Turn signals

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I just did a turn signal and hazard system in my ’35. I rewired the front park lights to be turn signals. I used amber LED bulbs which are not very noticeable when covered by the lens and show almost no amber color when not lit. They are quite bright when lit. The picture shows both lit caught while flashing in hazard mode. I personally never saw much use for park lights and never use them. It seems if you need a front light to warn of your presence a flashing amber is more useful. The rear turn signals flash the stop light bulb so no extra sockets, bulbs or added external lights had to be used. I was following a new pickup truck the other day that does it the same way, one bulb for both rear stoplight and turn signal. The column control is a  simple toggle in a small box with a hazard toggle below it. I find the large commercially available retrofit turn signal boxes to be unduly large and clunky for the job they need to do.

I used positive ground LED bulbs for all taillights, turn signal and stop lights from Classic and Vintage Bulb in Australia (who is very helpful). The flashing function is via the low current + ground 6V electronic flasher unit and light circuits are controlled with two small 6V relays that require very little current and allow very small 22 gauge control wires from the column switch to the relays. The flasher and relays are mounted in the box under the passenger seat so I didn’t have to struggle trying to do wiring under the dash.

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By coincidence a you tube popped up with some guy on a rant about US regulations allowing red turn signals and a single filament bulb for both turn signal and stop light. In other words the turn signal flashes the stop light bulb so if you have the brakes on it is flashing that side bulb off and on while the other side remains lit constantly. That is how I set up my Pierce so that I didn’t need to add extra non original lights low on the bumpers. I followed a nearly new pickup truck that uses that scheme today.

In Europe it apparently is required to use amber for turn signals and red for stop and seperate the functuons, supposedly because people are confused by colors and amber means turn and red means stop regardless of blinking. Like other prewar cars our Pierces used amber for the stoplights to distinguish them from the red tailights.

I used a red LED bulb for the stop/turn as it seemed more normal in today’s traffic, and the red LED overpowers the amber tint of the stop light lens and looks red.

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