Fun ponderings on how to make turn signal noise

Not sure if I'll do this or not, but let's see what ideas we come up with.

In the long and arduous journey of getting my LED upgrade to actually FLASH when I use the turn signals, I ended up getting an all-solid-state type flasher that is silent.  It is kinda neat that it's silent, but probably annoying to other drivers given the number of times I have accidentally left my signals on after merging.

My first thought was to rig up a relay in parallel so that it "ticks" with the signals, but the two relays I tried weren't loud enough.  I thought about using a piezo thing, but most of them are really obnoxious and I think I would want to stab something if I had to listen to a "bzzz, bzzz, bzzz" or "beep beep beep" at every stop light.

Are there piezo clickers?  I'd kinda like to make this unique.  Not just a normal click, but something unique.

Not crazy unique like George Takei's voice saying "oh myyy" or the sigh from the doors in Hitchhiker's Guide, but something less boring than a click.  Let's have fun with this.  I would even entertain the notion of something like modern vehicles have that start chiming if you leave it on for a certain distance.  Problem there is, it's a 94 Fordzda Branger with a cable speedo and no VSS (that I know of).

So, let's have fun and maybe come up with a hair-brained idea.

I vote for a fart machine. 

A long time ago I build a solid-state metronome for a friend of mine.  The circuit is very simple.  I used a small speaker sourced from the (now defunct) Radio Shack.  The enclosure for the whole thing, which is what made the project kinda cool, was some 3/4" thick mahogany.  The finished product had a nice look, and the speaker-in-a-wooden box made a pleasant tock-tock-tock sound.  So yours doesn't need to be variable, but other than that....

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/novita-heavy-duty-flasher-el12/5081289-p?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=5081289-P&adtype=pla_with_promotion&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvvms6brD4AIVEr7ACh1EzAgtEAQYBSABEgJR1_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thats what you want - commonly called a "trailer flasher" they work with incandescent, LED, or a mixture.  SInce they have their own internal resistance/clicker doohikcey they don't care what the load across the output is.  Designed for 2 pin applications.  If they are not PNP into your vehicle you can generally hook them up with some short jumpers and ziptie them to a harness.  

I put one in my Corvette to let it have LEDs in front and regular flashers in back.  Worked great, clicked like stock.  

A soft, persistent moan.

93gsxturbo said:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/novita-heavy-duty-flasher-el12/5081289-p?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=5081289-P&adtype=pla_with_promotion&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvvms6brD4AIVEr7ACh1EzAgtEAQYBSABEgJR1_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Thats what you want - commonly called a "trailer flasher" they work with incandescent, LED, or a mixture.  SInce they have their own internal resistance/clicker doohikcey they don't care what the load across the output is.  Designed for 2 pin applications.  If they are not PNP into your vehicle you can generally hook them up with some short jumpers and ziptie them to a harness.  

 

I put one in my Corvette to let it have LEDs in front and regular flashers in back.  Worked great, clicked like stock.  

Unfortunately, no.  I tried multiple LED-compatible electronic flashers and zero worked.  I had a whole thread here a few weeks ago about it.

In fact I tried that exact Tridon Electronic EL12 flasher from Advance.... didn't work.  Thinking it was defective I swapped it for another.  No good.  Went to Amazon and tried a couple (non-returnable) LED-compatible flashers that add the resistor circuit and a third wire that you ground.  No workie.  The EL12 worked for you because you still had some incandescent bulbs.  Without enough load, the flasher doesn't even know to flash.

I had to run tungsten bulbs in the front to get the electronic flasher to work until I got it figured out, and even then it fast-flashed.  I finally got a flasher from superbrightleds that works without any incandescents, but has no sound.  I even tried modifying some of the EL12s with secondary grounds, a resistor to ground, a resistor across the coil leads.... nothing.

1988RedT2 said:

A long time ago I build a solid-state metronome for a friend of mine.  The circuit is very simple.  I used a small speaker sourced from the (now defunct) Radio Shack.  The enclosure for the whole thing, which is what made the project kinda cool, was some 3/4" thick mahogany.  The finished product had a nice look, and the speaker-in-a-wooden box made a pleasant tock-tock-tock sound.  So yours doesn't need to be variable, but other than that....

