How to disconnect backup alarm?

[rScotty]

Machine is a JD310SG.
thanks, rScotty

 

[lumberjack1986]

Find the speaker/emitter, unplug it/cut the wire.

 

[timster2]

Insulating foam, the stuff in a spray can, can be used to deaden the sound and you can adjust the volume to your needs without killing it completely.

 

[rScotty]

The plan is to put in a switch; there are times it would be useful.
Probably use the foam too. Good idea there. No reason in the world that any horn needs to be that loud.
I find it hard to pay attention to safety while the horn is blasting in my ear.

I'm sure I can find the horn, just thought someone knew where it was on a JD310. It's a cold and blustery day outside. Might snow later. Not the best weather for laying under a tractor.
rScotty

 

[RDrancher]

When you find it, a couple of layers of duct tape works pretty good.

 

[buickanddeere]

If anything ever goes wrong in any way. You can be liable in a lawsuit. Even if the backup alarm was not directly involved. Disabling the backup alarm displays a wanton disregard for safety in general.

 

[timster2]

If anything ever goes wrong in any way. You can be liable in a lawsuit. Even if the backup alarm was not directly involved. Disabling the backup alarm displays a wanton disregard for safety in general.

You can adjust the volume level such that the alarm is 5db over ambient level. Automatic alarms are available that do that for you or you can get a manually adjustable alarm, hence the suggestion of the foam to adjust the volume. Effective Noise Control During Nighttime Construction - FHWA Work Zone

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Is you BH being used on your property or off site? On your own property unless you are a farmer/employer you can get by with murder till an incident happens and insurance is involved. If used in construction you would not be allowed on my construction site. The OSHA rules require the horn at the decibels stated (would have to look that up). Noisy, yes. Modifications to alarm systems carry a big fine when discovered as that is considered a willful act and blatant disregard for safety. Plus the liability issue if the equipment is involved in an incident. Your insurance company will be harder on you than the State.

Ron

 

[rScotty]

Is you BH being used on your property or off site? On your own property unless you are a farmer/employer you can get by with murder till an incident happens and insurance is involved. If used in construction you would not be allowed on my construction site. The OSHA rules require the horn at the decibels stated (would have to look that up). Noisy, yes. Modifications to alarm systems carry a big fine when discovered as that is considered a willful act and blatant disregard for safety. Plus the liability issue if the equipment is involved in an incident. Your insurance company will be harder on you than the State.
Ron

Mostly my own property but not always so. Yes, it is safety that I am most concerned with. That's the aim of the OSHA regs too; but I can't help but wonder if they automatically get everything right the first time. In fact, as I look at their rules it's hard for me to tell if I'm looking at the results of some sort of study or just somebody's opinion.

I'm a naturally careful operator with 50 years experience. And I know from experience that it is easier for me to stay focused on safety when there isn't the distraction of a horn blaring in my ear. That blaring puts me in a rush - with the result that I tend to gun it in reverse so I can shift back into fwd to be rid of the noise.
Frankly I know that for myself there are times when I'm more concerned with getting rid of the distracting noise than in taking extra time to look out as good as I should. That worries me, and I can't help but think that rushing around like that is when an accident can happen.

But, shucks. Maybe I'm either wrong, or in a tiny minority, or just waving at ghosts - because nobody ever seems to ever dislike the backup alarm. Or at least they don't talk about it. So maybe I'm the only operator who feels that way.

As far as lawsuits, liability, and job sites go - well those things scare me as much as the next person Hopefully that's balanced by living a good life. But it also doesn't feel right to let fear of what someone else might do rule too much of my life either. It's a tricky balance between responsibility & consequences; that's for sure.
just sayin, rScotty

 

[yankeerider]

My CAT mini-ex has a factory-equipped switch to kill the alarm, and I generally press it before moving to prevent the noise. Of course, regs may be different for a slow crawler vs. a wheel machine.

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[timster2]

IIRC there was a study about backup alarms that seemed to indicate because the sound was similar or the same from most alarms that after a while workers tended to ignore them on the work site, seems they faded into the background noise. There was an ongoing study to use different frequency sounds to get someones attention rather than the familiar beep beep. In crowded work sites with many vehicles working at the same time it becomes harder and harder to determine where the sound of a backup alarm is coming from. Manufacturers are now producing multi-frequency alarms that are easier to differentiate from background noise and give a better indication of the direction of the vehicle that is backing up.

Here is an example of a automatically varying volume alarm that senses ambient noise level and adjusts itself. Vehicle Safety Light| LED Lights - Peterson Manufacturing Company And multi frequency alarms ECCO | Warning Lights

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Scotty and Tim, I agree up to a point. Meanwhile I have to enforce the rules as they are, even though they may not be based on facts but ideas. Maybe, just maybe, the bureaucrats that write the rules will realize that the better approach with some of our new technology is to make the alarms a proximity type that only act when someone is near the danger point. Maybe even louder as it closes the distance. Again that is my idea not based on facts or research. I am against the "Safety ****" approach but I am conscious of keeping my employees safe and send them home at night all in one piece.

Ron

 

[Ken45101]

Yeah, OSHA requires that noise level....but what about hearing damage? Oh yeah, wear earplugs to protect your ears :duh:

 

[rScotty]

OK, I fixed it. The horn turns out to be a square plastic trumpet type mounted under the BH swing pivot. Easy to look at and even to touch, but near impossible to unbolt....and the consequences of cutting a wire didn't seem worth risking.
So I took the simple approach and stuffed an old sock in it and held it in with a strip of Gorilla tape across the open end.
Bingo! Problem solved! Total time about 2 minutes and cost near nothing. Probably take less than a minute to reverse it. I thought the sock might muffle or reduce the sound, but to my surprise it completely silenced that annoying and - IMHO - attention-robbing beep.
rScotty

 

[Threepoint]

OK, I fixed it. The horn turns out to be a square plastic trumpet type mounted under the BH swing pivot. Easy to look at and even to touch, but near impossible to unbolt....and the consequences of cutting a wire didn't seem worth risking.
So I took the simple approach and stuffed an old sock in it and held it in with a strip of Gorilla tape across the open end.
Bingo! Problem solved! Total time about 2 minutes and cost near nothing. Probably take less than a minute to reverse it. I thought the sock might muffle or reduce the sound, but to my surprise it completely silenced that annoying and - IMHO - attention-robbing beep.
rScotty

Maybe add some plastic wrap over the trumpet and sock to keep water out?

 

[Gary Fowler]

Backup alarms aren't required on equipment used on your own property. OSHA rules only come into play on a construction project where licensed contractors operate. If you work your tractor commercially, then OSHA rules apply to operation.

None of my tractors have back up alarms, but my brother in law had one installed on his tractor when he bought it, mostly I think to try to scare the cows away when he is backing up but they are too stupid to move in most instances especially if he has a bale of hay on the hay spear.