Audible alarm when lights left on

[dobsona]

Is it possible to either increase the volume of the alarm that sounds when the headlights are left on or to fit an auxillary buzzer by tapping into the wiring circuit, without the necessity of removing too much of the dashboard? Any help or advice would be appreciated - especially with a wiring diagram.

[eTiMaGo]

wow, I suppose the easiest solution would be to find the buzzer and just swap it for a more powerful unit?

[Tamago]

the piezo is built into the gauge cluster IIRC.. you're pretty much screwed..

[CTScott]

The buzzer is easily accessible on the back side of the PCB for the cluster. It is a 5VDC piezoelectric buzzer. You could look for a replacement one with a higher dB rating, or with a different tone that might be more noticeable by her.

Another option would be to relocate the buzzer and use a panel mount one (remove the existing and run two wires from its connection points on the PCB to the panel mount one), so the output would be directly at her, instead of buried in the cluster.

[firemachine69]

She must be really deaf. My best friend has a particularly bad case of hard of hearing (problems with tonality), and even he'll notice it AFTER he's stepped out of the car...


Tell her to pay attention to her dash when she steps out. Or don't let her drive. I've threatened the gf's driving priviledges a few times, and that straightened her out in a hurry.

[jambo101]

I never figured out why car mfgrs dont follow Subaru and have the lights turn off automatically when you shut the engine down.:iono:

[Tamago]

I never figured out why car mfgrs dont follow Subaru and have the lights turn off automatically when you shut the engine down.:iono:

most toyotas DO have that actually...

[Forrest]

She must be really deaf. My best friend has a particularly bad case of hard of hearing (problems with tonality), and even he'll notice it AFTER he's stepped out of the car...


Tell her to pay attention to her dash when she steps out. Or don't let her drive. I've threatened the gf's driving priviledges a few times, and that straightened her out in a hurry.:thumbdown:



There are people that hear pretty good but certain 'tones' do not register as loudly. You say you 'threatened your gf's driving priviledges and straightnend her out....wow..hard to believe in this day and age any woman would feel threatened.

[CTScott]

most toyotas DO have that actually...


I sure do miss that from my Subaru Forrester.

That may actually be an easier and better fix for this issue. I have some extra automotive relays laying around to experiment with. I'll figure it out, then post a DIY...

[Tamago]

I sure do miss that from my Subaru Forrester.

That may actually be an easier and better fix for this issue. I have some extra automotive relays laying around to experiment with. I'll figure it out, then post a DIY...

you'd need a latching relay but it should be able to be done pretty easily..

that or grab the signal IN wire for the parking/headlights, and have it tie into the IGN circuit instead of the BATT circuit.

[CTScott]

you'd need a latching relay but it should be able to be done pretty easily..

that or grab the signal IN wire for the parking/headlights, and have it tie into the IGN circuit instead of the BATT circuit.

Looking at the EWD, I'm thinking that I'll use IGN as the input to the relay coil, then cut the ground (ED) wire to the headlight switch and insert the normally open relay contacts. The ground looks like the best "common", as it is used for the feed to the headlight relay as well as the headlight indicator on the combination meter.

[MadMax]

Or, get her in the habit of checking every time she leaves the car. As I run my Jeep without doors most of the time, I've disabled the alarm that tells me I've left the keys in the ignition or the lights are on. It took a little while, but you finally get used to checking them. Maybe a sticky somewhere as a reminder in the interim; but once you get used to checking every time you stop, you no longer have a problem.

And, I too am partially deaf from my military service, and I can still hear the alarm. She must be pretty deaf, how much do you yell at her?!? :laugh:

Cheers! M2

[Tamago]

the piezo is built into the gauge cluster IIRC.. you're pretty much screwed..



Tell her to pay attention to her dash when she steps out. Or don't let her drive. I've threatened the gf's driving priviledges a few times, and that straightened her out in a hurry.


what, mine gets deleted but his gets to stay?

[dobsona]

Thank you! I am NOT likely to be 'straightened out' as it is my car - and I am the one who always manages to find the keys when they have been mislaid...:thumbdown:



There are people that hear pretty good but certain 'tones' do not register as loudly. You say you 'threatened your gf's driving priviledges and straightnend her out....wow..hard to believe in this day and age any woman would feel threatened.

