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Welcome to the 51st straight Tip of the Week. This week we will look at real solutions for a nagging problem for some of us older enthusiasts. Ever since the mid 1960's we have had self canceling blinkers, so when you get in to drive your beloved old Chevy truck, it means you have to shift gears a bit mentally and remember to put the blinker arm back in neutral after every turn. When you get older, the "clicking sound" of the flasher is not loud enough to remind you to do it, and with our vintage vehicles, there is no blinker lights to tell us it is on. So before we get started on a few real solutions for this dilemma, let me first entertain you with some of the idiotic responses, stuff I have to continually survive, things that you shake your head at the stupidity, yet something in the back of your head tells you to ignore the idiots and keep pushing through.
Response #1 and My Fav: If you can't remember to turn your manal blinkers off yourself you probably are not aware of your surroundings well enough to be on the road general.
Also I didn't know you needed working blinkers let alone self canceling ones to drive in a parade?
There are many others but when I think about it, why waste YOUR time. Time you can never get back. Time you could be spending on helping with a real solution. So anyway, here is my Solution Criteria for this project:
No modifications to your add-on or original blinker system, no unsightly mechanical devices to take even more paint off your steering column. Everything will be electronic and relatively easy to tap into your existing wiring. There are a few solutions already out there but for motorcycles and using momentary switches. We will be using our vintage addon or stock blinker switches for this. The question is how are we going to do that? This is where we beg for help from our Electronics Engineer friends.
In discussing this on several forums, another idea was also floated. I wanted to put that idea here as well. My friend Bill from Classic Parts Talk came up with the idea of adding a Piezo Buzzer that sounds off whenever the blinker is turned on. Although annoying for the other occupants of the vehicle, if it works the way you want it, why not?
Bill's solution works with any 7 wire switch like the SignalStat 900 from Truck-Lite using a standard flasher. The Piezo Buzzer he used was like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2818754...&ul_noapp=true and here are the exact instructions:
Turn off the Ignition, remove the flasher, turn ON the Ignition. Using a voltmeter, find the wire with 12 volts on it. Mark that one as "A". Turn off the Ignition. If you have a 2 terminal flasher mark the other wire in the socket as "B" and skip to Step C. Install the flasher. Turn on the Ignition. The turn signal switch must be in the OFF position. Using the voltmeter or test light, find which of the two remaining terminals of the 3 position flasher have 12 volts on it. Mark that wire as B. Turn off the ignition. Remove the flasher.
Step C: Connect the red wire of the Piezo Buzzer to wire "A". Connect the Black wire of the Piezo Buzzer to wire "B". Install the flasher. That should do it. Bill goes on to say that the Piezo Buzzer was too loud for him, so suggested we put the Piezo in a zip-lock bag with paper towels to dampen the sound, then zip tie the bag under the dash. Very nice idea Bill! I find Classic Parts Talk a great resource with very kind people.
Okay, so that is the Piezo Buzzer idea. It is a sound solution, but not everyones cup of tea since maybe you do not want to annoy the other occupants. So that means we are not done yet! Here are a few modules that are CLOSE to what we need, but the problem is, they require momentary switches. We do not HAVE momentary switches, so we will try electronically to adapt something like this to our project...
http://www.signaldynamics.com/self-c...signal-module/ <-- this one works on a timed basis. After a user-preset amount of time, the blinker will shut off. This is problematic for us because what if you are stuck in traffic at a turn? Or what if you are needing your blinker to stay on longer for any reason?
http://www.gasautosolutions.com/ <-- this one works on a centrifugal force basis and seems more likely to get the job done for us. I am talking via email with Gary and he is retired and spends a lot of time traveling so I do not get responses as fast as I would like, but this idea may be the winner as the main component of our project. Gary seems really interested in helping resolve this dilemma. We need to spend some time with our electronic side to make this happen. And so far folks, that is where this project is at! But make NO mistake, we WILL resolve this to YOUR satisfaction. Seeya Next Week!
Response #1 and My Fav: If you can't remember to turn your manal blinkers off yourself you probably are not aware of your surroundings well enough to be on the road general.
Also I didn't know you needed working blinkers let alone self canceling ones to drive in a parade? There are many others but when I think about it, why waste YOUR time. Time you can never get back. Time you could be spending on helping with a real solution. So anyway, here is my Solution Criteria for this project:
No modifications to your add-on or original blinker system, no unsightly mechanical devices to take even more paint off your steering column. Everything will be electronic and relatively easy to tap into your existing wiring. There are a few solutions already out there but for motorcycles and using momentary switches. We will be using our vintage addon or stock blinker switches for this. The question is how are we going to do that? This is where we beg for help from our Electronics Engineer friends.
In discussing this on several forums, another idea was also floated. I wanted to put that idea here as well. My friend Bill from Classic Parts Talk came up with the idea of adding a Piezo Buzzer that sounds off whenever the blinker is turned on. Although annoying for the other occupants of the vehicle, if it works the way you want it, why not?
Bill's solution works with any 7 wire switch like the SignalStat 900 from Truck-Lite using a standard flasher. The Piezo Buzzer he used was like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2818754...&ul_noapp=true and here are the exact instructions:
Turn off the Ignition, remove the flasher, turn ON the Ignition. Using a voltmeter, find the wire with 12 volts on it. Mark that one as "A". Turn off the Ignition. If you have a 2 terminal flasher mark the other wire in the socket as "B" and skip to Step C. Install the flasher. Turn on the Ignition. The turn signal switch must be in the OFF position. Using the voltmeter or test light, find which of the two remaining terminals of the 3 position flasher have 12 volts on it. Mark that wire as B. Turn off the ignition. Remove the flasher.
Step C: Connect the red wire of the Piezo Buzzer to wire "A". Connect the Black wire of the Piezo Buzzer to wire "B". Install the flasher. That should do it. Bill goes on to say that the Piezo Buzzer was too loud for him, so suggested we put the Piezo in a zip-lock bag with paper towels to dampen the sound, then zip tie the bag under the dash. Very nice idea Bill! I find Classic Parts Talk a great resource with very kind people.
Okay, so that is the Piezo Buzzer idea. It is a sound solution, but not everyones cup of tea since maybe you do not want to annoy the other occupants. So that means we are not done yet! Here are a few modules that are CLOSE to what we need, but the problem is, they require momentary switches. We do not HAVE momentary switches, so we will try electronically to adapt something like this to our project...
http://www.signaldynamics.com/self-c...signal-module/ <-- this one works on a timed basis. After a user-preset amount of time, the blinker will shut off. This is problematic for us because what if you are stuck in traffic at a turn? Or what if you are needing your blinker to stay on longer for any reason?
http://www.gasautosolutions.com/ <-- this one works on a centrifugal force basis and seems more likely to get the job done for us. I am talking via email with Gary and he is retired and spends a lot of time traveling so I do not get responses as fast as I would like, but this idea may be the winner as the main component of our project. Gary seems really interested in helping resolve this dilemma. We need to spend some time with our electronic side to make this happen. And so far folks, that is where this project is at! But make NO mistake, we WILL resolve this to YOUR satisfaction. Seeya Next Week!