No Warning Bells - 2001 NB Sport 5 speed 1.8T

[bblizzle]

I have a 2001 New Beetle Sport, 5 Speed Manual, 1.8L Turbo with 115K on it. I just bought it about 2 weeks ago and just noticed that I have NO warning bells in the car. If I leave the keys in the ignition...Nothin... If I leave the lights on...Nothin... If I don't have a seatbelt on...Nothin... If I have a door open... Nothin... If I am low on gas (never been) Im assuming the gong will also NOT come on. I tested last night to see if when I opened the drivers side door that the dome lights came on. They did. I then tested the passenger side door to see if the dome light came on. They did. I also put the key in the drivers side door and turned it to the left to roll down the window. It works. I then turned the key to this right to role them up. It also works. My alarm has not yet been affected by it which was another thing I was told will happen. I was given the idea by a VW dealer that it could be the door latch assembly for the drivers door, BUT that the key rolling up and down the windows would not work if that was the case. So I was advised that although rare, it is possible that the passenger side latch failed. So I bought one. I am having a hard time knowing what it actually is and I was wondering if it was possible that the previous owner (me being the second) disconnected the "chimes". Any Help is appreciated and needed honestly. I don't want to spend $400 at the dealership trying to fix a problem. HELP!

[smartchick2009]

yeahhhhhhhhhhhh
i have the same problem...
any ideas people?

[windie809]

when i first got Daisy Revolution i didn't have any warning bells when i opened the door with the keys in - after they replaced my door handles (they were faulty & did always "tell" the car the doors were open/closed) i now have dings! i don't remember if she beeped when the low fuel light came on, but i know it does now... but i've also had my cluster replaced... not sure if this helps, but there you go!

[yelojkt]

Find somebody with Vag-com in your area and see what codes you throw. But it sounds to me like someone disabled the chime.

[agento2]

I've got a similar issue, interior lights come one with door open but no warning for headlights seatbelt etc.

Can someone point me to information on the programming side of disabling these so I can see if it has been done?

or if I need to research hardware that could be bad.
and it it possible to only disable some of the warnings but not all? ie I really only want the headlight warning.

[bblizzle]

I took my Beetle to VW and had it checked out. I had to replace my trunk latch sensor because that was what was throwing the codes. Turns out my bells still don't work... BUT the technician came out and looked over the car and explained that if you have an aftermarket stereo there is a wire that cannot be connected and causes the bell relay not to come on.. SO if you had a new stereo put in.... No bells. Im going back to factory. But the trunks are notorious for the sensor breaking because the third brake light leaks (faulty seal not covered under warranty) and shorts it out. Thats all I have for now. Don't spend a penny unless you want a factory radio in your car. Thats the only way the bells will work. $374.10 later... I found this out

[Smileybug]

Not true. I have an aftermarket radio and still have all the warning chimes.

[bblizzle]

I'd say you are the exception not the rule. We can both be "Not True". What kind of radio stereo do you have? My convenience sensor and everything works flawlessly. If I paid to have the radio out they would see a wire just capped off because it would not be plugged into the radio. It is possible that the wire in your instance was spliced to accommodate the warning bells. But I'm not the expert. Just relaying information.

[Smileybug]

Well, it isn't true that you HAVE to have an OEM unit to have the chimes. I got my car with an aftermarket Blaupunkt unit in it, and now have a Sony Xplod in it. Never had an issue with the chimes, except when my microswitch failed. I know there are a lot of users on here with aftermarket units, and this is the first I've heard of this problem in my 6 years on the site. The VW dealer doesn't always know what they are talking about. It might have to do with the K line. There is a certain way that things have to be wired up with the aftermarket stuff, but aftermarket will work with no problems. I don't think anything was spliced.

You probably have a good independent VW shop near you that will do work for you for much cheaper, and probably give you better advice.

[simonsi]

The OPs problem sounds like a door switch, both sides can fail, not that rare, just passenger doors are used less so break mechanical bits (like the mechanical bits of switches), less.

