Bump to the top!!!

 

That couldn't have been easier. You can't beat $4 and 10 minutes time!

 

could anyone please put a audio clip of the 50ma one so i cant tell if i need to get a bigger one or will that do the trick i will be doing that tommorow so any help will be appreciated thanks

 

Get the loudest one. Once the hood is down the rubber seal around the hood and the insulation in the top really make it quiet. Initially I had mine installed in the fuse box and it sounded like an itsy bitsy teeny weeny bird. I couldnt hear it at all. Now it located outside and has a soft chirp. Wish it were a tad louder but works just fine.

The sound clips are tough to judge cuz it depends on how loud your speakers are turned up!

 

tried the 150mA one still very quiet thats the loudest radio shack has nyone know where else i could get one? that is louder?

 

Great find . I fitted mine yesterday and im very happy with it.

Do you think it will work the same way in other cars using the relay to wire the buzzer in.

 

I love LOVE LOVE this forum!

Did this today starting from having NOTHING and finished the mod in under 20 minutes (including trip to RadioShack) and under $6.00 (including buzzer, spool of solid core wire and electrical tape).

This place is AWESOME!

 

Enjoy! Every now and then someone finds my simple mod, but it's been a while. Man, your fast. Radio Shack must be just around the corner?

 

Yup, The Shack is just around the corner and it helped that I know exactly what I was looking for and roughly where it was in the store.

My next simple mod will be the flat fold down cup-holders. :-) Then we might move on to "bigger game".

Thanks again for the write up! Excellent job!

 

Plan on zipping down to the mall (radio shack) and picking up a buzzer. Might even go price the buzzer at a local ham shop too just because radio shack has such high overhead in a mall. Going to bring a 12v battery with to pretest the sound, I would like a lower throaty sound than a chirp. My only question, since the relay circuit is supervised, will this mod trip any DTC's or cause any flag in the electronics? I will test for DTC's before then mod, then test for a DTC afterwards.

Been reading this whole thread, interesting part about a new siren (replacement) causes you to have the chirp without this mod. My car is a new 2008 Limited coupe (manufactured Sept 2007) and it doesn't chirp so it is interesting how they did that (incorporating the chirp into a siren replacement). Was that all they did, replace the siren? Or did they have an additional part(s) that enabled this chirp. Or maybe it was a programming upgrade directed in a siren replacement. All interesting questions for someone who had the siren replaced and asked the tech/serrvice department how they did the mod.

BTW, great mod, glad to see it here and like I said will set off tomorrow to get it done. I like others have gone crazy looking back at the car and hitting the lock button just way too many times.....

 

[quote=I would like a lower throaty sound than a chirp. My only question, since the relay circuit is supervised, will this mod trip any DTC's or cause any flag in the electronics?

Was that all they did, replace the siren? Or did they have an additional part(s) that enabled this chirp. Or maybe it was a programming upgrade directed in a siren replacement[/quote]

I've had the Radio Shack Mod for almost 2 years. There are no codes or flags. It's not really a chirp. It's a tone.


My understanding is that if you replace the siren with the designated part number, you will get the chirp with no other changes required. However, it is much more expensive and labor intensive than my simple Radio Shack Mod!

 

corfire, I don't doubt this mod is simple, inexpensive, and effective. Also, thanks for telling me how long yours has been in service and that no DTC's or problems are associated with splicing into that circuit.

That said, I visited my local radio shack and brought a 12v battery with me to see what the tones were, given the choice of "piezo" buzzers available. Not liking any of the tones, I went to a electronics parts supplier looking for a lower tone that I liked. Could not find one, not because the mod isn't a good one, but because I have to listen to it and have to like what it sounds like. I am now leaning towards a second relay (control) to honk the horn for the annunciation. I am looking for the RKE relay part number, maybe someone has this relay part number? After I get a low current control relay, I can do whatever wiring I need to get the horns to chirp/blow the one or three pulses. A short "one" or short "three" isn't annoying and it is something the car can do quite easily. Also, it is akin to what other RKE systems do (like my other car).

So, can anyone tell me what the relay (RKE) part number is? I can then look up the action, pinout, current draw, and load limits across the contacts to design my own.

Thanks!

 

What you are thinking should work, but will be somewhat more complicated. Also, many on here have voiced that they did not want the loud honking horn, which many of the less sophisticated security systems have. To each his own! Also, I wanted to keep the tone buzzer on the coil side of the RKE relay and stay away from the contact side thinking that might affect some of the lighting supervision for codes, etc. Good luck with your design. Mine is so simple and cheap, you might want to give it a try first. If ya don't like it your only out a few bucks (less than $5)!
You could just open the lid on the fuse panel and pull out the relay. The manufacture name and a diagram was imprint on mine. There's also good diagrams of the electrical circuits in the service manual that is available on this Forum for free. If you haven't alread done so, you can download it and keep it on you computer for future reference.

 

Scored a set of service manuals on freebay for 45 bucks delivered. Already have the downloaded manual, will say it is much harder to read then my other "print" manuals for my other two vehicles. Might change my mind after I receive the printed manuals I just scored, never know.

The circuit should easily power another relay coil, after that the only concern would be the contact limits as to load. Wiring is easy, there are enough access points to the fuse center to slip the two (relay coil) wires in/out to connect to the relay coil terminals (either like the one post where he opened up the relay and soldered directly to the terminals inside the relay and drilled holes in the top for the wires to protrude or some other way to connect to the pins with an assurance they will not loosten nor corrode). Care less what anyone else likes/doesn't like about horn sound, happen to like the audible of the horn for an acknowledgement for lock/unlock. My Camaro uses the horn to audible the lock/unlock, have had other vehicles with the same, tend to want to go with it for my XF.

Actually found another post that demonstrated the alarm siren upgrade, and didn't like that sound either. Will do what pleases me, like I said in an earlier post, those who like your quick inexpensive mod are happy with it. Am concerned if they do not have a reliable tight connection, the mod may not work later (at best) or might cause some corrosion (at worst) due to the dissimilar metals used and the constant heating/cooling/humidity present in the area. Not to mention, if they do not return the wiring to its factory state when they sell it, I hope they include the wiring upgrade in the owners manual when they pass the car on.

Don't know how many times I can say the mod your extolling is a good one for many. It isn't a good one for me. I did my own research, tested your "piezo" buzzers (and quite a few more) heard the factory upgraded repair siren, and choose the direction I am taking.

 

Finaly I installed my radio shack chirp ,real easy and fast, thanks Corfire

 

Your welcome, and enjoy!

 

OK guys, tell me what I have done wrong! I agree that the mod was easy to do and install but when I test the buzzer directly to a battery I get a wonderful clear tone and then when I installed it on the relay it sounds sickly and like a dying BMW. I tried to reverse the positive and negative to improve the sound and I even tried to ground the buzzer elsewhere on the chassis but got a constant tone. Any ideas?

Help!

Thanks

 

#1 High resistance contact to the pins of the relay,IE not enough contact,
#2 reverse polarity , but you switched the wires around (fried buzzer)
I plan to solder some 22 gauge wire to the pins on the relay to give a permanent contact, and reduce the possable electrical arking on the base of the pins

 

Thanks Corfire! For a great and easy to follow write up. Did the "hard" install with the wire soldered inside the relay housing as shown by Tighed1. Went right thru the cover and "red taped" to the sidewall. Couldn't have been any easier. Did both my cars in an hour.
I love this Forum!!!

 

Thanks to Smfrycruzr (Terry) I got mine installed today. Great job!! Will have to get together and talk cars.

Thanks again
Larry