Date:         Sat, 21 Jan 2023 22:02:13 +0000
Reply-To:     Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Clean Emergency Switch inside
In-Reply-To:  <ca78a4f0-83fd-68c3-2416-7f1b149be118@v6bus.de>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

 OK, totally off-topic but nearby nonetheless.  Did you know that blinker lights on 4 corners and big Emergency Switch on dash are totally related?!!  When the Emergency Switch sits there for decades unused, then corrosion happens inside.  Weird things can happen.  Solution:  actuate.  Better yet, remove switch, spray freon-based Electrical Cleaner inside...actuate about 50 times.  Come on, it's Winter....and you probably want to mess around with your Vanagon anyway.

    On Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 01:47:16 PM PST, Raimund Feussner <ray@v6bus.de> wrote:  
 
 The flash frequency of turn signals depends on the wattage (i.e. load) 
of the bulbs.
If you have 21Wx2 on each side, it will blink just fine. If one goes 
out, you have twice he blinking speed.

A LED has less than one Watt. So the stock Van´s relay blinks twice the 
speed (as if one bulb blown).
Hence the extra relay: It is not affected by the load of the bulb, but 
stupidly blinks as defined. It´s okay for LED, but won´t show you the 
"faster blinking" if one of your bulbs blow. You won´t know if one bulb 
blows.
I don´t know if there are updated LED relays nowadays that recognize a 
blown LED.

So:
Special relay needed for LED turn signals. Full stop.






Am 21.01.2023 um 22:27 schrieb Eric Caron:
> Back to a basic question,  Will the recommended front LED signal lights work without the GW relay?  Or in a stock vanagon?  Or both?
>
> Eric
>
>
>> On Jan 21, 2023, at 3:33 PM, Raimund Feussner<ray@V6BUS.DE>  wrote:
>>
>> No, never seen this on a Vanagon or anywhere else. I want to be proven incorrect :-)
>> The dual filaments are 5or10W and 21 Watts,
>> If 5/10W blows, who cares. Sidemarkers, position lights...
>> If 21Watt blows you will have a too fast blinker.
>>
>> Dual filament bulbs have different purposes per filament.
>>
>> Raimund
>>
>>
>> Am 21.01.2023 um 21:13 schrieb Dan N:
>>> I'd think a dual filaments bulb is for redundancy safety. If one filament
>>> was broken, there's the other one - no running or no blinker, but at least
>>> there's one functioning while waiting for the bulb to be changed. If one
>>> ligament and it's gone, there'd be nothing.
>>>
>>> On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 12:02 PM Raimund Feussner<ray@v6bus.de>  wrote:
>>>
>>>> 1. In Europe we don´t have sidemarkers. In the front we have
>>>> stand/position lights as 5W inside the headlight housing. White.
>>>> The turn signals are "turn only".
>>>> 2. All bulbs basically have their own circuitry, no bulb is shared
>>>> between functions (except common ground)
>>>> 3. The lights from .1) move into the turn signals in USA, to allow front
>>>> sidemarker function, but still have the same stand-alone circuitry. The
>>>> US blinker lenses are different, to allow this, the bulb socket (2 vs
>>>> 3-pin) as well.
>>>>
>>>> Opposite example:
>>>> I, as a german, never understood the way of how the rear brake signal
>>>> turned on and off during blinking. The principle of using one bulb for
>>>> two circuits has to show its flaws sooner or later.
>>>> Although Germans love the US style lighting...
>>>>
>>>> Raimund
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Am 21.01.2023 um 20:15 schrieb OlRivrRat:
>>>>> On 21 Jan , 2023, at 11:18 AM, Eric Caron<ericcaron96@comcast.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> Also, Do they work in both the front and rear signal areas?
>>>>>                  Eric
>>>>>
>>>>>          These do not work in the Rear since all the bulbs in the Rear
>>>> are Single Contact
>>>>> & these are Dual Contact so they can be both Running & Blinker in 1 Bulb
>>>> ~ Not sure
>>>>> why the Germans thought they needed to Duals as they could have simply
>>>> turned the
>>>>> Running Lights Off & On to do the Blinkers ~