HOW TO: Make the VSP (noisemaker) button default to off

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GeekEV

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
1,825
Location
NorCal, USA
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH A SUMMARY OF ALL THE HARD WORK DISCUSSED IN THIS THREAD. THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO READ TO KNOW HOW TO DO THIS MOD. TURBO AND NATER DID THE BULK OF THE WORK, I JUST PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER AND DID THIS WRITEUP.

PLEASE NOTE THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER DISCUSSIONS SUGGESTING THAT THE 2012 LEAF NO LONGER HAS THIS BUTTON: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6596" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; HOWEVER, ONE PERSON WITH A 2012 HAS PERFORMED INGINEER'S METHOD OF THIS HACK SUCCESSFULLY SUGGESTING THAT THE VSP MODULE IS UNCHANGED AND EITHER METHOD WOULD WORK.

SO HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT... PLEASE NOTE THAT IS RECOMMENDED YOU DISCONNECT THE 12V BATTERY NEGATIVE TERMINAL UNTIL YOU GET TO STEP 6 IN ORDER TO AVOID ACCIDENTALLY SHORTING WIRES. AFTER STEP 6 DISCONNECT IT AGAIN WHILE YOU FINISH UP.

Step 1:
Get yourself a PAC TR-7 Universal Trigger Module and some Wire Tap-In Squeeze Connectors, a plastic pry tool, a phillips screw driver, a pair of pliers and some electrical tape. The wire leads on the TR-7 are pre-stripped, all you have to do is pull the cut ends off - but don't bother, the tap-in connectors don't need them stripped.

Step 2:
Gain access to the VSP module by following the disassembly instructions turbo provided in this post: viewtopic.php?p=78791#p78791

When you're all done hooking everything up, just follow his steps in reverse. Note that getting the side panel back in was a bit of a pain in the a** so be careful. Slide the back part in first, then squeeze your hand in there and push the tabs into their corresponding slots. Once you do that, gently push the various clips into their holes (the bottom one may give you some trouble). After everything's lined up, just bang the side with your palm to snap it back in.

Step 3:
Carefully slice open the black plastic wrap covering the wires leading to the VSP connector and peel it back out of the way so you have unfettered access to the wires.

Step 4:
As you look at the back of the VSP module connector, with the clip facing up, the pins are numbered as follows (with an empty pin in the lower right):
Code:
8 | 7| 6| 5| 4| 3| 2| 1
16|15|14|13|12|11|10| X
You will be using pin 1 (black wire), pin 5 (green wire), pin 11 (darker gray wire with red stripes or possibly gray with no stripes) and pin 13 (blue wire). Wire colors may potentially vary between different models, etc. Find them and separate the bundle of wires so you can easily identify them. You should have always on 12v dc power between pins 1 & 13, and ignition on 12v dc power between pins 1 & 11. If you do not, abort the mission and post back here to let us know.

Step 5:
Using the tap-in connectors (follow the instructions on the package if you're not familiar with how to use them), splice the TR-7 black wire to the VSP black wire (pin 1) and the TR-7 red wire to the VSP blue wire (pin 13). Gently pull back a bit of the insulation on the TR-7 brown wire to expose a bit of the wire.

Step 6:
Take a read through the TR-7 Instructions Manual. Pay particular attention to page 3's programming instructions. It looks intimidating, but it's not that bad. You want to program mode 9 (doorlock pulse generator), option 2 (no unlock). Now that the first two TR-7 wires are hooked up, it has power and is ready to program. Flip the programming switch on the side to ON. Tap the exposed brown wire to a piece of the bare metal in the glovebox compartment NINE times (be sure not to bounce or it will count too many taps). The light on the TR-7 will flash with each tap. After you have nine taps, stop and wait three seconds. The TR-7 will echo back 9 flashes to confirm it got it right. If it doesn't flash 9 times, turn the programming switch off, wait a few seconds and do this step again. If it does flash 9 times, immediately tap the brown wire two more times to set option 2. As with the round, the TR-7 will flash as you tap. Wait three seconds and it will echo back your two taps followed by a series of rapid flashes to confirm programming is complete. If everything went right, turn the programming switch back off and move on. If it didn't, turn the programming switch off, wait a few seconds and do this step again until you get it right.

Step 7:
Again, using the tap-in connectors, splice in the TR-7 white wire to the VSP green wire (pin 5) and the TR-7 green wire to the VSP darker grey wire with the red stripes (pin 11). Tape up the remaining unused TR-7 wires to prevent accidental contact with other wires/metal.

Step 8:
Power on your LEAF. By the time the startup sequence finishes, the VSP switch's OFF light should illuminate. If it doesn't, go back and figure out where you went wrong. Because this hack actually simulates a button press, you can still push the button again to turn the VSP back ON for those occasions when you do actually want it.

Step 9:
Pull the protective black wrap you peeled back into place and tape it all up. Screw the VSP module back into place and tuck the TR-7 into the little loop created by the wiring in between the wiring and the bracket. Put your glovebox back together.

Step 10:
Pour yourself a beer and celebrate your success! If you're good, you can probably do this in 30 minutes. If not, it'll be more like 45 to an hour.

NOTE: I disconnected the wiring harness while doing this, although it isn't necessary. I had previously changed the vehicle startup chime to OFF, but it was back on after doing this (probably because of the disconnect). I tried turning it back OFF, but it wouldn't take until I changed it to some other sound, then back to OFF. If this happens to you, just toggle the song to something else, power the car off/on, then set it back to where you want it.

Good luck!

