Key Alarm Chime?

[jretrodude]

Has anyone ever had a problem with their battery draining over the key alarm chime deal? It's that black box that dings when your seat belt needs to be fastened and the light on the dash comes on? I think my unit might be bad because my battery keeps draining and the fasten seat belt light is always on when the key is just on or it is running? I have noticed it has been acting up lately where it will come on sometimes and ding when my seatbelt is fastened but would only do that for like a couple of minutes then the light would go off? Now the light stays on and it doesn't ding at all? Would this be causing battery drain and not be letting the car start because it is draining the battery? Also my charger only lets the battery get charged to 88% and no more. The battery is only about 1 month old because I had to change it out because of my amp drawing power from the battery which I thought was the initial cause? But now that it's disconnected I think it is that key chime box deal? I did unplug the plug in on the drivers side seat belt to see if the light would turn off but it does not? Should I try replacing that chime box and if so where can I get one that's not 55.00 bucks. Thanks.

 

[jretrodude]

ttt

ttt anyone?

 

[datant69]

just a thought

you may go with an aftermarket, i know you can probably get one for about 2-250 installed and that would be a 2 way. don't get the remote start unless your car starts fairly easily. the one thing you have to consider is the age of the factory alarm and they can and will go down. i have a 2 way and i love it, lets me know if someone is messing with it if i'm in a reasonable range from the car. just a thought but newer technology beats the heck out of the old stuff.

 

[jretrodude]

2 way alarm?

I'm talking about the black key chime box that sits directly under the steering wheel. If you leave your key in the ignition or headlights on it dings? Not sure what your talking about with an alarm and 2 way?

 

[datant69]

chime

i was unaware of that box, i'm sure there is a way to kill the power to it as long as it doesn't interfere with your starter kill switch if the car had one. i know on alot of the late 80's model cars there was problems with alarms with them being so new. my input on the 2 way remote was if you had the old alarm or some type of alarm i'm sure there is a way to disable it and if you don't have an alarm and use it for your primary anti theft device then maybe you should think of upgrading. i know alot of the older alarms used headlites or turn signals flashing and it wasn't fused so some thieves would bust out a turn signal ground the positive on the bulb, set the alarm off and within a few seconds the brain that controls the alarm would fry or short out. alot of aftermarket alarms also had this problem so they started putting real low fuses in tlerhe positive wire incase something like this happened. i used to install back in the late 80's and 90's. seen alot of stuff that makes you scratch your head and say damn these guys have alot of time on their hands. my comment on a 2 way is it's the better alarm to get because it would give you a warning if your not in earshot of your car and someone is messing with it. just thought i would mention it since you were having trouble out of your chime. doubt you really want to replace it if it's old technology. sure keeping the car as close to factory is what alot of guys like but you can run the risk of having your car stolen and deal with the headache of insurance and crap. just my 2 cents and experiance hope it helps and if not then at least i tried to help you.

 

[TurboDave]

ttt anyone?

My 87 has that device and it acts pretty much the same as yours, but hasn't caused any issues with the battery. And this car usually sits for weeks at a time before getting out.

Once the key is off, it has no issues.

 

[mtocrs1]

My chime is screwed up similar to yours however I have no battery drain issues. Just unplug it and see if the battery still goes dead.

 

[turbojd]

My 87 has that device and it acts pretty much the same as yours, but hasn't caused any issues with the battery. And this car usually sits for weeks at a time before getting out.

Once the key is off, it has no issues.

X2 I never had any draining the battery issues when it chimed. I just disconnected the chime box to stop the dash lighting and the chiming.

 

[ELLISDALLASWE4]

Do you have a stock radio? is the time on with the key off?

 

[jretrodude]

No time on

Nope the time does not show up on my aftermarket radio

 

[regan j]

find your battery drain

insert test light between positive battery post and terminal.A drain will show on the test light. unplug fuses and when test light is not as bright, bingo. Radio and other memory functions will make light glow dimly. good luck.

 

[datant69]

new gm head units

i had a new cd player from some gm, double din style and it wouldn't show the time with the key out of the ignition unless you pushed the top button in for a sec and it would show for a few secs and dissappear. if it keeps time then it's wired in right. do you know your wire diagram?

