indicator indicator?

[Peter Able]

Don't forget to include a current-limiting resistor.

PA

[Chris Holmes]

Hi All,

I can?t see the indicator indicators on the dash of my car (Peugeot 1007) from my preferred driving position.

I?d like to add an LED which will flash if either of them is on.

My thought is to pick up +ve and -ve from just before each front indicator bulb holder, put a diode in each positive such that current can only flow from it (so it doesn?t short out left and right +ve) then join the outputs of those two diodes and feed that and the negative to a LED. (Locating both the diodes and the LED within the cabin).

Does this sound feasible?

Easiest (I don?t fancy messing with the internals of the instrument panel)?

[John Rumm]

Well its one way...

Or a plastic "fibre" to pipe the light...

Or for a techy option stick arduino with a CAN bus shield on the bus and then you can listen for and respond to all kinds of stuff.

[Gopalan Sampath]

yes. Nominal LEDoperating voltage is 0.8 to 1 volt and current will be 20 milliamperes. Measure voltage; Vdc minus 1volt and divide by 20 to get resistor value in K ohms. For a 12V supply, the limiting resistor connected in series could be 470 to 560 ohms

[alan_m]

No, more like 1.8V to 3.8V forward voltage, depending on colour

and current will be 20 milliamperes. Measure voltage;

Run some modern LEDs at 20mA and it will burn out your eyeballs with the LED being mounted on a car dash :) I've got some 3mm green LEDs running at less than 0.5mA and they are bright enough to be seen at a distance.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

You will need current limiting LEDs or use the right resistor in series, but otherwise what can possibly go wrong grin. So why are the ordinary indicators not visible would be my first question before rewiring the car. Brian

[alan_m]

back seat driver?

[SH]

I have the same problem. its related to your height, your leg length and how high/low you like your steering wheel.

For me, the top of the steering wheel obstructs the direct line from the pupils of my eyeballs to the exact position of the indicator indicator......

[Chris Holmes]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.

With regards to ?Back seat driver??

The ?007? is a mini SUV with lots of headroom and my (and my daughter?s) preferred driving position is with the seat swab in the highest position. I don?t know if you really get better visibility up there or if it?s sito-logical, but it feels better. Being long in the body, with this (original) instrument panel, the steering wheel (in its highest position) blocks my view of 50-70 on the speedo (or as I prefer to call it - budgie smuggler), and the little green arrows.

I temporarily solved the issue by fitting an instrument panel from a Citroen (plug & play (well, after attacking the Peugeot one with a hacksaw)).

This meant I could see everything except the rev counter, but my daughter found the digital speedo difficult to read (interpret / process).

[Tim Lamb]

In message <sjjhrn$eqv$ [e-mail], "Brian Gaff (Sofa)" [e-mail]> writes

Indeed. No steering wheel position adjustment?

[Martin Brown]

Simplest solution is a light pipe. I use one to check my bike back light.

Any offcut of a thicker optical fibre or thin perspex rod will do it. You don't even care about losses so a fat monofilament would too.

Something like this

Bend by heating in boiling water and attach with a dab of silicone.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On a french car?

[Bob Eager]

I have the problem that the optimum position for the steering wheel is exactly what obscures things...

[Tim Lamb]

Oh! I'm about 10" taller than my co-driver so the shared car gets a lot of seat adjustments. I think I would settle for a seating height giving a balance of comfort and best dash board view.

[Dave Plowman (News]

A 1k resistor is a good starting point with 12v.

I miss the old style thermo flasher units that gave an audible tick.

[Dave Plowman (News]

I have, but with it in the most comfortable position, it obscures some of the dashboard.

[SH]

no good for deaf drivers or wheere the cabin noise is excessive or the stereo is on full blast!

[Andrew]

Details of how to do this ???

[Andrew]

He's probably got the drivers seat as far back as it will go, so the back seat driver will need to be in one of those kiddy seats :-)

[Andy Burns]

Don't you get a computerised tick through the speakers?