So after seeing the video where someone replaced the stock buzzer in a Volvo 240 with a door chime that plays Africa by Toto, I decided to change my original buzzer out to something more modern.

I did a little research and found Projects Unlimited 12VDC Programmable Buzzer, this is a small flush mount speaker that will loop any 30 second .MP3 or .WAV file that you upload to it. I found it for about $30 on Amazon, but they seem to be sold out now.

I uploaded the door chime from a new Benz onto my programmable buzzer and removed the warning buzzer relay from under the dash and opened it up to take a look.



The buzzer is on the bottom right of the board. What an annoying little noisemaker. To disable it, I removed the little spring holding contact arm on, and pulled the entire arm out of the unit. I know these are easy to find and cheap to buy, but I didn't want to do irreversible damage.



Before disabling the buzzer, I plugged the relay in and used my voltmeter to find where the buzzer got it's 12V source. The ground is on top, power is below it (in this photo).



I drilled a hole in the top of the relay cover and routed the speaker wiring through it, then soldered the power and ground in place.



Then I mounted the programmable buzzer onto the case.



And mounted it in the car. It works!



I do need to make my door chime MP3 louder and re-upload it to the speaker, as it is kind of muffled when it's hidden under the dash. I am happy to be rid of the annoying 1970's buzzer - this modification may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who is tired of the buzz. This was done with my '79 240D, but the process should be similar for most other vehicles of this vintage.

https://youtu.be/2NM1lc7EhEk

Dark video, but you can still hear the new chime.

Max

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

That’s really cute, sounds exactly like our 2014 ML350!

Bonus points if you change the most likely dried out electrolytic cap on that board. It probably drives the delay time for how long the buzzer rings on startup (seat belt reminder).

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Hah, saw "upgrade" and thought "Oh that's an interesting way of saying disconnect, I like that."

Door buzzers and such are one of the first things I remove and throw away. I know when the lights are on, I know when the door is open. I'll put my seatbelt on when I damned well feel like it and that won't be every time I move my vehicle 20 feet in my driveway, and I refuse to have my car scream at me for it.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

I start work early, so when I leave it's still dark outside but when I get to work its light out. I didn't have the door buzzer in my Honda and I forgot the headlights on more times than I'd care to admit.

That said, I'm glad I took out the buzzer. This chime is much more reasonable, plus I can change it to anything I want.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

I want one of those!
Too bad they're sold out.
Thanks for posting this with the how-to guide.


Jeff

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1984 300SD 300,000 miles--two tank WVO setup
2.88 diff & 500SEL anti-squat rear end

My buddy wants one too, and it looks like they are no longer in production so I'll be trying to make a workaround. I'll update this thread when I have something to show.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8wqnk_TsA

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

This is fantastic.

Whatever happened here? Looks like it’s back on Amazon.

I’ve never opened that relay, but I assume this becomes the glow plug buzzer (if that’s even what that is??)?

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

I just ordered one.


There is no glow plug buzzer, the sound is the seatbelt buckle reminder. It doesn't sound if its buckled (or unplugged).

I realized that as soon as I posted.
My routine has always been the same. Hop in, turn key, connect seatbelt, fire engine.
The buzzer usually times out at the same time as the glow light. False correlation.

What sound are you going with?

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

The wonder of programmable sound, I'll try many different sounds and see what sticks! Not some boring dinger though...

Thanks for reviving this thread Shern, I've been jealous of that Volvo for a long time. I may need to order this up today.

Careful, it may open a near infinite indecision loop =)

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Got it and installed the buzzer today. Pretty straightforward, though the buzzer is a royal PITA to connect to. Its very unreliable, would only appear as a flash drive on Windows not Mac, it would disconnect randomly and took a dozen tries to upload a file and a dozen more to delete the factory uploaded sound file.



My board is different than the one pictured earlier, but it operates the same. A noticeable difference is mine has an adjustable function. I didn't turn it so I don't know exactly what it does, maybe it adjusts the seatbelt warning duration, seeing as mine is intolerably long.



https://youtu.be/86zIDhf_9WY

Attached Thumbnails

     

Love a good starship troopers reference…

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.