Any friendly cable-guys around peto / lincoln / skeg willing to turn off the sodding chime when you start the engine? (I really don't think we (UK) need our cars that idiot proof that we have to be reminded to buckle up the very instant we get in the bloody car... 10 years of driving and I haven't forgotten yet! Next we will be like the yanks with stickers reminding us that what we see in the mirrors can make a dent when we ram them off the road (not that a lot of BMW drivers even know what mirrors are actually for....)

I did speak to my dealer but was told that they have been given instructions from Skoda UK under police advise not to disable the chime for safety reasons (despite them not fitting the chime to a lot of their cars even today yet ram Cruise in which IMHO is a damn site more of safety issue then not bitching when the engine is started)

And I know that I *could* buckle in before turning the key but I tend to buckle in last as quite often need to reverse out of where I park while having to look completely around.

p.s. would feel a complete tit bothering jabber over one little issue.

or you could just unplug the wire:

Raise divers seat as high as possible,

look under seat by the seat belt buckle for a small flat plug with 2 wires going to it,

unplug and tuck the loose end away,

lower seat.

Total time = less than a minute.

HTH

or you could just unplug the wire

Which would be against all manufacturer suggestions and explicitly forbidden.

Total time = less than a minute.

Total risk, more than I would take.

Which would be against all manufacturer suggestions and explicitly forbidden.

So disabling a 'safety feature' via VAG-COM isn't?

Total risk, more than I would take.

Where is the risk?

The seatbelt warning light is purely on a loop:

When the buckle is un-clipped the loop is completed = light & chime comes on.

When it is clipped into place it breaks the loop = light and chime goes out.

So by disconnecting the wire all you are doing is breaking the loop.

Although I own a genuine (Ross Tech) VAG-COM cable, IMHO is not worth connecting up 'JUST' to disable a light/chime.

If however other diagnostics are being carried out at the same time, then it is just as easy to turn off this function at the same time.

So disabling a 'safety feature' via VAG-COM isn't?

Where is the risk?

The seatbelt status is also monitored by the airbag control unit (at least by most of them). When unplugging the sensor the airbag control unit gets an inappropriate reading too while disabling it via diagnostics just shuts off the warning and not all other related functionality. Besides that, I would not really call it a safety feature, personally I never drive without being belted and it's required by law anyway in most countries.

IIRC you cant turn of the "bong" in the instrument coding, only disable the warning light.

The cluster coding disables the whole warning, optical and acoustical.

The cluster coding disables the whole warning, optical and acoustical.

Diddnt work for me or Wayne Kerr :confused:

i had a go at this and its either chime and light on or chime and light off. Not what i was looking for, rather keep the light on and knock the chime off but looks like it will never happen.

. Besides that, I would not really call it a safety feature, personally I never drive without being belted and it's required by law anyway in most countries.

It might be the law and I never drive without belting up (reversing etc aside) I just dont agree with treating drivers like morons (although given current driving standards....) and simply irritating your customers like myself who start engine first thing before anything else or those who have to reverse out of their drives isn't really a step forwards, esp considering the furby I had at the same age was a damn sight faster / more powerful and probably not as impact tolerant (no side bags for a start) yet that didn't have this "safety feature" neither does the new fabia's or the roomster I was lent last week

But thanks for your feedback guys.

So back to your original question - you'd like it switched off.

Have you looked in the VAG-COM register to find somone near you?

The seatbelt status is also monitored by the airbag control unit (at least by most of them). When unplugging the sensor the airbag control unit gets an inappropriate reading too

Obviously not on a 2004 Superb.

I have A6 front seats fitted to the front of my Superb (i need a proper adjustable lumbar support) the seats i have fitted do not have the seatbelt sensor on them, yet when i ran a full VAG-COM check (about 3 months after the seats had been changed) there were no faults on the car whatsoever.

The 'sensor' in the buckle is just an on/off switch, when the seatbelt is connected the contact is broken, just like mine is now.

Disconnected switches or similar removed ones will not result in a fault code - nothing wrong with that. See the airbag control module measuring blocks...

...I did not say that the switch is an essential component in your specific case, but depending on the market the car is build for and used in the use of the signal does vary. For example US models would usually flag a fault code with a faulty belt lock/buckle while "rest of world" models do not seem to care that much. Based on that inconsistency and the lack of proper/detailed information I stand with the point of "don't play with what you do not know".

However, I'm kinda sorry for raising this whole discussion and getting quite off-topic here.

The seatbelt warning was switched off in my car when I got it, but the chime was still there.

I can't speak for other cars, but in the Mk1 octavia it's just a simple switch. Disconnecting the plug just makes the car think that the seatbelt is buckled up all the time - so it will have no adverse affects on the airbags.

So back to your original question - you'd like it switched off.

Have you looked in the VAG-COM register to find somone near you?

I PM'd the closest person to me but have not had a reply yet, it seems a bit OTT to hook it up to VC just to alter one code so I might just unplug the buckle for now (esp considering reports that VC doesn't stop the chime which is the annoying part) and it seems a bit silly dropping it into Jabber (who are about 10 miles away from me) until I have other work that needs to be done.

I might grab a proper VC cable next time I am over in the US, my Sister lives in the next state (61.4 miles away according to google)

Thanks again guys

well I have exactly the opposite problem. Someday ago I mounted my original seats and beneath them there are two connectors. One of them is yellow - for airbags, and one of them was green I think - maybe for the seatbelt indicator light. So I have only the yellow female connector connected, the other one is missing so my seatbelt lamp is going off after the test. Can someone tell me where the cables are going to make new ones if I can't find the original. It's a pity that I have the carpet and all mounted :P

The Fabia doesnt have a seat belt warning.

The seat belt warning is a requirement for the NCAP5 crash rating of the newer cars. Being as your insurance is based on a car that has a NCAP5 rating you would need to inform them that you have modified it.

i turned off the seat belt chime/light on my octy 2 last year with vag com, so what effects will that have on my car in an accident?

Nothing as far as I know. The airbags use the occupant sensor in the seat for airbag activation as far as I know.

The Fabia doesnt have a seat belt warning.

The seat belt warning is a requirement for the NCAP5 crash rating of the newer cars. Being as your insurance is based on a car that has a NCAP5 rating you would need to inform them that you have modified it.

Well, why then when I turn ignition on, seatbelt warning lamp test itself (comes on and then goes off) and beneath the drivers seat there is a connector which I'm almost sure is for seatbelt? On Monday when I go to work I'll check where his cables go.