Why is my car dinging?

May 7, 2013 5:39 PM

I have a 1993 Ford Explorer with very few bells and whistles. All of a sudden, after I turn off the motor, pop out of my seat belt and open the door to get out, it's making a ringing sound.

I'm sure the lights (both internal and external) are off.
The radio is off.
The car is in park.
None of the dashboard lights (i.e. "check engine") are flashing.
The ringing stops when I shut the door, but starts again whenever I reopen it.

I know this is an old car and the wiring could be out of sorts, and it may take a trip to a mechanic to figure it out, but in the short term I'm worried there's something non-obvious that I've left on and I'm going to wind up with a dead battery.

Any ideas?

posted by foxy_hedgehog to Technology (11 answers total)

Response by poster: Posting for my sister.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 5:40 PM on May 7, 2013

Where is it coming from?
posted by Seeking Direction at 5:44 PM on May 7, 2013

Some cars will sound an alarm if you open the door either with the key in the ignition or the headlights on. This is to remind you to take your keys and turn off the lights. Perhaps you have a switch that is faulty.
posted by JackFlash at 5:48 PM on May 7, 2013

Presumably you are also taking the key out. Try fiddling with the ignition switch. After 20 years, the likeliest problem is a faulty ignition switch. Sometimes just jiggling it a little will make the ding turn off. If that's the issue, it's probably not worth fixing.
posted by beagle at 5:48 PM on May 7, 2013

I bet it's that switch that checks if the key is in the ignition when you open the door after shutting it off. I remember fords of that vintage having that feature, and the entire ignition switch assembly on my dads ford from that era, and the next slightly newer one, became pretty worn after a few years and started doing stuff like this.

If i was bored, i would take something like this and slap it around the red/positive battery cable with the door shut, and the warning not dinging. You should probably read some really low 0.50 type reading, not 0. Just to check open the door and see what the load is with the switch for the light off but the "bell" dinging. Is it different? is this circuitry powered up all the time?

Either way, if you're getting a very low reading i just wouldn't worry about this.

On preview JackFlash said what i was going to say, but i'm still going to press play because of the testing method idea...
posted by emptythought at 5:49 PM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Can she take it to Auto Zone or other "ODB check" place and get the codes on the thing read?
posted by tilde at 6:05 PM on May 7, 2013

I bet it's that switch that checks if the key is in the ignition when you open the door after shutting it off.

Agreed. Spray a little lube on the key and work it in and out and jiggle the key with the door open. I bet it goes off. My car did it a few weeks ago and a little spray oil and some grumpy rattling has scared it off.
posted by Brockles at 6:44 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

What Brockles said. But be sure to use a lubricant appropriate for an ignition keyway (not WD-40 or another type of oil).
posted by mattbcoset at 8:16 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Silicone/teflon spray lubricant is what you want. The trick is to spray it on the key, and work the key in the lock.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:24 AM on May 8, 2013

Mine (a VW Polo) does that if I don't release and remove the front panel of the radio - that anti-theft idea that doesn't really work: you are supposed to put the front panel with the controls in your pocket and snap on an anonymous piece of plastic over the main body of the radio, which stays in place but is now hidden. Of course, I lost the anonymous plastic panel within a month. The Polo still dings every time I get out.
posted by aqsakal at 8:23 AM on May 8, 2013

Why? Is there some reason you think that it is impossible to get answers here?
posted by Brockles at 9:49 AM on May 8, 2013