Temperamental Ding

Ive been trying to figure this one out for a while. My 88 riv doesnt always like to warn me if i leave my keys in the ignition, if i leave my lights on, tells me that I should buckle up, that sort of thing. I was told that the warning sound is part of a relay that may be bad. Does anyone know what that particular relay may be called? If not a relay, what can I do to get it fixed, meaning where should I start?

Have you asked a dealer?

Albertj

the dealer i got it from was a used dealer. all they have is a standard garage for tune ups and inspections. And they sold all types of makes. Not many buicks. And no buick dealer has followed up with me and the questions ive asked.

There are probably some things you want to do. Not really in any order, but all pertinent:

One - if you are going to keep and enjoy this car any length of time, get a manual. I *think* a Haynes is available for your year Riviera (it is not available for the '95 - '99). They are decent manuals. FOr a factory manual, check eBay.

Two - find and check the fuses and thermal breakers. Problem is, I do not know where the fuse blocks are in your year Riviera. For instance in mine (a '98) some fuses are in the engine compartment, some in the dash, and some under the rear seat (not as bad as it sounds).

Three - ascertain wheter you car has been in a wreck - look for repaired areas on the underbody, large swipes of seam sealer (car companies have not used that so much in manufacturijng in the last ~20 years) in wheel wells or on chassis or in trunk; look at the steering column for evidence of collapse or repair; check if the brand of glass in the windshield is same as that of the side/rear windows (not a definite problem just a hint that there might have been a wreck), check if the gaps between fenders/hood/trunk are even in width. The point of all this is that the troubleshooting you do is different if the car was wrecked and repaired versus if it's just wear and tear. If the car was wrecked and repaired you're then looking for mis-connected wiring harnesses, miswired fuse panels, misrouted wiring that got chafed for instance by the sharp metal where it passes thru a door jamb. Or evidence of, say, a fire in the engine compartment. If the car has not been wrecked then you are looking for things like fuses of the wrong size for their slots in the fuse holders, thermal breakers that are not staying closed because they are just old, evidence of old liquid spills under seats or other hidden places--the liquid may have got into the wiring and electronics there, or some such.

You'll find and fix the problem soon; hoep this helps you get started

Albertj

Alright well i forgot to mention i have a manual already. The car has never been wrecked. I have all the information on the car as well as the delivery slip for the orignal buyer of the car. the entire vehicle history. Every once in a rare while the car dings. more so when im turning the car on so as to tell you to buckle up. Makes me think that there is a loose wire or a bad relay. If it is a relay I was just confused whether it may be attached to the courtesy light relay system or something similar. My fuse block is part of my center console on the passenger side in front of the shift linkage. There is also a relay center under the fuse block. And there is a relay center in the engine compartment. If I knew how to add pics to my posts, I would take pics and show you.

wanted to thank you for the help too. I have a feeling it may be just a loose wire. I figure if i drive around a while and give the car a good jar somewhere that is what causes it to work again. then i go driving again and it disconnects. I have been meaning to take out the computer and disconnect all the plugs to make sure they are not eroded. Tends to happen in a 21 year old car. Then replug everything back in to see if maybe some of my other minor electrical issues fix themselves.

actually you don't need to do all that if you have a service manual set. You need an inexpensive meter from say Radio Shack or WalMart, and maybe you also want a fuse tester (so you don't have to pull them all) also from RS or WalMart or wherever.

if you just have the owners manual, you will need to get a service manual set.

The service manual wiring diagrams will show where, in the car's wiring, the devices are that control the 'ding.'

On an '80s car that 'ding'er is likely to be a small box with a piezoelectric chime, with wires that are run from the chime unit to the devices and functions to be chimed. In that type of system what you typically see is if one circuit is bad - say a door switch dies - then that door's warning function will quit but the others will still work. If the chime unit is bad then all the chimes typically all quit.

So the real problem here is that I have not owned an '80s Buick. I owned a couple '80s Chryslers, that's how they were wired - with a piezo chime box. They had things set up so when the door was ajar or whatever you'd get a warning chime. By the way, they also had an option, an optional voice synthesizer, (by texas instruments) with which you'd get an electronic beep then a voice (sounding texan of course) telling you what was amiss - your fuel is low, door is ajar, car overheating, whatever.

So I suspect as likely as not your only problem really is the chime module's died --- but I don't know for sure, and I think it's better for both of us for me simply to tell you to get some test equipment and go read the fine service manual. THere should be enough detail for troubleshooting procedures there to isolate the problem.

If it is the chime unit and you have any electronic repair experience, that unit may be repairable - but again, I don't really know.

Albertj

aighty then. thank you very much. ill have to check out the manual more in depth then. I appreciate all the help.