MisterLawyer

Please, for the love of God, somebody post instructions or Helms manual scans showing how to disable the headlight chiming.

Our TLs have auto-on/off headlights so that we can leave the switch in the on position all the time and the headlights will turn off automatically 15 - 90 seconds after we leave the car (depending on how you set it up in the user preferences). Our HID bulbs have an expected life 3-5 times that of standard halogen headlight bulbs, so they are designed to last the life of the car even if they are on all the time while driving.

The problem is, whenever you turn the car off and open the door, that loud, annoying chime is heard. How do you mute it?

If I don't receive a satisfactory answer within one week, I will rip the eardrums out of my head with a philips screwdriver.


Two caveats:
I searched the forums and couldn't find an answer to this question.
My Helms manual is on backorder :'(

JackSprat01

I don't have the scans, but I do have a screwdriver you can borrow.

da_illist_onE

But seriously, I would love to know the answer to this also.

Jerky

I know... LEAVE the key in the ignition

djlandkpl

I've got the service manual but haven't found a way to turn off the chime. There's nothing in the wiring diagram that shows an isolated buzzer or chime.

ITL

Maybe you could pull a fuse? Sorry, I don't know the location of the chime. If I did, I'd disconnect it as well. Why do I need to worry about leaving my lights on when they'll cut off as soon as I lock the car or they timeout?

I'm anxious to see what you find out.

GunnmeTaLCURA04

hey is not worried about the lights being on ... i think.. he hates the SOUND beeping sound when you come back to the car and they go on again it starts CHIMING.. lol...

J RIDE 81

This is a funny thread, It would be interesting to know how to remove that sound. You might be SOL like the seat belt notification though.

MisterLawyer

The seat belt notification thing is easily solved... You merely insert a small piece of metal attached to a 4-5 foot long strap of nylon into the seat belt buckle, and the chiming either stops, or never happens in the first place.

The headlight chime, on the other hand, has no practical purpose as ITL pointed out: "Why do I need to worry about leaving my lights on when they'll cut off as soon as I lock the car or they timeout?"


JackSprat01, thank you for the offer. I'll let you know in 6 days whether I need it.

Casper42

I have both the Helms Service and Helms Electrical Troubleshooting at home. The Electrical troubleshooting is mostly greek to me, but for an extra $40 I said why the hell not.

I'll try and find the Headlight Chime circuit in the EE book and scan any relevant pages this weekend.

VelfarreClubber

Sorry can't help, but i had no idea we have auto on, i thought it was only auto off lights. So would the lights be on even in the daytime?

tizo

auto-off works when you leave the lights in the on position after removing the keys... therefore, when the keys go back in, the lights will still be in the on position... so yes, the lights will come back on, regardless of the time of day...

oh... and i`m also nerveracked by the beep... i`ve installed piezo buzzers for people who want a beep to remind them of the lights when the car does not, but i`d really like to reverse that process in the TL... i`ll stay tuned...

MisterLawyer

Waiting anxiously...

orrorin

Any idea if the O5 TL does the same??

MisterLawyer

Yes it does. The 04 and 05 are identical in this respect. I have an 05 and my brother has an 04.

JetJock

I don't know where the chime is located in the TL..but I simply disconnected the door chime from my Audi..problem gone! I located the chime module, and just pulled the connector off. The headlight chime doesn't bother me, or I'd so the same thing to the Acura.

JPSMAN

I have been looking for a fix for this issue for quite some time now, but have been unsucessful so far. I always drive with the lights on (day and night) and really don't see the need on the chime......this seems like some sort of an engineering oversight. Why use a reminder chime on lights that will time out on their own......?>

MisterLawyer

JPSMAN, you are preaching to the choir! I think a lot of people here would agree with you.

JetJock, where was the chime module located in your Audi and what did it look like? Based on that, could you have a look under your TL's dash and see if you recognize something that could be the chime module?

Casper42, still waiting anxiously for those scans!

