I installed a volume control for my backup beeper! Now I can be safe when I want, and quiet when I want! - DIY instructions & photos

[mkhuffman]

It’s about $25 in Hawaii. It’s strictly a safety inspection. Horn, headlights and high beams, turn signals, wipers, backup lights and for ev’s the low speed noise depending upon year built. It’s all on a checklist. They also record your mileage as we’re in the process of moving to a mileage and weight based registration fee system. That system will result in a fee decrease for most everyone, including EVs. I was involved in testing it for a year or so in my Tacoma.

Interesting. It is surprising they will accept less revenue with the new system. I think it is more likely they will find a way to increase revenue, rather than decrease it. But less fees would certainly be nice, if it works out that way.

Edit: if VA starts testing for the sound, I will just make sure the volume is turned up before dropping the car off. That's the great thing about the volume control. I can easily adjust it as needed depending on the situation.

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[Kamuelaflyer]

Interesting. It is surprising they will accept less revenue with the new system. I think it is more likely they will find a way to increase revenue, rather than decrease it. But less fees would certainly be nice, if it works out that way.

Edit: if VA starts testing for the sound, I will just make sure the volume is turned up before dropping the car off. That's the great thing about the volume control. I can easily adjust it as needed depending on the situation.

Going to a weight and mileage base registration system actually raises total revenue under the rules set up. What it does is shift the higher fees to vehicles that are heavy and drive a lot — tractor trailer rigs and heavier trucks/vans. It also entails eliminating the state gas tax. There’s still a ton of work to be done on it before it happens, and nothing changing is the default state here anyway.

 

[Chainspell]

So, I purchased the standard bypass kit just earlier today. Thinking I may want to cancel.
But I have a lease. Aaaand I'm not so sure if it's ok to do either of these things. But. I drive a lot at night and don't want to bother people when I pick up riders in apartment complexes and such. Or when I come home or need to back up at ungodly hours. It's just SO loud.

Anyways, thanks for the link to the fob dealy. I did not see that one previously.

You don't need to worry about the lease. All you do to install it is unplug the speaker and plug in the bypass. If you want to remove it later, it's just a matter of plugging the speaker back in. It's a simple clip, nothing permanent.

Edit: but if you install the one with remote there's also a power tap you install at the battery. Again, it's all easily removable.

 

[errrik]

You don't need to worry about the lease. All you do to install it is unplug the speaker and plug in the bypass. If you want to remove it later, it's just a matter of plugging the speaker back in. It's a simple clip, nothing permanent.

Edit: but if you install the one with remote there's also a power tap you install at the battery. Again, it's all easily removable.

My question is more about the legality of it.
Is it OK to modify a lease? And to what extent?
And if I intend to purchase it at the end of the lease; does it matter what I do to it?

 

[mkhuffman]

Going to a weight and mileage base registration system actually raises total revenue under the rules set up. What it does is shift the higher fees to vehicles that are heavy and drive a lot — tractor trailer rigs and heavier trucks/vans. It also entails eliminating the state gas tax. There’s still a ton of work to be done on it before it happens, and nothing changing is the default state here anyway.

I think it may be more fair than a general fee, but if there are people doing a lot of driving on roads that are not maintained by the government, it would definitely be unfair to them.

 

[Arsenic17]

Disabled the pedestrian alert sounds and backup beeping in both my machEs. Never looked back

 

[JustBob]

I was considering disabling these sounds. Also wondered if instead of a volume knob, if I could add a switch to turn it back on when wanted (probably never).

 

[mkhuffman]

I was considering disabling these sounds. Also wondered if instead of a volume knob, if I could add a switch to turn it back on when wanted (probably never).

Yep. Instead of a pot, put a switch in the circuit. Easy. I thought about doing that, but he level of effort to add a volume control is probably less (at least the way I would do it) than adding a switch. And the volume control is more flexible.

But you can definitely do a switch instead. The switch needs to substitute a resistor for the speaker, so the car doesn't think there is a problem. So, switch + resistor = coolness. If you want help figuring out how to do it, DM me. (The pot is the resistor, so that is why I thought it was easier.)

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I think it may be more fair than a general fee, but if there are people doing a lot of driving on roads that are not maintained by the government, it would definitely be unfair to them.

Yeah to a degree at least anyway. We live in an HOA with 13 miles of private roads. I still drive on the state and county roads (There are no city level governments in Hawaii). I should pay for those since I use them. The pilot project I was in had me using a gps tracker and it knew when i was on private roads, I can’t see that being done for a live program though.

 

[garyd9]

But you can definitely do a switch instead. The switch needs to substitute a resistor for the speaker, so the car doesn't think there is a problem.

Any idea what size resistor would be needed?

 

[Space_Pony]

Going to a weight and mileage base registration system actually raises total revenue under the rules set up. What it does is shift the higher fees to vehicles that are heavy and drive a lot — tractor trailer rigs and heavier trucks/vans. It also entails eliminating the state gas tax. There’s still a ton of work to be done on it before it happens, and nothing changing is the default state here anyway.

I would think that large companies with semi trucks would figure out a way to register their trucks in a lower cost state. So a state that increases the registration could actually lose money.
I've noticed that some of the businesses around here have their trucks registered in another state apparently to save money.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I would think that large companies with semi trucks would figure out a way to register their trucks in a lower cost state. So a state that increases the registration could actually lose money.
I've noticed that some of the businesses around here have their trucks registered in another state apparently to save money.

Yes, a lot of people register their vehicles in Montana after creating an LLC there. U-Hauls are famous for that.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I would think that large companies with semi trucks would figure out a way to register their trucks in a lower cost state. So a state that increases the registration could actually lose money.
I've noticed that some of the businesses around here have their trucks registered in another state apparently to save money.

I live in Hawaii. We have the world’s largest moat. There’s no driving across borders here.

All vehicles in the state have 30 days to register after arrival. The state knows exactly when the vehicles arrive as the two shipping companies inform the state of the VIN and other info upon arrival. The police do enforce it too, although you can get away without registering for a few months before you’re noticed by Hawaii County's finest. The only exception was the first year of the pandemic. We drove our 2020 Raptor around with its native Oregon plates for a bit over a year before we were allowed to register it.

I liked the mileage/weight based proposal back when I tested it. I wish the state legislature would get off its arse and move forward with it.

 

[mkhuffman]

Any idea what size resistor would be needed?

It needs to be low resistance (to simulate the speaker and make the car think the speaker is connected) and high power. A 4-8 Ohm resister should work, and it should be rated for 10 Watts.

Mark Boris measured the resistance of the speaker, and it is 4.8 Ohms, so a 4.7 Ohm resister would be perfect. Many have used a 5 Watt resister instead of 10, so that is probably fine.

There is a company that makes a "beeper deleter" designed for the MME. It costs a lot more than a resistor, but it makes the process super simple. Unplug the speaker, plug in the beeper deleter.
Ford External Speaker Bypass Kit | MegaOhm Motorsports LLC (bigcartel.com)

I found some links to help you find examples of what people have done.
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/disable-backup-beeping.4684/post-571259
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/disable-backup-beeping.4684/post-300453
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/disable-backup-beeping.4684/post-159829
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/disable-backup-beeping.4684/post-144374
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/disable-backup-beeping.4684/post-147364

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