howto: warning system on\off modification

My 2012 came with the <10mph UFO noise maker. I read all the posts about people that just unplugged it or that clipped the wires. In my case, I accessed it from the front of the wheel well and totally removed it.

Then in thinking about it, there might be times when I actually want it to work. I bought an OEM dash switch and ran the positive to the speaker of the noise maker through the normally opened contacts. Essentially when I reinstall the noise maker, if I press the button (pushing it in) it will restore the positive power to the speaker making the system work. If I press the button again (popping it out), then it will disable the system.

I crimped two ends on the wire so I can easily plug it into the back of the switch. The positive wire of the speaker I clipped and soldered in a jumper wire that I crimped the switch ends onto. So it all works but this will require me to run the wire into the cabin from the front of the wheel well area.

Now that the background information is set, here is my question:
Whats the best way to get the wires into the cabin? It is a bitch for some people to access the noise maker in the first place to unplug. Though I can get to that easily enough, threading the wire back into the firewall may prove difficult.

Should I jack the car up, take the front left wheel off and then try to remove the entire wheel well?
Should I thread the wire up into the engine bay and then try to thread it back into the cabin leaving the wheel well intact?

This will be a weekend job, but I have no idea about getting things through the fire wall- I guess anyone who installed fogs would have the same issue.

 

This is what I am doing

 

I am not even using an additional relay. I will run the power right through the switch. Its low voltage, it will be ok.
I will post a picture of the setup shortly

 

true, but this way you only need 2 wires and no additional hardware you already have to run 1 wire anyway, bundled 2 wont make much of a difference

 

I will post pics in about 40mins....

 

Ok here is what I did. Before looking at the pictures, keep in mind the wire I am using is a bundled black and red wire. DO NOT BE MISLEAD! I am not using it for + and - I am strictly using it for +.

Also it will be a little hard to see how I connected it because it is all bundled up. I figured I would modify the speaker not the engine harness. The speaker is much easier to replace. So basically the speaker has the + (red) and - (black) coming from the speaker to the white plug. I cut the red wire and soldered the black and red wire of what I added (gray cable bundle) to each end. of the factory red wire. Then I insulated both connections with electrical tape so they couldnt touch each other and then bundled the entire thing up with more electrical tape. Basically the speaker is as it normally would be from the factory but now there is a longer wire connected to the red + and there is a break on the other end.







Now on this "other end" I crimped two small wire terminals.


They will insert into the switch as follows:



I tested the two outter ends of the switch with a multimeter. There is no continuity when the button is out. There is when you press the button in. So the + voltage will be transferred to the speaker through the switch when you press the button and it will kill the voltage when the switch is popped out. In other words: pushing the switch in will turn the speaker system on and in the normal position the system will be disabled.

I am NOT using a fuse or additional relay but I dont care because the system is already protected upstream and it is low voltage so I dont really care.

Here is a close up of the OEM switch



WARNING dont be fooled. The picture on it is the headlight wash but this is actually another solar vent switch. I ordered an OEM solar vent and OEM headlight wash. It turned out that the headlight wash is momentary and the solar vent is on\off meaning that if you press the solar button in it will stay that way until you press it again. If you press the headlight wash it will spring back out as soon as you let go. I basically wasted 50 bux on a momentary switch I cant use but I swapped the face plates because I already have a solar vent button-

On a side note: Why are these switches 50bux? (close to 70 at full retail?)
As I had a switch I could not use I decided to take it apart. Below are pictures. These are apparently not normal mechanical switches. There is a chip in them! I dont think it will have any impact on the low voltage pass through, I believe it is supporting circuits for the inner two pins of the switch to tell the car computer the switch is engaged. Maybe to activate some additional hardware- who knows.





This is the momentary switch I took apart but it is nearly identical to the on-off.

So now the only tricky part is getting from the cabin to the wheel well where the speaker sits. I have to run the wires from the wheel well into the cabin as the wires are attached to the speaker. So it wont be as easy as pushing wires through the firewall from inside the cabin.

