Getting rid of the warning buzzer

Hi all. Like many of you, the beeps and warnings that the gen4 makes seemed a bit intrusive to me. During lockdown I had a go at quietening them down. Sorry I stupidly didn't take pictures, but I'll describe how I did it.

I pulled out the instrument cluster assembly and on a really clean table, started to pull it apart. Once the front cover was off, I gently pulled the needles off the speedo and rev counter guages. They just pull off with a bit of force. I had to be really careful not to damage the thin translucent plastic that the speed and rev dials are printed on. Then the thin plastic sheet unclips fairly easily exposing many screws that hold the cluster together.

Once apart, the circuit board can be removed and it is clear to see the two round plastic peizo beepers that make the warning noises. I guess one is for the ticking indicator sound and the other is for the headlight/door reminder chimes and the crash alert sounds.

I didn't want to lose the alerts fully, so to just silence them a bit, I stuck 1mm thick mounting tape over the piezo beeper holes, before reassembling the base of the cluster and refitting the gauge dials.

Then I put the still open cluster without needles back in the car so that I could plug it in and by turning the ignition on without starting the car, refitted needles to zero so that they would be calibrated right.

After that, I carefully put the clear bezel cover back on and reinstalled it in the car.

The result is perhaps a bit too quiet now. I can only just hear the indicator ticks and door/light/crash warnings now. If the radio is going loudly, I don't hear them at all.
Perhaps a thinner layer of insulation tape or gaffer tape would have been better than the 1mm thick mounting tape... I feel like it is about 1/10 the the volume now.

I'm not recommending this procedure unless you are super confident in your skills. I'm an electronics bench technician so am used to disassembling small devices. Sorry I took no pictures... was a crazy lockdown madness that made me do it!

Have you thought about a timer cct on the buzzers?
The turn indicators could work as normal, as they are intermittent, continuous buzzers could be quietened after say 0.5 sec, and they would still be heard above the radio.

That sounds like a good idea but I didn't want to make any circuit modifications while the Jimny is still under warrantee. The tape can be peeled off if I want to put it back to standard.

I removed the lower panel on the steering column and found a small white cable connector at the inboard end of the steering column lock. I removed the connector and the door open buzzer was silenced. I have also lost the seat belt warning buzzer as it must be on the same circuit but that is no problem as Viv is used to unlocking the belt before I stop to park on the drive and the buzzer was a nuisance. Anyway I still have the seat belt warning light on the dash so it would appear to be a win win situation.

Roger

How I'd love to see some pictures from that cluster removed... If by chance anyone has done this, please kindly post some.

Thank you, merry Christmas to all members!