I bought my '15 PMC over the weekend and within starting it up a few times I realized I needed to fix the beep of death. I read this thread and it seems that the common solution is to buy a seat belt extender. I didn't really want to deal with an extender so I present to you the fix for the annoying seat belt chime!
Start off by removing the cover for the seat belt. You will need a tamper-proof hex bit to remove the two screws at the bottom. I tried using a small flat head screwdriver but it bent the post fairly easily so I had to find the hex bit. I also used a plastic scraper to pry the two pieces apart as they were fastened fairly well. With the covers off, the seat belt will be the same/similar as Figure 1.
The sensor creates a magnetic field, so whenever the mechanism is depressed a ferrous rod (Figure 2) gets pushed into the sensor and disrupts the field. This change in the magnetic field induces a voltage change in the circuit and lets the computer know the seat belt is fastened. The location of the sensor is shown in Figure 3.
Next we need a way to constantly disrupt the sensor. My solution: picture frame hook.
THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT! The shim that you put in MUST BE AS THIN AS POSSIBLE! If it is too thick the mechanism will not be able to be released and now all of a sudden your seat belt is stuck. I strongly recommend testing your shim out at least a dozen or so times to make sure that the mechanism will disengage. It took me a few tries to get the shim thin enough to not interrupt the mechanism function.
I used a bench grinder to reduce the width and thickness until it was small enough to block the sensor but not impede the function of the seat belt. The finished shim is shown in Figure 5.
I then trimmed it down to the correct length, put it in between the rod and sensor shown in Figure 2, and used pliers to bend the top edge over the lip of the sensor to hold it in place. The shim must be bent over to secure it, or else it will fall out as the seat belt is buckled and unbuckled. The final product is shown in Figure 6.
Put everything back together and now you don't have to listen to that annoying ding! I ended up doing it to both seats because I regularly put a backpack on the passenger seat and it's heavy enough to set the buzzer off.
I'm not sure if this will work on 16/17 PMC or the full size PM as I have not ever been in either. I'm also not sure if this will have an effect on any other system, would need to look at factory wiring diagrams.
Hope some people find this useful!
Start off by removing the cover for the seat belt. You will need a tamper-proof hex bit to remove the two screws at the bottom. I tried using a small flat head screwdriver but it bent the post fairly easily so I had to find the hex bit. I also used a plastic scraper to pry the two pieces apart as they were fastened fairly well. With the covers off, the seat belt will be the same/similar as Figure 1.
The sensor creates a magnetic field, so whenever the mechanism is depressed a ferrous rod (Figure 2) gets pushed into the sensor and disrupts the field. This change in the magnetic field induces a voltage change in the circuit and lets the computer know the seat belt is fastened. The location of the sensor is shown in Figure 3.
Next we need a way to constantly disrupt the sensor. My solution: picture frame hook.
THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT! The shim that you put in MUST BE AS THIN AS POSSIBLE! If it is too thick the mechanism will not be able to be released and now all of a sudden your seat belt is stuck. I strongly recommend testing your shim out at least a dozen or so times to make sure that the mechanism will disengage. It took me a few tries to get the shim thin enough to not interrupt the mechanism function.
I used a bench grinder to reduce the width and thickness until it was small enough to block the sensor but not impede the function of the seat belt. The finished shim is shown in Figure 5.
I then trimmed it down to the correct length, put it in between the rod and sensor shown in Figure 2, and used pliers to bend the top edge over the lip of the sensor to hold it in place. The shim must be bent over to secure it, or else it will fall out as the seat belt is buckled and unbuckled. The final product is shown in Figure 6.
Put everything back together and now you don't have to listen to that annoying ding! I ended up doing it to both seats because I regularly put a backpack on the passenger seat and it's heavy enough to set the buzzer off.
I'm not sure if this will work on 16/17 PMC or the full size PM as I have not ever been in either. I'm also not sure if this will have an effect on any other system, would need to look at factory wiring diagrams.
Hope some people find this useful!
from a full size PM'er.