 

[Sal 87WE2]

i was unaware of that box, i'm sure there is a way to kill the power to it as long as it doesn't interfere with your starter kill switch if the car had one. i know on alot of the late 80's model cars there was problems with alarms with them being so new. my input on the 2 way remote was if you had the old alarm or some type of alarm i'm sure there is a way to disable it and if you don't have an alarm and use it for your primary anti theft device then maybe you should think of upgrading. i know alot of the older alarms used headlites or turn signals flashing and it wasn't fused so some thieves would bust out a turn signal ground the positive on the bulb, set the alarm off and within a few seconds the brain that controls the alarm would fry or short out. alot of aftermarket alarms also had this problem so they started putting real low fuses in tlerhe positive wire incase something like this happened. i used to install back in the late 80's and 90's. seen alot of stuff that makes you scratch your head and say damn these guys have alot of time on their hands. my comment on a 2 way is it's the better alarm to get because it would give you a warning if your not in earshot of your car and someone is messing with it. just thought i would mention it since you were having trouble out of your chime. doubt you really want to replace it if it's old technology. sure keeping the car as close to factory is what alot of guys like but you can run the risk of having your car stolen and deal with the headache of insurance and crap. just my 2 cents and experiance hope it helps and if not then at least i tried to help you.

datant69, help me out a little bit on this please?

Recently installed Viper 5901 remote start alarm.

New issues: Headlight chime goes off when parking/headlights are on with both doors shut and key OUT of ignition. I dont remember doing that unless you opened the door?

2nd issue: (I will have my tech look at this) i arm the system and wait a minute. I disarm the system, doors unlock, open the drivers door and the alarm/horn goes off. I cannot disarm via the remote and i have to disconnect the battery to make it stop. Any ideas on this?

All help is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance
Sal

 

[datant69]

i'll try

headlight chime is due to the wire that is connected to your parking/headlights has the chime to let you know when your lights are left on like a courtesy to let you know so you don't run your battery down. you won't be able to stop that unless you unplug the chime to let you know when your lights are on.

2nd issue may be your remote may not be programmed right or need to be reprogrammed. check your other remote and see if both are doing the same ( not disarming the alarm ) sometimes when you beat up your remotes due to daily wear and tear they get outta tune and need to be re-adjusted or reprogrammed. some of the regular remotes have a screw you can tune to your alarm. some of the newer alarms have code jumping capabilities but depending on what's the real issue would be it could be anything from defective remote due to being thrown down or dropped. vipers are good alarms infact the manufactor that makes that makes most of them like the K-9 , side winder, and several others i cannot remember off the top off my head. if you have an issue with it being defective i'd check with the manufactor and see if they'll replace the remote and use your non 2 way remote unless the place you bought it at will exchange it. some will and some won't depending on your relationship with them ( spend alot of money, know someone there or they are just good people who care and not just out to make a buck )

 

[jretrodude]

Update!!

Found the problem with the battery draining issue. Yes the seat chime deal was bad, but that wasn't the problem. It was a bad fan delay on off relay (the big one). It was eating up new battery after new battery, I unplugged and haven't started the car in like 3 weeks. Started it last saturday and fired right up and had interior lights. I do have an aftermarket relay switch that I'll install in the spring time. Thanks for all the input, that was a real head scratcher for me.

 

[datant69]

cool

Was just trying to give you a few pointers on how to narrow it down. if you still have the warranty info i'd mail it in. worth it and if it craps out on you, you can always get a replacement.

 

[Sal 87WE2]

headlight chime is due to the wire that is connected to your parking/headlights has the chime to let you know when your lights are left on like a courtesy to let you know so you don't run your battery down. you won't be able to stop that unless you unplug the chime to let you know when your lights are on.

2nd issue may be your remote may not be programmed right or need to be reprogrammed. check your other remote and see if both are doing the same ( not disarming the alarm ) sometimes when you beat up your remotes due to daily wear and tear they get outta tune and need to be re-adjusted or reprogrammed. some of the regular remotes have a screw you can tune to your alarm. some of the newer alarms have code jumping capabilities but depending on what's the real issue would be it could be anything from defective remote due to being thrown down or dropped. vipers are good alarms infact the manufactor that makes that makes most of them like the K-9 , side winder, and several others i cannot remember off the top off my head. if you have an issue with it being defective i'd check with the manufactor and see if they'll replace the remote and use your non 2 way remote unless the place you bought it at will exchange it. some will and some won't depending on your relationship with them ( spend alot of money, know someone there or they are just good people who care and not just out to make a buck )

Thank you for replying.

