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warning bell 200

I have begun to notice some electrical problems with my 83 240 turbo wagon. From time to time the radio cuts off and the alarm telling you that your headlights are on has always rung when I turn the lights on and not when I left them on after turning the car off. However, the most annoying problem is that every time I apply the brake the bell starts ringing and won't stop until I take my foot off the brake. I know the wiring harness' in these old 240's where bad, but my has been replaced. The bell is driving me crazy...any ideas?








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    warning bell 200

    by the way, any thoughts on why the bell rings when I turn on the headlights rather than when I leave them on after turning off the car?








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      warning bell 200

      Both headlights are out? ;)

      How about the door sensors? Does your dome light go out when you close all the doors? If no, that's your problem.

      I'd start checking the wiring under the dash... maybe the wiring behind the fusebox first. If anything has lost its insulation that's probably your problem. The chime relay is real easy to spot. It's the gigantic blue box under the dash. Follow the wires that go into it and see where they lead.

      - alex

      '85 244 Turbo
      '84 245 Turbo








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    warning bell 200

    thanks for all the info. I'll check the brake lights and if that's not the problem that bell is history.


    thanks, Jeff.








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    warning bell 200

    Whe my 1983 245GL gave the same symptoms, my tech answered that both brake bulbs were out. Never did I see anything about that in the onwer's manual, but dang if he wasn't right!

    Where I live it's easy to check by backing into a parking place in front of a glass-front store in a strip center and looking in the mirror.

    Good Luck,

    Bob

    :>)








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    warning bell 200

    "...annoying problem is that every time I apply the brake the bell starts ringing and won't stop until I take my foot off the brake..."

    For what it's worth, that is an intentional response when BOTH brakelight bulbs are out.

    The wiring harness problem is strictly the engine harness, and only affects things to do with the running of the engine.
    --
    Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)








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      What ami I missing? 200

      Yeah, I've heard that said a number of times but not experienced it first-hand.

      It doesn't follow logic, though. If the bulbs are out (so that the current to each is matched at zero) the brake light switch still has voltage present, and it sends a signal to the chime when the pedal is pushed.

      But if the brake light fuse is bad, no voltage is at the switch, so nothing goes to the chime when the pedal is pushed. Thus, the chime never knows that the pedal has been pushed but that the lights did not illuminate.

      What am I missing here?
      --
      Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)








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        What ami I missing? 200

        I find this puzzling too, as there is no connection to the brake lamp circuit. To me, the "both brake lamps out" theory is unproved legend where it concerns the 83 or 84 cars. When I saw this post, curiosity got the best of me so I began to trace all the wiring for the chime, through the seat belt switches, seat belt lamps, ignition switch and driver's door switch. Not on the wiring diagram, but actually following the wires on a pulled harness from an 83.

        So far, all I've learned is which wiring diagram dotted lines match the US-Canada configuration, but the chime contraption is on the bench awaiting dissection. Probably will use the chime to replace the ineffective buzzer in the clothes dryer anyway.

        In the mean time, I suggest Jeff pull the driver's door switch and carefully clean the guts and the silver surfaces, or replace it -- they're only 3 or 4 bucks -- but I've cleaned a bunch of them successfully. The chime contacts are separate from the dome lamp pole, so the dome lamp part working doesn't vindicate the switch entirely. I was speculating about some green gook providing a path pole-to-pole in the door switch.

        But, I'll get to the bottom of this brake light theory once and for all if I have to simply remove the bulbs for a test. I'm pretty certain the BFW device in the 83 has only one output, a ground to the cluster bulb-out indicator lamp. Maybe the cool idea of sensing two burned out bulbs was implemented in later years, though I'd think this would be a very rare thing to happen without the warning provided by one bad bulb. Personally, I've had the brake light fuse open, and no chiming let me know, it required a friend who was following me in my 84. The fuse didn't blow, just cracked at the end.

        Better than the "puzzlah" today which I couldn't hear anyway while out car shopping.

        Will post back with my puzzlah entry.
        --
        Art Benstein near Baltimore








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      warning bell 200

      nm








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        mean to say... or when there's a bad fuse connection (nm) 200

        oops








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    warning bell 200

    the SAME exact thing happened to me, you have 3 choices
    1. you can do is pay a lot of money to have it fixed by a professional
    2. you can check all the wiring
    or
    3. remove the damn bell

    i myself chose the later of the 3 and must say i am very pleased with the result.

    all you gotta do is remove the panal below the steering wheel (2 bolts)
    and then reach up under and pull it out, it's a blue boxey thing probably about 1.5in x 1in x 2in and is kinda hidden behind some stuff, it should be just to the right of the steering wheel. good luck.







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