find the correct wire. Thanks to J.A. for this. If anyone decides to tap into the chime circuit itself, please post instructions on how you did it.
I tapped into 12V ACC power at the fuse panel using an add-a-circuit with a dedicated 5A fuse. If I recall the relay I used draws around 130mA so a 2A fuse would probably have been sufficient, barring any substantial power surges when the relay coil is energized. The relay is shown tied to the wiring harness below the steering column. I have since encapsulated the relay in heat shrink tubing for protection.
I grounded the relay circuit at the frame behind the top of the driver's side kick panel:
When the circuit above is wired to the key in signal, the chime will stop but the dome light will remain on, which is my preference. I have included an alternate circuit below which taps into the existing driver's door open switch circuit, instead of the key in signal wire. This circuit will simulate the door being closed when it is activated, and will turn off the dome light in addition to silencing the chime, for anyone who prefers the dome light to go off.
Again, cut the wire between A and B, this time in the existing driver’s door switch circuit (shown with the door closed), and connect to the relay circuit. In this case, when the circuit is activated it will reset when the key is turned off, OR when the driver's door is closed. An additional diode is used to block 12 volts from being fed back into the body ecu through the relay coil, if the chime cancel button is pressed with the door closed. I have not tested this variation of the circuit and I don't know if the 0.7 volt drop across the diode is enough to inhibit operation of the existing door open circuit, so it is just theoretical at this point.
John at Air On Board made the Chime Cancel switch for me:
If you would like a switch like this, contact John at stores.ebay.com/on-board-air-usa. Be sure to specify momentary contacts. I spliced into the Center Diff Lock switch back light wiring to provide power for the Chime Cancel switch back lighting. This switch uses two leds for back lighting. One behind the words at the lower part of the switch which will light when the vehicle lights are on, and one behind the graphic at the upper part of the switch. The upper led is provided 12 volts through the relay coil and will remain lit whenever the key is in the accessory or on position, and will go out when the relay circuit is active as both sides of the led are then at ground potential. This is the way I like it, but if you don't want the upper part of the switch lit constantly with the key turned on, simply reverse the switch wiring. The upper led will behave differently in the second variation of the circuit.
Note that none of the methods described above will stop the chime if the key is merely in the ignition in the off position, as the circuit relies on accessory power to work. Stopping the chime with the key off was not my goal, as I personally don't see a reason for leaving the key in the off position with the door open.
This describes changes I made to my vehicle’s wiring to implement this modification. Please make changes to your vehicle’s wiring at your own risk.