So maybe just wire a second wire from the switched side of the flasher through a small piezo horn and the "static" from the on off will make a noise?  I have done a similar thing in the past to determine a speaker's polarity; use a 9v battery to see which way the speaker cone pushes out.  The "fuzz" from connecting and disconnecting the battery made a little noise.

If the relay wasn't loud enough, you could drill holes in its case to make it louder:

Or maybe hook up a bigger louder relay, like the Harley 40A starter relay often used for powerful radiator fan setups?

Wire it to the horn. If you are worried about it bothering other drivers you can mount the horn under the driver seat.

This guy did it right.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ301QEoo9Y

Was going around the internet (or at least my internet) a few months ago.  Old Volvo with a blinker that plays Toto's Africa.  Either perfect or the worst thing ever for you. 

Have you seen what Caterham are doing? Yeah, just an electronic beeper. Sounds like you're about to be backed over by a truck (sorry, lorry) every time you signal.

I say you wire a relay on the (non blinking) switch side and swap in a new musical greeting card every month or two. Find the line to the switch and put the relay across that. Replace when the card battery goes.

This thing:

https://www.adafruit.com/product/2217

Load it up with some samples, connect a tiny speaker, close one of the switch circuits and you're awesome. Thoughts: 

• Chop up the Cupid Shuffle. "On your left, your left, your left, your left, your left, then your right, your right, your right, your right your right..."
• Mortal Kombat "whoopsie!"
• iPhone default notification "ping"
• Sad trombone

This is getting fun.

I also thought about putting some kind of vibrating thing in the seat like this but I might enjoy it so much that I leave the turn signals on.

GhiaMonster said:

This guy did it right.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ301QEoo9Y

Was going around the internet (or at least my internet) a few months ago.  Old Volvo with a blinker that plays Toto's Africa.  Either perfect or the worst thing ever for you. 

OMG... how does one do that?

Mike said:

Have you seen what Caterham are doing? Yeah, just an electronic beeper. Sounds like you're about to be backed over by a truck (sorry, lorry) every time you signal.

I say you wire a relay on the (non blinking) switch side and swap in a new musical greeting card every month or two. Find the line to the switch and put the relay across that. Replace when the card battery goes.

This thing:

https://www.adafruit.com/product/2217

Load it up with some samples, connect a tiny speaker, close one of the switch circuits and you're awesome. Thoughts: 

• Chop up the Cupid Shuffle. "On your left, your left, your left, your left, your left, then your right, your right, your right, your right your right..."
• Mortal Kombat "whoopsie!"
• iPhone default notification "ping"
• Sad trombone

 

Oh, the cupid shuffle would be awesome.

Get a shift light so your face lights up in sync with the blinkers 

In reply to Mike :

Add to sample list

In reply to JohnInKansas :

Brilliant. I can't come up with anything cleverer.

You could also bring physical sound sources. A doorbell striker hitting a cowbell or wood block, for example.

Oooh... fun idea.  One of these linear solenoids with interchangeable things on the end.  Maybe one of those little musical egg shakers, or a sleigh bell.

Or two of those linear solenoids wired to each; right and left turn and put them in the seat frame on the right and left sides so it pecks the spring under each side of the seat.

Mount a pair of these on your dash and you will not need anything clicking to remind you the turn signals are on.

You are welcome.

Appleseed said:

A soft, persistent moan.

How about starting as a soft moan and then building to an eventual crescendo if turned on long enough?

Seems like a Pi or Arduino project.  

I vote this sound effect. 

The MP3 is here. 

https://www.myinstants.com/en/instant/star-trek-photon-torpedo/

Add one of these to load your MP3 on and presto. 

12VDC Programmable Buzzer Wide Frequency Range 12VDC

You know, the really neat thing about an edison-type bulb and a bimetallic flasher is that it works to cycle the bulb on and off, and makes a neat sound all by itself.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

Yeah, but where's the fun in that when you can make it sound interesting?

Just think, you could hit your blinker and have your car moan at you. 

A Ford that plays things.

Ford with music using a Buy PUI Audio Indicator 

https://www.mouser.com/new/pui-audio/pui-audio-api/

Maybe I could have my VW play Highway to Hell...