Why YSK: Your signals alert other drivers as to what you’re doing; a signal bulb costs a few bucks and is usually a quick and easy repair to do yourself (consult YouTube); and any place that regulates motor vehicles probably requires you to have working turn signals. So knowing when and how to replace a burned out signal bulb can save you an interaction with law enforcement.
Adding: You can diagnose which bulb is out by turning on your hazard lights and checking all four corners of your car. It’ll be the one not flashing.
This is also probably a good time to check your brake lights. Put something heavy on the pedal or have a friend hold it down and check that all three brake lights illuminate. Replacing a burned out brake light is also usually pretty cheap, quick, and easy.
Many seem to have the attitude that if you never use them, the bulbs will never burn out. Problem solved.
How is your BMW these days?
Here it’s the pickup trucks
Here’s the EVERY FUCKING ONE. Seriously what’s wrong with you people? It’s bad enough that cars in the US aren’t forced to use amber turn signals, but I guess it doesn’t matter here because no one ever touches the damn blinkers!
What do they have if not amber turn signals?
Oh boy, do I have a surprise for you. Their cars blink the brake lights. You read that right. Bonus video
Interesting. I never thought the turn signals are amber by mandate in other places.
I can’t speak for everywhere, but in Brazil the emitted light must be amber by law. Some after market parts and some auto makers get creative and manage to put a red mask on it that somehow still lets amber light through. But it’s rare.
It’s not by mandate. It’s a bad fad that is unregulated. Front blinkers are still amber.
Edit: I misread your comment.
Let’s go technology connections
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Except when they’re already merging in front of you. It’s like thanks bud, glad you thought to use the signal when two of your wheels were already over the line cutting me off. Cool cool cool.
I am willing to cut some slack in a “oh shit, forgot the blinker this one time!” spirit. But yeah, using means using it properly. Enough in advance that other cars can react and don’t forget the fucking thing on forever. How do people not get annoyed by the clicks?
Imagine BMW and Tesla collaborate on a pickup truck, comes with a free box of bud light.
Nissa Altima, BMD and partiay Audi drivers be like
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I sometimes back into parking spaces that are in front of a glass storefront so I can see that my brake lights are working.
This is really smart. Considering tail light will get you pulled over, this can save you some pain. I never figured out a good way to check on my own. Thanks!
Another tip is asking literally any human.
Edit: the instrument board should also issue a warning.
What if Stevie Wonder is the only person around
Have him step on the pedal
But can I trust him not to steal my car?
Where is he going to go?
Spain.
Interacting with other humans? No thank you!
Also I’ve never ever seen an instrument panel that indicates when a bulb is out. Maybe that’s a feature on new vehicles, but not one I’ve ever heard of.
I miss my ancient Volvo, it had that feature on all the lights.
A brick
One good way to make sure it isn’t working
Reminds me of that jokes about the two hunters in the woods.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“Help, my friend got bit by a snake, and I think he’s dead!”
“Stay calm, and check to make sure if he’s actually dead.”
BLAM
“Okay, he’s definitely dead”
I think he meant “putting a brick on the brake in order to check yourself” but I guess throwing the brike on the lights also work.
Put on your emergency lights and walk around the vehicle?
Oh for brake lights, yeah, some weight probably works best, or backing near something and seeing if it lights up, don’t even need a window
This 'hyperflash’ing will also happen if you have replaced an incandescent bulb with an LED bulb due to the different power requirements.
LEDs draw so much less power that they don’t draw enough current through the flasher relay. The relay will then think that the bulb is burned out.
To fix hyperflash due to having installed LED bulbs you can wire a resistor inline or replace the flasher unit with a unit designed for LED bulbs.Yeah. And that’s why fitting arbitrary bulbs in your car isn’t allowed in some countries. You have to use something that is certified for use in your specific car. It’s the same thing with the normal headlights. You’ll annoy and blind oncoming traffic if you manage to get the wrong bulbs in. At least in some cases.
Yes, there is mandatory inspection every 2 years here. Your car will absolutely fail if you use some uncertified shit.
Blinkers will flash fast with trailer hooked up too if there is a light duty flasher.
You should also know that (most?) Auto Parts stores will either loan you a screwdriver to change the bulb, or actually do it for you. For free.
Be prepared, though. It’s easier in some vehicles than others. Some will require you to move other things out of the way first just to get to the bulb. The bright side is these days there’s a YouTube video for everything.
This is like “I’m 16 and just got my car” level of YSK.
Fun Fact: in the dominican republic it’s very common for cars to never get any replacement bulbs whatsoever throughout the life of the vehicle. The amount of cars you find on the roads with no working lights is terrifying, just like how their drivers behave in traffic.
This is like “I’m 16 and just got my car” level of YSK.
For you and me it is, but a lot of people don’t really know much about their vehicles, or haven’t had the opportunity to learn everything about them.
It’s never too late to learn something new.
Next you’re going to tell me I haven’t had my blinker fluid changed each year.
Relevant username
I just finished draining mine to put winter fluid in. It gets cold up here.
Well, if you have a low brake fluid level chances are that you might need to check your brake pads.
Not everybody knows what you know.
Is there a part of the US, Canada, Britain or EU that doesn’t have a law mandating working blinkers for a vehicle registration on a regular cadence?
My state doesn’t even mandate a yearly vehicle inspection.
You’d be surprised at how many people drive for decades without ever having lifted their own hood.
But more importantly, how drivers behave to pedestrians?
Additionally, if your dash goes dark, your tail lights/brake lights are likely dead.
So you mean if you see the dashboard indicator going fast, the bulb outside is burnt?
Yes
Or dying
You can’t see the bulb from inside so that’s how they warn you
signal bulb costs a few bucks and is usually a quick and easy repair to do yourself
Heh. $200 sealed units are fun.
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Quick and easy fix for me is 2 hours of tearing apart the entire front end to access the bulb. On a Chevy.
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Mines fast because that’s where I store my meth.
Everyone with a car should be checking their signals at least once a week.
Park near either a reflective surface or close enough to a wall that you can see the lights individually. Apply your brakes make sure all of them light up, turn your signals on and make sure front and back on both left and right side flash, with emergency brake applied go into neutral and take your foot off the brake to make sure your reverse lights work, test your high beams and fog lights.
