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Chime volume mod

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    Chime volume mod

    I find the idea of opening my door and hearing that repetative chime annoying, and it kinda hurts my ears a little. So, I decided to do something about it. You can do this yourself if you like, or completely ignore my shit lol

    Things you will need:

    15-30 watt soldering iron
    solder
    5 inches (approx.) of 26 gauge wire (or simular)
    flathead screwdrivers, or whatever you want to use to take the case apart
    plyers (again, whatever)
    gluegun
    Varistor/trim pot (I got mine from some old electronics boards I had lying around.) These can also be purchased at your local Radioshack.

    As far as I know, the chimes for the TC/Marq/Vic are the same, but in different locations under the dash. Also, be aware that from year to year the design of the PCB and location of certain componants may have varied. I'm also not sure of how the chimes are set up on newer panthers, or if they are even the same on all years of boxes.

    Warning: If you decide to do this, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that is done to the chime itself. Only do this if you have at least some grasp of electronics and soldering. Always unhook your batter before removing or replacing any electric componants, to prevent damage.



    The chime. On the TC, it is mounted under the dash on the left side by the floor vent for the heater. It comes out with one screw on the lip under the dash. You can see I removed the mount for the chime as well, which mounts to two clips on the back.


    The two parts of the shell is glued together. The way I handled it was I took a pair of plyers and broke the lip off, then used a screwdriver around the seam. You'll know it's coming apart when the glue cracks.


    The shell opened, PCB exposed.


    The other side. The speaker is just a standard cheapo 8 Ohm .25watt speaker. You can see the wires passing behind the large Capacitor on the right. This is where we make our mod.


    The red circle shows what joint to desolder.This is to the + side of the speaker. Desolder this peice of wire from the PCB, and then unsolder it from the leg on the speaker itself.


    The trimmer. The leg circled in red needs to be clipped off, otherwise it will ground out the circuit, possibly damaging it. *edit* don't use a shitty trim pot like that one, find something sturdier. I used a trim because of the small size, it fits perfectly under the cover.


    The unclipped leg soldered to where the speaker wire origionally was. You can see where the clipped leg would short out on the solder joint under it.


    Solder the piece of wire to the front leg of the varistor (trim wire to length). Solder the other end to where the origional peice of wire was on the speaker.


    Hot glue the exposed legs to keep them from shorting other componants when you put the shell back together.


    Cut a hole in the shell (hopefully less shitty than the one I made lol) so you can adjust the varistor once the cover is reinstalled.


    Hot glue the shell back together.

    Plug the chime back into the harness, reconnect the battery. Turn the varistor until the chime is at it's loudest, then turn it back to where you like it. Or, you could just turn it all the way to it's off. Replace the chime under the dash, and enjoy a less annoying door chime!

    -------
    After I got it all back together, put back in the car, I tried it out. The varistor had somehow stopped working, so I had to take the whole thing apart and replace the shitty cheapo asshole trim pot and find a sturdier one. The replacement was exactly the same but made of sturdier material. If you decide to steal a trim from some old electronics boards you have lying around, test to make sure it works okay with a digital multimeter (analog is okay too) to verify it works before you go through all the trouble of having to take it apart if the trim pot isn't working correctly.

    I hope it works out for you, I know I like it.


    Happy modding!!
    Pebbles-1968 Ford F250
    Pile of Junk! An Electronics Project Site (To get wet by)<---Clicky! NEW STUFF!!!!

    #2
    Too much time on your hands? LOL!!

    Very nice, mang!!
    1983 Grand Marquis 2Dr Sedan "Mercules"
    Tremec TKO conversion, hydraulic clutch, HURST equipped!

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      #3
      Yeah, too much time lol
      Pebbles-1968 Ford F250
      Pile of Junk! An Electronics Project Site (To get wet by)<---Clicky! NEW STUFF!!!!

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        #4
        I also did this tonight, at 2 am, then went back out at three and reinstalled it lol
        Pebbles-1968 Ford F250
        Pile of Junk! An Electronics Project Site (To get wet by)<---Clicky! NEW STUFF!!!!

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          #5
          Or you could cover the speaker hole with ductape. Thats what Id do lol.
          Chris - A 20th Century Man \m/ ^.^ \m/

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            #6
            Or you could cut the wire completely, so that you never hear it again! Also disconnect the light switch in the driver door, so that you don't have the light come on when you get in and out. Makes it kind of nice, because on a dark night in a parking lot, you may hear my door open and close, but you wont see it.

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              #7
              I do things the hard way lol
              Pebbles-1968 Ford F250
              Pile of Junk! An Electronics Project Site (To get wet by)<---Clicky! NEW STUFF!!!!

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                #8
                Mine started freaking out one night in the rain. I guess water got into the back of the switch and shorted it. The thing was randomly pinging and ponging as I was driving down the road. I got to my friend's place, yanked the radio out and ripped the stupid chime out of the car. Its laying under the seat somewhere now.
                86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                Originally posted by phayzer5
                I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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                  #9
                  whoah, thats harcore Jon!!!

                  miy chime is hard to hear... lol
                  Pete ::::>>> resident LED addict and CFI defector LED bulb replacements
                  'LTD HPP' 85 Vic (my rusty baby) '06 Honda Reflex 250cc 'Baileys' 91 Vic (faded cream puff) ClifFord 'ODB' 88 P72 (SOLD) '77 LTDII (RIP)
                  sigpic
                  85HPP's most noteworthy mods: CFI to SEFI conversion w/HO upperstuff headers & flowmasters P71 airbox Towncar seats LED dash light-show center console w/5 gauge package LED 3rd brake light 3G alternator mini starter washer/coolant bottle upgrade Towncar power trunk pull underhood fuse/relay box 16" HPP wheels - police swaybars w/poly rubbers - budget Alpine driven 10 speaker stereo

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                    #10
                    Wow....
                    '89 Ford LTD Crown Vic - '92 Ford F-150 Custom -
                    '95 Ford Bronco XL -

                    sigpic :rebel:

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