 

Yes same concept and will work.
+ easier to get the wire into position past firewall
- you have to tap power from another source
- you have to introduce additional hardware (relay)
+ safer as the circuit is isolated (though it is probably only 12v or 24v, such low voltage to power the speaker it wont hurt anything anyway)

*still running voltage through the switch

But overall same concept and would function exactly the same way. People can go either way with this

EDIT
but just keep in mind that either you have to splice into the engine harness OR the speaker harness to wire up to the normally opened contact of the relay as pictured. If you choose to splice into the speaker side harness it is not very long as can be seen in my pictures so either the relay has to be right there (maybe even secured to the speaker), you would have to solder in extension wires, or you have to cut and wire into the engine harness side to make this all work.

 

But also as pictured, you have it set so that when you press the button in, it will disable the sound. (you are showing wired to the normally closed) So pressing the button in energizes the coil of the relay causing it to pull in and breaking the + voltage from the controller to the speaker.

Mine is flipped, when the button is not pressed in, then no UFO noise. When I want to activate the system I push the button in.

 

Im guessing that is reprogramming the controller that is just upstream of the speaker. Good question

 

The mission is complete and all is working.

It did not all go as expected but some parts were easier than I thought they would be.
1. When I mounted the speaker back into the car, i pulled away the wheel well again. This time I had the hood opened and could easily see daylight from behind the wheel well so getting the wire into the engine bay was no problem at all.

2. I was able to see the rubber firewall plug as described in the fog light installs with no issue from inside the cabin. all I removed was the bottom panel that has the tire pressure reset button on it. 2 screws and a clip and the panel came right off. I had to get low but saw the plug no problem.

3. The plug in the engine bay is might higher than I thought. My first mistake was that I drove up on ramps and removed most of the plastic panel from under the car before I realized how high it was! After I put everything back together I still was not able to find the plug in the engine bay so instead I straightened a hanger and jabbed it through the plug from the cabin. I went in about a foot and left it hanging there- easily I was able to find the hanger in the engine bay.

4. There are actually 2 rubber walls you have to press through with the firewall plug, not one. It does not take much effort but you will feel the 2 "pops" as you press through.

5. Now because the wires were in the engine bay, soldered to the break in the speaker, I simply taped the wire to the hanger and pulled it back through the firewall plug into the cabin.

6. I decided that instead of mounting the button on the left side of the console where the light dimmer and solar vent button were located, instead I would mount it in the blank spot on the right side of the console. There was a blank button a few inches below the start button. I did not take note of it at the time but the button panel on the left side of the console is harder flat black plastic. The button on the right side is the textured soft plastic. This became a slight problem later on but I will explain.

7. The blank button came out without issue. I was able to gently pry it out without damage. I did not remove the panel- again the only panel I removed during any part of this was the one with the tire reset button.

8. Leaving the hanger still attached to the wire, I was able to thread the hanger up behind the panel and through the new opening for the button.

9. I disconnected the wire from the hanger and plugged the ends into the back of the button. Then I secured the excess wire and popped the button into the blank hole.

10. This was where my problem started. I SHOULD have tested the button before plugged it back in but I did not. The speaker was not engaging. Long story short it turned out that as I plugged it back in, one of the contacts plugged out behind the button.

11. You cannot access the back of the button with the panel on the car, so I pried it back out. The faceplate come off without any issue but the actual contactor was harder to pry. I damaged the panel a bit because the screw driver sunk into the soft textured plastic. I only came at the button from the bottom but you can still see it if you look. It pisses me off a little because I am a profectionist and had the contact not come loose it would have looked perfect. Anyway, I got it out, and this time ziptied the back of the button and wires. Reinstalled and everything works exactly as expected. Press the button in and the car sounds like a UFO. Press the button out and the system is disabled.
So over all A total success running the voltage right through the switch, however, I am mad at myself for nicking the plastic and I should have secured it better the first time.