My orignal post and the original discussion follows below:
GeekEV said:
I've seen it talked about in various threads, but I have yet to see a dedicated thread on the subject of disabling the Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians (VSP, aka "the noisemaker"). I was wondering if this was a simple single-pole switch that could be shorted out, so I popped the panel off to take a closer look. Unfortunately, it's not that simple, there's about 5 wires running into that switch. I tried to disconnect the cable, to see what that would do, but I couldn't get the panel completely off so space was too constrained and the cable was in there too tight for me to get it out. I also thought that maybe wedging the switch in the pressed position would do the trick, but no dice...

Can someone out there with the service manual look up this switch and see if the wiring is identified and where it connects to? Come on guys, let's figure this out!
 
That switch just sends a signal to the BCM to turn the signal to the speaker off when pressed. There is no feedback from the speaker to the BCM so unplugging it will not cause a code to show... it is located in front of the left front tire. You can access that area from either under the car by removing the front section of the under tray or by removing part of the fender liner in the left front. The underneath access I found easier as it is bolts and not plastic pop clips like the fender liner area. Just unplug it, wrap the connection points to keep them clean over time (I used self vulcanizing tape), and zip tie the connector back to the cable to keep it from rattling around.

Similar applies to the start-up sound speaker that is under the dash at the bottom on the driver's side... it unplugs without generating a code. I know you can turn it off in the cluster menu but my car was resetting that for a while so I just unplugged it for now.
 
The switch itself is not on the CAN bus. It's a discrete switch and LED that goes to the VSP control unit.

This means it would be stupid easy to create a circuit to disable this. Hmm, weekend project?

I find it annoying as well.
 
turbo2ltr said:
The switch itself is not on the CAN bus. It's a discrete switch and LED that goes to the VSP control unit.

This means it would be stupid easy to create a circuit to disable this. Hmm, weekend project?

I find it annoying as well.

That's what I was thinking. Find the pinouts, then create a circuit that says "when I see 12V on pin 1, wait 1 second then short pins 2 and 3" or whatever would simulate the pushing of the button. But then again, I'm not an engineer or a programmer. :( But i probably WOULD pay a few bucks for either A) a pre-made circuit that I could install myself or B) the plans so I could build it myself. :cool:
 
I wish I knew where to get the connectors so you don't have to hack the harness.

BTW, the VSP module is near the glove box, I might try to access it there.

I think I can do it with two resistors, a cap and a transistor.
 
That would be awesome. I can do simple electrical work, but if we have to do a delay that's beyond me. As for the harness, in the past I've found these handy for working with those little wires:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103506
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062793
 
Nice!!! How'd you do it? Is it easily defeatable (say by pushing the button again) for those cases where you DO want the noise?

Share! :lol:
 
Ok, just finished putting everything back.


I cheated a little. My analog design skills are less that stellar. It was much easier for me to write a program for a cheap PIC microcontroller and connect that than to figure out RC time constants.

IMG_7247.JPG


The thing uses 3 parts. The PIC micro, a cap, and a 5v regulator. Total of parts is probably about $5.

All it does is send out a pulse to the switch wire 2 seconds after power is applied, then it basically goes to sleep. You can hit the button again to toggle it on and off with no problems. If you turned the VPS off within 2 seconds of starting the car, it would actually turn the VPS back on since all it's doing is simulating a button press.

Unfortunately, this design isn't so easy for other people since you need to program the PIC.

I connected to the wires at the VPS Control module behind the glove box.

IMG_7250.JPG


I got everything apart without breaking any clips. heh. Helps when you have the service manual showing you where everything is.

I don't know what the interest is here for selling a kit or a completed board. The install is not exactly plug-n-play. Had to tap into the harness.
 
I've tapped the harness before with some Prius mods. It's not that hard with those telephone clips I linked to. I'm willing to give it a go. How hard is it for you to make the board? Or, perhaps just sell an already programmed PIC and post schematics?

I'll take one if you offer it for, say, $25...
 
It's coming! It's taking a bit longer because I'm adding a couple anti-annoyance functions to it that I think everyone will find useful. But it requires slightly more hardware.
 
Thanks for the schematics. Can you post a pic of where this VPS module connector is for those of us that don't have the service manual? And would you be willing to sell pre-programmed PICs? Or post the binary so we can burn our own (or find someone to do it), if you don't want to?

Thanks for figuring this out!
 
And would you be willing to sell pre-programmed PICs? Or post the binary so we can burn our own

Yes I can do both.

I'll post the firmware when I'm back in the office.


I already completed the board layout. That had to be the easiest board I ever made. I haven't gotten a quote on making them yet...
 
GeekEV said:
Can you post a pic of where this VPS module connector is

You have to remove the glove box.
1: remove the bottom panel way under the glove box (near your toes). It has a few clips, but just pops off with some pressure straight down.

IMG_7239.JPG


2: release the damper that is connected on the left side (inside) of the glove box door. There was a warning not to pull on this damper too much.
3: remove the door of the glove box by opening it and pulling straight out to disengage the bottom hinge. It requires a bit of force. Once the hinge is disconnected, you can "unhook" the hooks that keep the door from opening too much.

IMG_7241.JPG


4: remove the panel on the right side of the dash...the part that is hidden when you close the door. You'll need a flat tool to pop it out.
6: remove the 10 screws that hold the glove box in (4 on top, 4 on the bottom, and 2 inside)
7: pull straight back on the glove box and it will come out
8: disconnect the glove box light connector
9: VPS module is located near the center above the glove box opening. There is one screw that holds the bracket that has the module attached.

vps_location.jpg


IMG_7250.JPG



I pushed back the plastic to expose the wires, once I was done, I put the plastic back over the connections.

IMG_7249.JPG
 
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