Make Your Sidemarkers Blink

[FrozenPilot]

This is a nice little custom mod that actually helps with safety and its relatively easy to do. Here's what you need:
-Wire stripper/crimper
-5 feet of 16 or 18ga. wire
-2 sets of T-taps (1 small box)
-4 sets of fully insulated disconnects (1 small box)
-Torx screwdriver, 10mm socket, socket wrench + extension
Also helpful:
-multimeter
-wiring diagram (chilton's, FSM, etc.)
-needlenose pliers

Here's how to do it: (One side at a time!)
1. Remove sidemarker and disconnect bulb from marker by twisting base to left and pulling out of socket.
2. Remove headlamp assembly by removing (3) 10mm bolts, 2 on top of frame, on below dead center. Pull assy. forward but do not completely remove. This will help with wiring.
3. Remove turn signal bulb and find blue wire. This is the turn signal lead (not the ground or parking light lead). Attach T-tap to wire about 2" or more from base of lamp socket.
4. Take 5' section of new wire and cut halfway to make (2) 2.5' sections.
5. Strip wire at both ends and crimp on new connectors. One from the T-tap kit, the other from the insulated disconnect.
6. Trace the path of the wire running to the sidemarkers. There should be a small hole behind the headlamp where the wire passes through a splash shield. You have to run the wire through this. The easiest way is to feed the wire from the sidemarker up to this hole. A little finesse will get the wire up to this hole easily. Needlenose pliers help to grab the connector and pull it through.
7. Connect the T-tap connector up to the T-tap on the turn signal wire.
8. On the sidemarker wiring, cut the black ground wire about 1" or more from the base. You may need to open the loom and pull the wire out some. Splice the corresponding connector on the bulb side of the wire. If you have a male connector on the turn signal lead, crimp a female connector on the bulb side.
9. On the cut ground wire, you may wish crimp on a connector so you can easily connect back to the original configuration, as I did. If not, you can just cover the wire with some electrical tape and leave it.
10. Connect the new turn signal lead to the connector on the ground side of the bulb.
11. Test your new blinking sidemarker by turning on the hazards. The light will flash in time with the parking lights off or opposite when the parking lights are on. If it works, SUCCESS!!! Now just reinstall the headlamp, sidemarker bulb, and sidemarker and repeat to the other side.
Approximate time to complete: under 45 minutes

[PowerByBrower]

I have a few basic questions.

1. I have an '02 L200. Will your instructions also work on my car? I would assume so, but I figured I'd double-check.

2. In your instructions, you referred to "T-Taps." Are these the same as "Tapping Splices?" Picture below:

http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6311039.jpg

3. You also referred to "Fully Insulated Disconnects." Are those the same as "Male" and "Female Disconnects?" Pictures below:

Female Disconnect
http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6039457.jpg

Male Disconnect
http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6593081.jpg

The more I look at these directions, the more I think could use a drawing of some sort. If you could make one in MSPaint or similar program, I can host it and add it to the instructions.


[Copy sent via PM with my email address]

[David 93 SL2m]

Originally posted by PowerByBrower
2. In your instructions, you referred to "T-Taps." Are these the same as "Tapping Splices?" Picture below:

http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6311039.jpg
I think FrozenPilot means "3M Scotchlok T-Tap Nylon Insulated Self-Stripping Female QuickSlide Disconnect." I've used them many times. They are available for several wire thicknesses (gauges). Here are pictures of what they look like.

[David 93 SL2m]

Here is the other picture...

[David 93 SL2m]

With these t-taps we put them on the wire and squeeze them closed. As they close they pierce the insulation. I usually scrape a tiny bit of insulation away in that spot really carefully to make sure that I get an electical connection. Then we have an opening at the hinged part of the t-tap which allows us to connect a new wire that has a male 1/4" tab metal connector - it just slides into place.

With these we can slide our new wires on and off without bothering the t-tap. Also we can pop the t-tap off, leaving only a tiny bit of uninsulated wire exposed. But that can be fixed with a small amount of liquid electrical tape.

