ding ding ding, all the time.

[kawana]

Hi, im posting this on behalf of my parents, who have put me in charge of stopping the non-stop dinging in their '99 caravan. Its hard to explain exactly when and why it comes on, but it seems to happen if you slow down, and goes away when you accelerate, and i think it only happens when you slow to below 50km/h but im not 100% sure on that. If your at a complete stop, it will just keep on dinging until you go. Thoughts? Is there an actual dinger box that can simply be removed? I know there is one in my car, its easy to find, but i cant find one in the van.

[RIP]

Yes, there's a dinger box but they cost $300 and up. It's called the Body Control Module (BCM) and is located under the left side of the dash. Before you go there, is it this the door chime or the low fuel chime? Is the gas gauge erratic? A quicky fix could be pulling the IOD fuse in the fuse panel (PDC) next to the battery for 2-3 minutes. This resets the BCM. If that doesn't do it and you have an erratic fuel gauge, it's likely the fuel sender unit in the fuel tank.

[kawana]

im not sure what the difference between the 2 chimes are, its the same one as when the lights are left on, but the car is off. The gas gauge is fine too. Ill try the reset, but if that doesn't work, in relation to the fuse panel, where is the dinger box located? Im not looking to replace it, im looking to get rid of it lol... the dinging is driving me insane!

While we are on the topic of the gas gauge, ive heard that its bad to keep the tank on near empty for long periods of time. With the price of gas etc.. we can rarely fill it more than 1/4 tank at a time.. very rarely is it at 1/2 or full tank.

[RIP]

Originally Posted by kawana

im not sure what the difference between the 2 chimes are, its the same one as when the lights are left on, but the car is off. The gas gauge is fine too. Ill try the reset, but if that doesn't work, in relation to the fuse panel, where is the dinger box located? Im not looking to replace it, im looking to get rid of it lol... the dinging is driving me insane!

While we are on the topic of the gas gauge, ive heard that its bad to keep the tank on near empty for long periods of time. With the price of gas etc.. we can rarely fill it more than 1/4 tank at a time.. very rarely is it at 1/2 or full tank.

Unfortunately, you can't get rid of the BCM. It controls most of the electronics in the van. It's on the back side of the junction block. That's the fuse panel under the left side of the dash.

It's a question of water condensation in the tank. The less fuel in the tank the greater the chance of condensation forming and mixing with the fuel. It's especially a problem in colder climates. The condensation can freeze in the fuel lines and you'll go nowhere.

[peterjon1]

Dinging could be caused by low battery voltage, though if it is low enough to ding, you should be running in to starting problems, and you should be seeing other indicator lights on, etc.
You really need to keep more than 1/4 tank of fuel, because the fuel acts as a coolant for the pump. Pumps are expensive.

[kawana]

i cant seem to find that fuse

[peterjon1]

IOD fuse is in the power distribution center under the hood, long black box on driver's side. Or you could disconnect battery, whichever is easier for you.

[peterjon1]

IOD fuse is in the power distribution center under the hood, long black box on driver's side. Or you could disconnect battery, whichever is easier for you. Do you have any dash lights on while this is happening?

[kawana]

No joy I took the fuse out for awhile, but it still dings.. It didn't ding for like 10-15min, but it seemed like once the van was warmed up, it would start doing it. It seems to happen around 50-60km/h but not higher like around 80km/h. What does the IOD fuse control? I noticed the door locks and radio didn't work, but what else? My mom wants to take the fuse out, she'd rather have no radio, than listen to the endless dinging.

[RIP]

One of the posts in this thread explains BCM functions. It's for a 2002 but, the gist of it applies:

http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/sho...control+module

[peterjon1]

So, you never answered whether there were any lights on (dash warning lights or interior lights) while this is happening. The only thing that comes to mind with the chimes going on at idle/low speed and off at higher speeds is that you have low oil pressure. If that's the case, the oil lamp should be lit.
This could be caused by a faulty oil pressure sender, which is $20 or so. Or, it could be that you actually have low oil pressure, in which case you likely have found out by now, because the engine is seized, and your mom has called you to rescue her from the roadside.

[pentabob]

Hi Kawana,
here is an excerpt, look it over, perhaps a clue of where to look, perhaps the BCM is actually doing its job by dinging and the fault is really in the monitoring system:
The chime system provides the driver with two types of chimes: warning and announcement. Warning chimes are provided for dome lamps on, engine temperature lamp, exterior lamps on, key-in ignition, low oil pressure, and turn signal on (greater than one mile above 15 mph). The warning chime will sound continuously until the condition is removed or the battery protection stops the chime (3 or 4 minutes). The driver seat belt unfastened chime will sound for approximately six seconds or until the seat belt is fastened. The announcement chime will act as a warning to the driver to scan the instrument cluster to observe which lamp is illuminated. The announcement chime will sound one time whenever the generator lamp, low fuel, low washer fluid, door ajar, or liftgate ajar lamps are first illuminated. The door and liftgate ajar lamp announcement chime is only given if the vehicle speed is above 2 mph.
Bob