JohnDoe2

I think you could puncture your eardrums with a philips screwdriver, but to rip them out of your head, you're going to need a needle nose pliers.

I hope I was helpful.

Casper42

I didnt do the scans, but yout not gonna like the answer.

It looks like the LightsOn Chime is all integrated into a box behind the dash, and it receives its input via a Can-B bus system instead of a private analog signal. The damn "Buzzer" is integrated into the control unit. So there is no easy way to tell just the LightsOn Chime to STFU

If you really want some scans, PM me and I will be sure to do it tomorrow night. I have the books here next to me, but am about to go to bed.

Diver

i find it pretty easy to turn the lights off when i turn the ignition off. is that such hard thing to do ? one of the reasons why i like my TL is all the controls it has. the light control is just another one, why not use it as well ?

ITL

because I like the ability to have the lights come on as I walk up to my car (hit unlock on key fob)...several places I park are not well lit.......that's why

MisterLawyer

Casper, please upload the scans. I might be able to figure out how to take the unit apart and clip the internal connection to the speaker that produces the chime sound.

I only have a few days left!

Casper42

K, I'll get scans or digital pix of the pages tonight and get them uploaded and linked.

Its several pages in the Service Manual and Several in the ET as well.

SmokeTL

If you leave the park lights on, do they go off automatically? It would be purley by accident, but I guess you would want the chime then right?

ITL

yes they go off...what an asshole > I'm quoting myself oh well, read below:

clewttu

yes, all lights turn off when locked or when the timeout period is reached, parking headlights and foglights

SmokeTL

I never left the park lights on, so I didn't know...asshole

ITL

I figured as much...it's all good lovin drive on, brotha

MisterLawyer

The parking lights turn off automatically too.

The chime is worthless.

Casper42

These first 3 are the pages from the Electrical Troubleshooting manual


This next batch are pages 22-255 to 22-261 from the Service Manual


Another Circuit diagram in the Service Manual


How to remove the gauges in order to get to the Control Unit behind from Service Manual



Enjoy

MisterLawyer

Casper, thanks for the scans!

I've looked them over, and now we at least know what is the source of that infernal chime, as well as how to access it. But... we need an Electrical Engineer to show us either how to dissect it and mod it from the inside, or how to trick it with resistors or relays from the outside.

Any EEs want to step up to the plate? Road Rage? Anyone?

I will open it up and experiment with it, but all I think I could do would be to clip the wire inside the control unit that runs to the speaker (or whatever it is) that produces the chime sound.

elenaran

sorry to resurrect such an old post, but has anyone had any luck with this??

DavidPax

I'd like to really find out too.... ugh that chime!!!

TL-773

I was thinking of doing this too, but it doesn't look easily possible. It looks like the chime is controlled by a network controller (small cpu). I was thinking about just disconnecting the speaker, but it looks like its the same speaker that does other reminders like there is a door open, keys left in the ignition, and probably others. I leave my headlights on all the time and Im pretty used to the chime by now. I just get annoyed when other people are in my car and they tell me to turn my headlights off and I have to explain they turn off automatically.

MisterLawyer

Wow... old post, four years old. I never found a way to do this. Did anyone else ever figure it out? BTW, the 4th Gen TLs don't have this problem!

jimmylomax

any news? admittedly, i didn't do an exhaustive search as this one stuck out since it is exactly what I was after. My wife just bought a 2008 CR-V and the stupid thing does not have auto-off lights. So, now the self-training to ignore the buzzer in the TL has turned into a curse as I now keep leaving the stupid lights on in the CR-V. ...and don't get me started on why the @#% they omitted this feature in the car; I've had this feature in every car I've driven since 1999.

I started my searching by trying to figure out how to add auto-off functionality to the CR-V. I can hardly believe that this will end up being the easiest solution.

That being said, I am a mechanical engineer and work with several spark-EEs, but I can't read those schematic scans. if someone will send them over or repost, I'll take a peek. (the links just take me to the imageshack.us main website.)