The last time I bought these t-taps I went to Radio Shack for them, but I cannot find them in their online catalog and my old printed catalog is at home so I can't pass on the item number. They are made by 3M and sold in packs of as few as 6 I think.

[PowerByBrower]

I just recieved a reply vis PM from Rob (FrozenPilot) and the tappin splices he used are identical to the one I posted.

I was talking to the truck mechanic at work today and he said he never used those splices because they're easy to corrode and they don't make a good connection somteimes.
He said to use a large butt splice connector (for connecting two much larger wires.) Cut the wire to be spliced off of and crimp one end together in the same end of the butt splice connector as the wire to be added at the "T" part of the connection. Take a small piece of solder and put that in the other end with the last wire. The solder will take up some space and help put a better crimp on the single wire since the butt splice connector is too big for one wire alone.

I'm going to do this wiring tonight and I'll let everyone know how it goes and any tips and tricks I may find out.

[PowerByBrower]

So far I've wired the drivers side, folling the instructions exactly. The side marker is blinking now and will stay on as marker lights. The only problem is, the sidemarker blinks alternately of the turnsignal, not in sync as supposed to.
This must be due to the differerences in the wiring from the '95 Sl to the '02 L. I can't see how I could have wired it differently.

I tried using a large butt splice connector for the "T" splice like my mechanic recommended. In one end I put the blue wire from the headlight and the yellow wire (the added wire) and crimped them together. In the other end I stripped about 2" of the blue wire from the harnass and then folded the wire over twice so it was 3 times as thick and then crimped it. Seems to be very strong connection and sealed well.

I'm wasn't worried about putting a disconnect there because if I wanted to change the wiring back to steady on sidemarkers, I can just unplug the connector where the added wire attaches to the black wire lead from the sidemarker and leave the added wire attached. That way, I can change the whether the sidemarker blinks in matter of minutes.

[PowerByBrower]

I was trying different scenarios to see how the sidemarkers would blink. I was surprised to find when I used the turn signals:

(In all scenarios: Parking brake on, ignition on. Engine off.)

1. No lights on. Sidemarkers flash in sync with turn signals.
2. Running lights only. Sidemarkers flash alternately to turn signals.
3. Running lights and headlights. Sidemarkers flash alternately to turn signals.

When I use the hazards:
Same as when I use the turn signals.

1. No lights on. Sidemarkers flash in sync with turn signals.
2. Running lights only. Sidemarkers flash alternately to turn signals.
3. Running lights and headlights. Sidemarkers flash alternately to turn signals.

It's obviously something beyond what I can do with the wiring between the turn signal and the sidemarker.
I'm just going to wire up the other side and call it a night.

[PowerByBrower]

When I was doing the other side, I realized how different my L is from the SL these instructions were made for.

In the L, there is nothing separating the sidemarker housing from the turn signal housing. I could actually touch both at the same time with my thumb and my pinkie finger. Being so close, there is no need for any extra wire. I had some tapping splices around so for the second side, all I did was:
1. Remove the plastic sheathing from the wires.
2. Cut the Ground (black wire) a few inches from the sidemarker.
3. Use the tapping splice to connect the black wire from the sidemarker to the blue wire from the turn signal.
4. Wrap everything in electrical tape.
5. Done. Total time: under 3 minutes.

I made a little tutorial in Paint, that, with a color printer, has all the directions to do this on an L Series.

http://www.imprezawrxsti.com/postnuke/modules/PNphpBB2/files/blinking_sidemaker_tutorial_for_l-series_saturn.gif

Any questions, fell free to PM me.

[FrozenPilot]

Brower,
In response to how the sidemarkers should blink, you listed exactly how they should. The reason has to do with basic electical principles. Very nice graphic by the way!

[petdmc]

hmm i just tried doing it but it didn't work, i just used the T-Taps.