The 2nd posters problem was the sounder is in the speedo cluster, his was broken but was replaced when he had a new cluster.

The K-line issue with the stereo is well documented on Ross-Tech, it has nothing to do with the warning chimes or warning chimes relay (I don´t believe there is such a thing), and everything to do with the diagnostic interface. It also has everything to do with tech spotting you have an aftermarket stereo and creating the link to fob you off.

AFAIK you cannot disable the chimes via software.

[agento2]

Originally Posted by simonsi

AFAIK you cannot disable the chimes via software.

i found a thread on vwvortex that links to the ross tech info for disabling the seat belt warning, it's not just the chime though it's the light on the dash, you can also disable the brake wear warning light and the low washer fluid. those were the three I saw.

which leads me to believe my problem is probably the speaker for the chimes cause I see the seatbelt warning light but there is no sound for it.

from ross tech:

 17-Instruments:   K1 -- KWP-1281   
VAG-COM Works fine.
    Recode for warning lamps:

    [Select]
    [17 - Instruments]
    [Recode - 07]
    Write down the existing coding for future reference.
    Enter 5-digit code from below
    [Do It!]

    Look at the first two digits in the coding. Add the values for the options together to get the correct coding.

    00 - No available equipment
    +01 - Brakepad wear sensor warning active
    +02 - Seatbelt warning active
    +04 - Washer fluid level warning active

    Look at the third digit in the coding (Market version):

    1 - "EU" 24 hour clock (may result in odometer in km in 2002+ clusters)
    2 - "USA" 12 hour clock
    3 - "Canada" 12 hour clock (may result in odometer in km in 2002+ clusters)
    "The third digit in the code is the country code. The codes are:
    4 - "UK" 24 hour clock (should result in odometer in miles)
    5 - Japan
    6 - Saudi Arabia
    7 - Australia

    Look at the fourth digit in the coding (Cylinders):

    3 - No Service Interval (2002+ models)
    4 - 4-cylinder (1999-2001 models)
    6 - 6-cylinder (1999-2001 models)

    Look at the fifth digit in the coding (Distance impulse multiplier):

    2 - 3538
    4 - 3648 (some 2002+ models)

    So, if you want to have Seatbelt warning and washer fluid warning only in a 2001 Canadian 6-cylinder vehicle, (add 00+02+04 = 06),3,6,2 = 06362.

[simonsi]

Yep I´ve seen that but the more important chimes such as lights on etc, you can´t alter/disable.

Chimes are dead on my bug, you can prove it by running "output tests" on the cluster with VCDS, if there are no chimes when the diags poke the sounder, then its dead.

[Fl_bug]

It sounds to me like the dinger just dinged out and dong its last ding lol

[agento2]

Originally Posted by simonsi

Yep I´ve seen that but the more important chimes such as lights on etc, you can´t alter/disable.

Chimes are dead on my bug, you can prove it by running "output tests" on the cluster with VCDS, if there are no chimes when the diags poke the sounder, then its dead.

and let me guess the sounder is a part not sold separate from a new instrument cluster?

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by agento2

and let me guess the sounder is a part not sold separate from a new instrument cluster?

the instrument cluster is actually not that expensive right now. They're on sale for less than $50 actually depending on your engine and tranny.

Click here and see I've been following this sale, and its been going on for about 4 months now at the least. Your local dealership SHOULD offer this price too.

However, I'm not certain if it's the cluster that does the dinging.

[agento2]

Originally Posted by Fl_bug

the instrument cluster is actually not that expensive right now. They're on sale for less than $50 actually depending on your engine and tranny.

Click here and see I've been following this sale, and its been going on for about 4 months now at the least. Your local dealership SHOULD offer this price too.

However, I'm not certain if it's the cluster that does the dinging.

mine is an 01 1.8t manual (aph) dealers parts website says 400 some for it so in other words I can live without dinging.