New Turn Signals in the Grille

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noKYspider

New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by noKYspider »

I took my bumpers off earlier this weekend and added new turn signals to the grille today. Overall it was pretty easy. Here's what I did to add the new signals. I used running board lights that I got at Pep Boys. Here's the link for what I used but I was able to buy only two. http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/ ... /lighting/

First take off the grille. There were two screws on the top and two on the bottom of mine.

Once the grille is out figure out where you want the signals. I wanted them as far out as possible so I put them in the far corners. I took a pair of pliers and crimped the top and bottom of the grille to make a little more room. After I did this I figured out I might not have had to since the vertical supports are actually what hold the light in the grille.

Here's the light location for mine with the grille out. I used a Dremel to grind out the outer edge of the vertical support to allow the two pieces of the light to grab the grille to hold the light in place.
Image

Next comes the actual wiring. You'll only need the black and blue wires here since the yellow wire is for the parking lights. I suppose you could try to add in another bulb but for me the only thing I needed was the signal. Connect the blue wire to the wire in the light and the black wire to the ground plate in the light. I had to add a bolt and nut to connect the ground. I soldered the blue wire to the light wire and used electrical tape with everything to be housed inside the light.

When you've got everything wired up put the orange transparent lens in the front of the grille and the back plate behind the grille, thus using the grille for the meat in the sandwich. That's it!

Here is the end result.
Image
Last edited by noKYspider on Mon May 28, 2012 7:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rlux4
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Your car is a: 1982 2000 Spider
Location: Granite Falls, Wa

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by rlux4 »

You used a grill to grind out the out the edge of the vetical support!? What a novel use for a grill! Boring me, I'm just using my grill as a BBQ.
(Just kidding, I know it was a typo, but it was a funny typo.) :lol:
And the lights look great.
Ron
Ron Luxmore
rlux2n2@gmail.com
'82 2000 Spider: after 26 years between Spiders.
noKYspider

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by noKYspider »

rlux4 wrote:You used a grill to grind out the out the edge of the vetical support!? What a novel use for a grill! Boring me, I'm just using my grill as a BBQ.
(Just kidding, I know it was a typo, but it was a funny typo.) :lol:
And the lights look great.
Ron
Fixed. Trying to type with toddlers around sometimes leads to typos. Thanks for the proofread!
noKYspider

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by noKYspider »

As someone pointed out in a different thread, these lights are pretty dim out of the box. I'm looking to see if I can find brighter replacement bulbs to make them effective during the day. For me they're likely a temporary fix until I get the car repainted and figure out what I want to do for a long term solution. I just wanted to throw that out there in case you decide to try this change on your car.
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divace73
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Your car is a: 1980 Fiat 124 Spider Silver
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by divace73 »

That's a clever idea, I just got lazy with mine, it is a temporary measure, who knows for how long.....
Image
Cheers David
-=1980 silver Fiat 124 Spider=-
If you want to see pics of my car (and other random stuff) >>click here<< OR
see my >>You tube channel<<
narfire
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Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:14 am
Your car is a: 1980 124 spider
Location: Naramata B.C.

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by narfire »

Some have wired the side markers to work with the turn signals... a little extra flash is good.
80 FI spider
72 work in progress
2017 Golf R ( APR Stg. 1)
2018 F350 crew long box
noKYspider

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by noKYspider »

Yeah, I thought about that as I was looking at it today. Maybe I'll try that when I go and put the new LED bulbs in. Hopefully the new bulbs are a lot brighter than the little bulbs that are in there now.
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divace73
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Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 5:59 am
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat 124 Spider Silver
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by divace73 »

narfire wrote:Some have wired the side markers to work with the turn signals... a little extra flash is good.
I did that as soon as I got my car, mostly here in Oz, cars do not have permantly on amber parking side markers...mostly....
Cheers David
-=1980 silver Fiat 124 Spider=-
If you want to see pics of my car (and other random stuff) >>click here<< OR
see my >>You tube channel<<
davery
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Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:51 pm
Your car is a: 1985 Spider
Location: Ohio

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by davery »

I took my front bumper off last weekend. I just got a couple of "L" brackets and mounted the existing turn signals behind the grill. I had to reposition the horn, but it worked.
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet
noKYspider

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by noKYspider »

I just installed two of these tonight.

Image

They're definitely brighter but the light is weird, very crisp and a strange color. There's also absolutely no blending between the diodes. Oh well, hopefully they serve their purpose. Here's the link with the details.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006W3 ... 00_s00_i00
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tartan18
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Your car is a: 1975 Fiat 124 Spider
Location: Lebanon, Oregon

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by tartan18 »

I've been told that the color of the LED must be the same as the color of the lens. Therefore to use a LED in the front side markers it should be amber. I may be wrong but that's what I have heard.
Jim MacKenzie
1975 Fiat Spider
Finest Italian Automotive Technology
noKYspider

Re: New Turn Signals in the Grille

Post by noKYspider »

tartan18 wrote:I've been told that the color of the LED must be the same as the color of the lens. Therefore to use a LED in the front side markers it should be amber. I may be wrong but that's what I have heard.
I haven't heard that but I suppose it would make some sense. That being said, I went with the white LEDs because they put off more light than the amber bulbs.
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