I'm sure there are others with a similar Saturn to my 1994 S series. I love that there are so many lights in the rear, more than most cars I've seen. LEDs don't count

The front turn signals are so hard to see, I was thinking how can I be more visible? Today I wrote down a simple circuit I spent a tiny bit of time thinking of. It will turn the front side markers to function as turn signals, regardless if the lights are on or not. So at night they will stay steady on to be seen with all the other lights, but when I put the turn signals on it will blink with the other signals at the same time.

I am looking for input on if that would be a good or bad idea to do in California. It will function as both a side marker at night and a turn signal at night or day for an extra layer of safety.

Yes It is a crazy idea, but I find that to be a fun idea because there is nothing to go off of except what I wrote down.

 

I don't think it's a crazy idea, man. I think it's brilliant. Love it. I don't know anything about California law, but would suggest you contact either the dept of transportation on your local highway patrol office and ask them about the legality. I don't see how they'd be any different than your rear turn signals, technically, but every state has some very strange laws about all kinds of stuff. If you do this, I'd love to see a video of how they operate, after dark, of course!

 

I have schematics for the lighting system if you'd like them. No sense in reinventing the wheel.

Then you can focus on improving the wheel.

You're not changing
---overall lens+bulb light output color
---placement of lights
---any safety features that were designed into the car (like disabling DRLs)
---the root function of the lamps under normal driving
so personally I don't see how it could be a problem unless you retrofitted super bright bulbs

Also, I don't think anyone who hasn't owned a 1st gen S car would even realize the mod was done, except for the improvement in visibility to other drivers.

Keep us informed please

 

I agree, it is a good idea.
People do it with the Ion coupes because of the same issue, cant see em!

 

Since I was a young child I have been learning about electrical and so in to it. I love it! The only side affect I see in this project is decreased bulb life. Its just the standard tiny bulb that's not really ment to blink on and off.

There are so many ways to do it, the bare minimum of parts would be 3 parts I need for any number of bulbs. I know there are things out there, but why pay for the work to be done and lose out on the joy of a complete project from scratch?

If I buy the parts already made I'm paying way more. This way I spend only a little and do all the labor.


I have some other, unusual I can say, plans. Someone else drives my car and needs to learn stuff still. So, I will be installing a loud buzzer, 2 actually. One will be wired to the seatbelt so when the car is in the run position it will buzz like crazy until the seatbelt is used. Then the other will be attached to the parking brake so it will do the same thing. Maybe one will have a non stop beep and the other will have a buzzer.

Those two projects will be done at the same time likely and be super simple, in theory. Everyone knows when it comes to an old neglected vehicle, it's usually never simple. Go in fixing one thing, something attached to the original thing breaks. When you replace the new piece that broke, something else breaks.

That's why I recommend people with an ancient car to always be prepared for the worst. In that way there is no going over budget or the amount of time that was planned.

This should be done with all vehicles, but mainly with the older.

 

I would love the full schematics. That would be a huge help so I do not have to spend time figuring out all that myself. That way I can focus on the project.

 

dwd,

Please make a signature similar to the rest of ours ASAP.

year, model engine trans, mileage for sattys
any other rides you wish to list

click on name in top right corner of screen>>UserCP>>Edit Signature on left side.
Thanks
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all I know is that you have a 94 S car; if I had to guess it is an SL1. because very few DOHC's make it to 300K and this was the year before SAturn started having porous and cracked SOHC heads for a few years IIRC.

The point is no one should have to guess.
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Scanning
$199.95 + $0.01


joking.
________

Holy crap


My Hanes 91 to 93 book is out there, used, for a PENNY + 3.99 shipping.

If you plan to keep this car, it'll be the best 4 bucks you spend on it.

I have used various wiring diagrams up through 97 with no problems. Some of course (headlamps) are just not the same.

Plus the ink is starting to spread on the paper so the wire color designations are getting harder to read.

Let me know if you're gonna buy that one or if I should scan.....

I know it is only a book up to 93 but most things stayed the same (NOT all) through 95 OBD I, 1st gen
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91-02 S series book is also out there


can likely be had for much less on ebay.

This 91-2002 book is more of a summary book that is 1/3 as thick as the 91-93 book, so that gives you an idea of the level of detail provided. The 91-93 has alot of flow tables for diagnosing the OBDI errors.

It groups the electrical schematics into "models through 95 (OBD I), then 96-whatever depending on what it's covering.

PM me and let me know what you want to do.
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For the record, yo're going to build a simple tank circuit with a leading resistor to control the RC time constant, yes?

 

Tank circuit for which? There are three projects I will be doing.

 

side marker turn signal

 

Nope, will not be using that. The way I will be doing it will allow for the markers to flash in full sync with the other turn signals when they are on, yet stay steady on when the signals are off.