Alert chime

[mike561]

I noticed that the chime inside the car (the one that chimes if you leave the lights on) is REALLY quiet, you can barely hear it. i saw a little blue box under the colum where the sound comes from, i think ill remove it and see if theres anything wrong with the speaker, any ideas what else it could be too?

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by mike561

I noticed that the chime inside the car (the one that chimes if you leave the lights on) is REALLY quiet, you can barely hear it. i saw a little blue box under the colum where the sound comes from, i think ill remove it and see if theres anything wrong with the speaker, any ideas what else it could be too?

Those have a piezo element, not a speaker. You might consider replacing the module if it's too quiet - you should be able to get one at a junkyard for a buck or two.

[mike561]

alright ill check that out, i have a feeling ill be making quite a few trips to the scrap yard too.

[463]

most of the 80s gm buzzers will interchange with no problems. 463

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by 463

most of the 80s gm buzzers will interchange with no problems. 463

Not quite - there are different ones for use on different cars. Some of the older ones are true buzzers but some of them produce a tone instead of a buzz and are wired a little different. Some, such as what was used on the 'reminder package' or whatever GM called it, have multiple leads designed to be used on certain fuseblock connectors.

My own car has two of these, both produce tones and not a buzz. The reminder package one produces a steady ~1 KHz. tone if I turn the engine off and have the headlights on, while the other one (pulled out of and adapted from my '75 Pontiac Grand Am), produces a beeping 1.2 KHz. tone if I leave the key in the ignition with the engine off and open the door.

Also, Mike, considering that these all have piezo elements instead of speakers, you can't expect them to be too loud, although you should be able to hear them in the absence of loud noise.

[mike561]

yeah true, i remember on my 88 caprice it was a moderate tone, not too loud but not too low either, just enough to be able to hear if i left the lights on or key in the ignition.

[GreyGoose006]

if you cant find one, JCWhitney sells them.
you can even get one to play a song (a horrible song) if you want.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by GreyGoose006

if you cant find one, JCWhitney sells them.
you can even get one to play a song (a horrible song) if you want.

My favorite was the turn signal indicator that played Elvis' "Love Me Tender" whenever you activated the turn signal lever. Don't know if they still sell those as it was about 20 years ago when I saw them in that catalog.

[GreyGoose006]

they do.

i've wanted to get a 'dixie' horn from them for a while...
as a joke.

either that or the mega 150 dB train horn that requires its own 5 gallon tank of compressed air.

[silicon212]

and that 5 gallon tank of air at 120 PSI will run those horns for about 10 seconds.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by GreyGoose006

they do.

i've wanted to get a 'dixie' horn from them for a while...
as a joke.

either that or the mega 150 dB train horn that requires its own 5 gallon tank of compressed air.

A little backstory: Back in 1985 I had this 1976 Ford (no comment hey, I was young and "inexperienced ) E100 van. i bought it cheap and fixed it up and painted it a bright yellow,( nicknamed it "The Banana"). Well one of the first mods I did to it was to go out and buy a J C Whitney musical horn. It had a "computer keypad"(hey it was 1985, back then it was "new technology")You mounted the horn under the hood and could play different notes to songs by punching in the corresponding numbers on the keypad. My favorite was the tune to the Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee. I don't remember how many songs it could play, but it was quite a few.
I had the thing stolen out of my van along with the AM/FM/cassette KMart stereo while parked at a movie theater watching some midnight movie. That was the end of that.
I look back now at that and still get a chuckle, thanks GreyGoose006 for mentioning that. as it brought back those memories once again!