On the chime, I know the chime goes off when you leave the headlights on (it has always worked) but what i meant to ask is should it chime when i leave the lights on, key out and both doors are CLOSED? I dont remember hearing the chime when the doors are closed and lights left on?

on my 2nd issue... dont laugh i have the factory alarm and i dont think my installer realized that, i will tell him when he gets here...

 

[Sal 87WE2]

Soo, anybody know if the headlight chime is suppose to chime when headlights on, key out of ignition and doors CLOSED?? I thought only chimed when you open door and headlights are on...

 

[datant69]

not laughing

yes it does chime and should continue to until your turn off the lights. you may not remember it doing it but it does just as a reminder. as for your installler some overlook small things like disconnecting the factory alarm brain or interfacing it with the aftermarket. i've seen it time and time again where an old alarm is left in and the installer piggy backs onto existing wires just to keep from hunting down where the wire is suppose to be connected to. factory alarms aren't alarms alot of the time, they are keyless entry and people mistake them for alarms and think the siren will go off when someone opens the door after you lock the car and walk away. best way to check is to lock your car through the factory alarm with the window down and give it 30 mins to arm. then reach in and open the door, if the horn doesn't go off then you have keyless entry. alot of cars have that as a added feature just to be helpful when you don't want to fumble with keys trying to open the car with a key. alarms have been around along time and back when i 1st started there wasn't this code hopping feature there is now. you had about 10 lines on a green circuit board and burned through them to mate it with your alarm. i know i'm going way off on this post but just thought i'd throw my 02 in there in case someone has an old factory that still works. sounds like you need to look under the dash and see if there are 2 boxes with roughly 12-15 wires of different color coming out of them. they will have a white pluf connecting all of them and a small black wire that was the antenna. the brains also have several other plug inputs for misc options like roll the windows down, remote start, aux sensors and such. hope i helped out and good luck but as i said your best bet would be to look directly under the steering colum and see if there are 2 boxes that shouldn't be there. if they did a shoddy job i'd talk to the manager and see if you could get a credit because sometimes you can blow other electrical parts and screw something up.

 

[Sal 87WE2]

yes it does chime and should continue to until your turn off the lights. you may not remember it doing it but it does just as a reminder. as for your installler some overlook small things like disconnecting the factory alarm brain or interfacing it with the aftermarket. i've seen it time and time again where an old alarm is left in and the installer piggy backs onto existing wires just to keep from hunting down where the wire is suppose to be connected to. factory alarms aren't alarms alot of the time, they are keyless entry and people mistake them for alarms and think the siren will go off when someone opens the door after you lock the car and walk away. best way to check is to lock your car through the factory alarm with the window down and give it 30 mins to arm. then reach in and open the door, if the horn doesn't go off then you have keyless entry. alot of cars have that as a added feature just to be helpful when you don't want to fumble with keys trying to open the car with a key. alarms have been around along time and back when i 1st started there wasn't this code hopping feature there is now. you had about 10 lines on a green circuit board and burned through them to mate it with your alarm. i know i'm going way off on this post but just thought i'd throw my 02 in there in case someone has an old factory that still works. sounds like you need to look under the dash and see if there are 2 boxes with roughly 12-15 wires of different color coming out of them. they will have a white pluf connecting all of them and a small black wire that was the antenna. the brains also have several other plug inputs for misc options like roll the windows down, remote start, aux sensors and such. hope i helped out and good luck but as i said your best bet would be to look directly under the steering colum and see if there are 2 boxes that shouldn't be there. if they did a shoddy job i'd talk to the manager and see if you could get a credit because sometimes you can blow other electrical parts and screw something up.

Ok, everything is fine he didnt know there was a factory alarm. He said he would wire the viper to disarm the factory system when i disarmed via the remote. I looked under the dash and he installed the brain in a remote location not under the dash. He said the Factory alarm uses the lock cylinders to arm and disarm. I asked him if i should cut those wires and he said to leave them alone and he would wire the Viper to the factory disarm wire to turn it off in case it ever activated.

I have been under my dash plenty of times latey cleaning up the previous owners mess/installs of guages and what not and i am pretty sure there was not a previous aftermarket alarm installed. My main concern was that chime box going off, i was messing with it while it was going off and when i moved it or touched it, it would stop chiming or chime with low volume. I think there is a short or bad box. I will remove and inspect this weekend. that may have been my problem right there...

Thanks for all of your help!!

p.s. I took some pics a couple of months ago of a couple of items that i am not sure about. i took these pics prior to alarm install. Do you know if these fuse holders are factory? Is this the fact alarm box? Any idea about this 2 wire harness?


Thanks again.