I did the driverside(tried to)
- tapped the blue wire about 3" from bulb
- used 16ga.(sliver)
- tapped black wire on sidemarker
- connected both (blue to black via silver)

turned on the parking lights(worked) tried the signals(did work but not the sidemarkers) tried the hazards (didn't do anything, no cluster signal either) then the directional didn't work.

disconnected the wires and only the signals worked but no hazards, blew a fuse :mad: .

so any idea what went wrong?

thx

[splat]

stupid question, but did you actually tap into the light that the turn signals are in, or the headlight?

the wires to tap into (on your 96) is the light blue on the driver's side turn signal, the dark blue on the passenger sides.

You've probably grounded something you shouldn't have...what did you do with the wire that you cut? did you tape it off? did you cut open the wire loom to make sure it was the vblack that you got into, and not the dark brown?

[petdmc]

Originally posted by splat
stupid question, but did you actually tap into the light that the turn signals are in, or the headlight?

the wires to tap into (on your 96) is the light blue on the driver's side turn signal, the dark blue on the passenger sides.

You've probably grounded something you shouldn't have...what did you do with the wire that you cut? did you tape it off? did you cut open the wire loom to make sure it was the vblack that you got into, and not the dark brown?

i did the tapping only, i didn't bother with the disconnectors.

what i did was tap the light blue wire 3" from the turn signal bulb then ran 16ga.(sliver not copper wire) to the sidemarker and tapped into the black wire (not the brown one) and it didn't work.

maybe i need to do both sides for it to work before i check it.

[splat]

did you cut the black wire? if not it still has a constant ground keeping it from blinking...you gotta cut that black wire coming from the bumper lights...then tape that off, and keep it secure...

[petdmc]

Originally posted by splat
did you cut the black wire? if not it still has a constant ground keeping it from blinking...you gotta cut that black wire coming from the bumper lights...then tape that off, and keep it secure...

OOOOOOOOOOOOH
d'oh lol

so i cut the ground lead on the sidemarker and just hook it up to the Blue lead which is the new ground. right?

---------// -----*----- bulb
---------------*/

*=tap

hmm kinda weird that I didn't notice that in the directions, K.I.S.S.

thanks man, i'll try it when i get a chance to do it.

[splat]

the black wire coming from the bumper lights....

the other end, you can do whatever you want, but it's safer just to keep it there incase you want to reverse the operation.

So tap into the blue coming from the front turn signal, and cut the black on the bumper lights, make sure you leave enough room to crimp the wire (in your case the 16ga silver wire) directly to the black wire that's leading into the socket of your soon to be turn signal...sorry if i broke that down barney style, but i just don't want you to have to keep running back from the computer to the car...hahah...if in doubt, take pics, and i can direct you more easily...but the black coming from the car (ground) will be of no use to you...

so it seems you have it all correct, you just need to cut the black wire after prior to the tap...

[petdmc]

lol

that was so easy to, FYI i do know my way around electrical stuff but i down want to mess anything up on a car.

FYI the pass. side is a PITA since the wires to the sidemarker are really short.

BTW the sidemarker blink in sync. :grnjump:

w00t w00t w00t :D

[vrg3]

This is a great modification to do... you'll feel a lot better about changing lanes on the highway when you give people to your sides a chance to see your turn signal.

The reason they flash in sync when the markers are on and alternately when the markers are off is that the bulbs get powered through whichever light is on and ground through whichever light is off. So, they light up whenever either the turn signal or the marker bulb is on but not both.

If your T-taps don't come filled with dielectric grease, you should fill them with some yourself. Otherwise you're exposing copper wire to all the elements, and it will eventually cause you problems.

[zippy_LiL_sL1]

Cool. Neat trick guys. I'm going to try this same thing with my 2000 SL1, but I'm waiting unitil my Diamond Pattern side marker lenses come in.

pic:
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v328/saturnstud2000/clear_lenses.jpg

[Kentai]

I've got those sidemarkers, they look great on my SL1. And the blinking sidemarker mod makes them look even better! Thanks FrozenPilot!

Don't forget to get orange bulbs!

[zippy_LiL_sL1]

Kentai... Im sure they look awesome. How much did you pay for them if you don't mind me asking? Also, to hell w/orange bulbs. I'm getting either blue or green ones.