Solution to "Key In" Chime

[bbarbulo]

Hey my Saturn fellows!! Ok, I've gotten so much from this here forum, I feel like I ought to give something back. I wish I had pics for you... and I wish I also had a digicam... so words will have to do.

This is a solution to all those suffering from the "Key In" chime when the door is open. 1st of all figure out if it's the cylinder or the switch. If the cyl is fuct, then the ring around the key stays pushed in. You need a new cyl. If the cyl pops out, by itself and the chime continues to sound while the door is open, then the switch is at fault. You take the covers off the ignition...looking from the door side of the steering column, you will see where the harness plugs into the ignition switch. These are wierd little bolts... like 5.5mm sockets are needed or something strange like that... you'll figure it out... I'm sure. Anyways, you remove the ignition switch. You take it apart at the seam... and inside there is a set of contacts and a spring in the middle. Use brake or contact cleaner and clean it, reapply new electo-grease to the contacts. That's NOT ALL FOLKS... one more thing. That spring in the middle... take it out and stretch it just a bit. Give it the original height back by stretching it. Put back together and plug it back in. VOILA... no more chime, and the automatic seatbelt should now open when you take the key out from the igntion... at least that how it was in my auto one... my stick one doesn't chime, but the seatbelt comes back only with the door open. There... hope that's helped! It's real easy... just as long as you got the right tools to get to it :) Best of all.... IT'S FREE!!! Oh yeah, I wanna also holla at my peeps at the Saturn of Windsor dealership... these folks are soooo nice, and their service is sooooo great, and their parts are extremely well priced. The SW2 is now getting treated to all OEM parts where it's not being modified. So... support your local Satty dealer folks... get to know them. I got a child seat anchor required to pass federal inspection for... get this ... under $1.00 canadian...that's like $0.70 american :) LOL At Honda, that same part would have cost me about $50 LOL

[eRic 02sc2]

the ignition switch is $50 if you need to replace it. mine had something freaky happen and a wire burned up. smoke came out any everything!

[bbarbulo]

I figure the chime isn't enough to make ppl run out and spend $50 on a switch... this is free, and will fix it for the next 3-4 years. :)

[9TWOSC]

Hey there,
I had the same chime problem with my 92. The local dealer here wanted $276 for the switch and labor OUCH I went to one of our junkyards in the area and got two switches for $12 I installed one and also a spare. WOW what a differance thanks for the help all

[nico_debrune]

Thanks, great advice!

I had the non-stop chiming problem and with the advice above found the problem in the ignition switch. I couldn't get it working properly though but found another solution. The problem is a little copper connector that is meant to short a circuit when the key is pushed in. It has 2 legs that spread out which seem to have a habit of getting stuck.

In the end I just took it completely out of the switch and the problem is fixed. No more constant chiming but it chimes when the headlights are left on! What it doesn't do is chime when you leave the key in and open the door but for me that was unnecessary and kind of annoying.

Hope this helps!

[GRIFF]

bbarbulo~ I don't mean to jump in on ya ~ but here is a link to my gallery that has some pics of the switch taken out. feel free to grab one or two and post them here if you know how..

http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showgallery.php3?cat=&stype=1&si=&perpage=12&sort=8&stype=0&cat=12067&ppuser=7130&friendemail=email@yourfriend.com

[GRIFF]

By the way ~ I went to the junk yard and got two. When I got to the counter the guy asked me what they were. I said just switches. He looked at his price chart and rang them up as misc. electrical. I got them for $2.99 ea :-) man was I happy.

[bbarbulo]

GRIFF, thank you kindly for your pictures!! They are the perfect supplement to this post!

[GRIFF]

Your welcome ~ :-)
Thought they would come in handy someday.

[GRIFF]

Just a follow up on the key-in-chime problem. I installed one of the switches from the junk yard and it worked for 2 weeks. So I decided to install the other one ( i'm getting quick at getting these out ) I had faith, so I put everthing back together and when I installed the chime fuse, Guess what :-(

Yeah the chime was back. Man I'm getting sick of that noise. So today I went to the junk yard and said I'll try one more time.. Found a switch and when I was there I decided to see how this chime module is removed. I tried a year ago to pull it out and didn't think it was removable so i wanted to try it on a junk car where I can't hurt anything.

There is a clip under the chime module that needs to be pulled down before you pull the module straight out. you also will need to wiggle it a bit to get it out.

Before I put the switch in, I decided to see if this chime module was causing my problem, I installed the chime module,put the fuse back in, inserted the key then removed the key and WOW!!!!
no more CHIME and has worked great for the rest of the day.