[Tamago]

Thank you! I am NOT likely to be 'straightened out' as it is my car - and I am the one who always manages to find the keys when they have been mislaid...

so can you manage to turn off the headlights then? ;)

[dobsona]

She must be really deaf. My best friend has a particularly bad case of hard of hearing (problems with tonality), and even he'll notice it AFTER he's stepped out of the car...


Tell her to pay attention to her dash when she steps out. Or don't let her drive. I've threatened the gf's driving priviledges a few times, and that straightened her out in a hurry.

Prejudiced or what?!! SHE set up the question

[TheRealEnth]

LMAO =D

[dobsona]

so can you manage to turn off the headlights then? ;)

When my 'little reminders', like the piece of pipecleaner on the doorhandle, work... but then there is always the time when someone distracts me when I am in the middle of my 'turning everything off' ritual...

[Tamago]

When my 'little reminders', like the piece of pipecleaner on the doorhandle, work... but then there is always the time when someone distracts me when I am in the middle of my 'turning everything off' ritual...

i've left my lights on before..

my trick is to always glance back at my car when walking away (and who wouldn't, it's so freakin AWESOME LOOKING) and double check that i turned off my lights....

i disabled the audible warning the first week i had the car. no door ding, no headlight reminder, no ignition reminder, nothing... 5 years later and i can count the number of times i've left my lights on... well.. using my hands and feet :eyebulge:

[dobsona]

you'd need a latching relay but it should be able to be done pretty easily..

that or grab the signal IN wire for the parking/headlights, and have it tie into the IGN circuit instead of the BATT circuit.

Thanks for replies. Like the idea of teeing into the ignition circuit rather than using the battery. This could solve two problems, 1. leaving the lights on, 2. as we drive in Italy and it is obligatory to have lights on day and night, it would then be possible to leave them switched on.

As I do not have a wiring diagram at present, could you please indicate which wires need to be changed (which colour are they?) and where they are located.
Thanks agin for your help.

[firemachine69]

The only time I've ever had an issue was when I installed an aftermarket deck on my Sunfire (thus deleting any audible alarms). Did it once and learned my lesson, then did it one last time after rushing my girlfriend to the hospital.


Apparently I misunderstood the original "offender". If it's your car, you typically learn after a rather bad incident - like in minus fourty degrees weather... In any case it all revolves around PAYING ATTENTION to your surroundings. If you know you have a hearing problem, shouldn't you be more inclined to double-check visually?

Sorry, someone posting they have a very bad hearing problem, and looking for a louder buzzer, is like telling the ambulance to get a louder siren...

[CTScott]

Thanks for replies. Like the idea of teeing into the ignition circuit rather than using the battery. This could solve two problems, 1. leaving the lights on, 2. as we drive in Italy and it is obligatory to have lights on day and night, it would then be possible to leave them switched on.

As I do not have a wiring diagram at present, could you please indicate which wires need to be changed (which colour are they?) and where they are located.
Thanks agin for your help.


I did some experimentation last night with the headlights off with the ignition. The headlight dimmer switch connector is shown below:

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/ctscott329/Misc%20Yaris/YarisHeadlightDimmerSwitchConnector.jpg

ED is the common for the headlight switch (which actually provides power to the headlight relay's coil). I thought that opening it would turn off the headlights, and it does, but the parking lights remain on and the light reminder buzzer still buzzes. There is another circuit which also needs to be opened as well:

T1 is the common for the parking lights and the feed to the light reminder circuit for the instrument cluster. It also needs to be opened.

With a dual pole (DPST or DPDT) relay (12 VDC coil, 10A rated contacts) this can be accomplished:

The coil gets connected between the white wire on the ignition switch connector and a ground.

One set of normally opened contacts gets connected in between the headlight dimmer switch connector and the ED wire (wire gets clipped and the relay contacts are inserted in-line).

The other set of normally opened contacts gets connected in between the headlight dimmer switch connector and the T1 wire (wire gets clipped and the relay contacts are inserted in-line).


I only had SPDT relays laying around, so once I pick up a dual pole relay I'll do a better write-up with pictures...