Upgrades and 'improvements'
Audible turn signal
Disclaimer The TVR Car Club will not accept responsibility for any damage caused to any vehicle as a result of using this information.
Reproduced with kind permission of Andy Field
It's a glorious day, the roof is down and you are blasting along an open road through the Yorkshire Dales, the glorious roar of the V8 ringing in your ears. You go to indicate left to head for the Buttertubs Pass. That's when you realise the indicator has been on for the last five miles, its distinctive click drowned out by the note of the exhaust, the dashboard LED invisible in the sunlight. Sound familiar?This simple little device is fitted inside the steering column cowl, along with all its wiring. It emits an audible beep in time with the flash of the indicators. When not required, for example when the roof is up, it can be switched off.
Parts used
It's a glorious day, the roof is down and you are blasting along an open road through the Yorkshire Dales, the glorious roar of the V8 ringing in your ears. You go to indicate left to head for the Buttertubs Pass. That's when you realise the indicator has been on for the last five miles, its distinctive click drowned out by the note of the exhaust, the dashboard LED invisible in the sunlight. Sound familiar?This simple little device is fitted inside the steering column cowl, along with all its wiring. It emits an audible beep in time with the flash of the indicators. When not required, for example when the roof is up, it can be switched off.
Parts used
A 12V piezo buzzer - I used an LS00634 (available at www.cpc.co.uk). It has a frequency of 3kHz, volume of 85dB but only draws a current of 8mA.
Wire - As the current requirement is very small, almost any wire can be used, but I'd recommend something in the range of S.W.G. 30. Old speaker wire is ideal.
Loom tape - For a more professional look, I bound the finished wiring loom in loom tape (also from eBay), although you could use normal insulating tape.
Velcro - In true TVR fashion, the relay was mounted using Velcro, inside the ignition switch cowling.
Loom tape - For a more professional look, I bound the finished wiring loom in loom tape (also from eBay), although you could use normal insulating tape.
Velcro - In true TVR fashion, the relay was mounted using Velcro, inside the ignition switch cowling.
Diode - Both indicators use the same flasher unit to operate, of course, so to prevent each indicator lighting up the other, two diodes are required. I used a pair of 1N4001 diodes (from www.cpc.co.uk, but commonly available from other sources.)
Shrink tube - For this project I used red shrink tube for the 'live' connections and black shrink tube for the 'ground' connections (again because I bought a job lot of shrink tube from eBay). This gives the job a more professional finish. Shrink tube needs to be shrunk using a heat gun, but if you don't have one, careful use of a lighter will suffice.
Installation
Remove the steering column cowling. The two halves are screwed together on the front face (the screws may be covered by small plastic plugs). This will free the top half. The bottom half is secured from underneath by three screws.
Unclip the connectors from the indicator switch and strip the loom binding, to access the wires. Identify the required wires: in my car they were black with a white stripe and black with a green stripe. Using a multimeter with the hazard lights switched on the voltage on each wire will rise to battery voltage when the indicator lamps are lit and fall to 0V while the lamps are out. Remove a short piece of insulation from each of these wires; about 5mm should be enough.
Twist one of the 1N4001 diode's cathode legs (the one nearest the silver band) around the other diode's cathode leg and solder the joint. Solder the positive wire from the buzzer to this same joint. Solder a short wire to each of the two remaining anode legs, one on each diode (the legs opposite the silver band). Insulate each of the bare connections. The best way to achieve this is to put a thin shrink tube over each diode to cover the anode connection then cover the whole assembly with a wider shrink tube. Alternatively, use insulating tape. Solder each of the two short wires from this assembly to one of the indicator wires identified in the loom and insulate.
The remaining wire from the buzzer can either be connected straight to 'ground' or via a switch to 'ground'. This is the better option, as the 'beep' could be annoying with the roof up. The 'ground' connection can be made at the same point as the horn 'ground' connector, a screw on the left hand side of the steering column boss assembly. I reused the dashboard lights switch, the one located in such a position that it can be accidentally switched off by your left knee!
Reconnect the indicator switch and test the device. It should 'beep' in time with each indicator or the hazard lights. If either indicator now lights both, the diodes have not been wired correctly. If the 'beep' is too loud, it can be suppressed by sticking insulating tape over it. Mount the buzzer in the steering column cowling using Velcro and rebind the indicator switch wiring loom. Refit the cowl in reverse order to its removal.
Shrink tube - For this project I used red shrink tube for the 'live' connections and black shrink tube for the 'ground' connections (again because I bought a job lot of shrink tube from eBay). This gives the job a more professional finish. Shrink tube needs to be shrunk using a heat gun, but if you don't have one, careful use of a lighter will suffice.
Installation
Remove the steering column cowling. The two halves are screwed together on the front face (the screws may be covered by small plastic plugs). This will free the top half. The bottom half is secured from underneath by three screws.
Unclip the connectors from the indicator switch and strip the loom binding, to access the wires. Identify the required wires: in my car they were black with a white stripe and black with a green stripe. Using a multimeter with the hazard lights switched on the voltage on each wire will rise to battery voltage when the indicator lamps are lit and fall to 0V while the lamps are out. Remove a short piece of insulation from each of these wires; about 5mm should be enough.
Twist one of the 1N4001 diode's cathode legs (the one nearest the silver band) around the other diode's cathode leg and solder the joint. Solder the positive wire from the buzzer to this same joint. Solder a short wire to each of the two remaining anode legs, one on each diode (the legs opposite the silver band). Insulate each of the bare connections. The best way to achieve this is to put a thin shrink tube over each diode to cover the anode connection then cover the whole assembly with a wider shrink tube. Alternatively, use insulating tape. Solder each of the two short wires from this assembly to one of the indicator wires identified in the loom and insulate.
The remaining wire from the buzzer can either be connected straight to 'ground' or via a switch to 'ground'. This is the better option, as the 'beep' could be annoying with the roof up. The 'ground' connection can be made at the same point as the horn 'ground' connector, a screw on the left hand side of the steering column boss assembly. I reused the dashboard lights switch, the one located in such a position that it can be accidentally switched off by your left knee!
Reconnect the indicator switch and test the device. It should 'beep' in time with each indicator or the hazard lights. If either indicator now lights both, the diodes have not been wired correctly. If the 'beep' is too loud, it can be suppressed by sticking insulating tape over it. Mount the buzzer in the steering column cowling using Velcro and rebind the indicator switch wiring loom. Refit the cowl in reverse order to its removal.