Checked the defrost and dome light and all is fine. moral of this long story ~ If you replace atleast two switches and even after you remove the copper tab the chime still rings~ Check you darn CHIME MODULE :-)

SEE PICS OF CHIME MODULE IF YOUR INTERESTED.
http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showgallery.php3?cat=&stype=1&si=&perpage=12&sort=8&stype=0&cat=12072&ppuser=7130&friendemail=email@yourfriend.com

[gear2th]

I had this problem with my '93 SL2 - sometimes I could stop the chiming by reinserting and removing the key, but it got worse. Dealer wanted $200 for a new lock cylinder.

My solution was to bend pin #7 of the chime module out of the way, disabling the "key minder", but keeping the other chimes such as lights on. This was after looking at the shop manual - I paid something like $125 for the manuals, but kept chickening out and having the dealer do almost everything, such as the alternator replacement - glad to finally get some of my investment back.

[celegante]

I have a 92 SC. The driver's side motorized seat belt stopped working on Friday and the chime stays on when the key is not in the ignition. I just paid $434 to get the seat belt track and motor replaced, but the chime is still on. Thanks for all of this information. I'll be scheduling an appointment at the dealership to get the chime problem fixed.

[David 93 SL2m]

I had this problem with my '93 SL2 - sometimes I could stop the chiming by reinserting and removing the key, but it got worse. Dealer wanted $200 for a new lock cylinder.

My solution was to bend pin #7 of the chime module out of the way, disabling the "key minder", but keeping the other chimes such as lights on. This was after looking at the shop manual - I paid something like $125 for the manuals, but kept chickening out and having the dealer do almost everything, such as the alternator replacement - glad to finally get some of my investment back.I did the same thing.

1) On the center console there is a "door" on the passenger side with a set of fuses and relays mounted to some sort of circuit board. On the back side is the chime module. Go to the driver's side and take off the center console "door" on that side. It snaps on and has a bit of Velcro holding it in place just like on the other side.

2) Look at the back of the circuit board thing with the relays and fuses with a flashlight. Look for a long thin red or blue plastic box. Wiggle and pull and wiggle and pull until it comes out. It might take some time as this has been in there for many years and never has been taken out before. Note that the chime box is "keyed" meaning there is a bump/slot on one of the sides and there is a corresponding slot/bump on the back of the circuit board it was pulled from.

3) Look at the "pins" on the side of the chime box where the electrical connections are made to the circuit board thing. See they are numbered? Make a note of pin number 7.

4) Pry open the chime box.

5) Carefully take out the circuit board inside the chime box. Tilt the end away from the pins, turn the unit over, and catch the board in your palm as it swivels out.

6) Carefully bend pin number 7 so that it is in the shape of a "U" and will not go through the holes in the plastic box when we put it back.

7) Reinstall the circuit board back into the chime box. It will only go in one way.

8) Snap the cover of the chime box shut.

9) Put the chime box back into place, remembering that it is "keyed." It will take a bit of effort to get it back on again - but if it takes too much effort then make sure the bump/slot part is lined up correctly.

10) Put the "door" back on the side of the center console.

11) Give it a test with your key!

We don't want to get rid of the chime box because it also has the timer for the dome light. Also, we want it to chime when we accidentally leave our headlights on.

I'll post pictures in a few days...

[acr2001]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but i tried bending pin 7, now the chime is twice as fast!!! but behaves like it did before. This is an SL1 (93) is that my problem? Im gonna bend it back and forget about it for now, i dont want to mess anything up.

[acr2001]

Nevermind, false alarm, it worked GREAT, my chime was beeping because some dirt got on the pin that causes a "headlights are on" chime. I just removed it, blew into the holes, re-installed and vwala!

[acr2001]

OK theres another change... turns out, the pin removal worked, BUT my aftermarket car alarm (excalibur?) is somehow patched through to the chime, so if i get into the car with the keyless remote, and then DONT lock the doors with it, i get the same old chime until the door is closed. If i open the door after a drive, i get no chime issue. Anyone have a solution or any comments on that? Maybe its supposed to do that? This happens both in and out of valet mode. If i get into the car with the key and bypass the keyless entry, the door doesent chime.

[Scout238]

I had the same problem... but I too had a wire burn on me. It started out as an intermitant (sp?) key in chime and also key getting stuck in ignition. It happened to burn really bad today, and it looked like I way hot boxing my satty... but anyway. I pulled everything apart and found a black wire connected to the ignition switch that was totally melted. Black wire according to wiring diagram is a ground that is hot only when "key in." Now I was wondering since that now the wire is mutilated and it worked without it, am I doing any damage leaving it like broken? The only thing that doesn't work at all now is the key in chime... which I don't care about. Anyone see any problems?
Thanks for the enlightment!