How do you fix the door chime in a 95 or 99 Nissan Altima?

Answer 1

I can speak regarding the 95' model, I expect the 99' to be similar:

First, the chime is a "box" under the dash near where the driver's right hand would be, but that is not your problem. The chime activates when the "open door" switch engages. You may think that the switch is okay because your dome light comes on when you open your door, but a-ha! You have been fooled like me. There are three wires that go to the driver's side Open Door switch and when the door is open, the three wires connect to ground, completing the circuit. The stainless steel screw that holds the switch in is part of the circuit to ground.

To repair:

1. go buy a new switch at the dealer, or

2. remove and repair your switch (it is real easy):

Remove the screw that holds the switch on and remove the wire connector, there will be a "catch" which will need to be pried up to remove the connector. Once disconnected, pull the connector out a little so it hangs outside of the car body.

Inspect the switch, it was assembled by pushing to major parts together and two little hook thingies (catches) hooked in to two square holes to hold it together. To preserve the orientation of the parts for reassembly, put a little scratch mark on the plunger and switch body. Get a little screw driver and pry the plastic to free the hooks and it will come apart. Don't do this over the lawn or you will loose some parts. You will see that the plunger has an electrical copper "wiper" on it and the switch body has some brass or copper strips. The wiper runs up and down these strips. There will be some blue corrosion on the strips, you can scrape them with a knife. Scrape the wipers were they contact the strips, if needed also. When everything is all clean, reassemble. I put dielectric grease on all of the copper or brass prior to reassembly. If you don't have any, buy a tube. You should always have some, it prevents corrosion. I might use Chap Stick or Vaseline in a pinch. The plunger only goes in two ways, I think either way will work. Reassemble the switch. Put the rubber boot on, put a little silicone grease on the screw, hook up the electrical connector and screw the switch back into to car. If your rubber boot is broken, steal one from one of the other doors that you don't use very often, it is easy to switch.

If you want to verify the solution before you fix the switch, try this:

connect each wire in the electrical connector to ground. One will make the dome light go on, another will make the "head lights on" chime sound-off (you have to turn the head lights on first!), and the other should sound when the keys are left in the ignition.

Of course, you must make a good ground connection while testing. Paint is not an electrical connection, put the screw back in it's hole, you can use that to connect to ground.

Cheers

"every eye shall see Him..."