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how to: "tap turn" signals


scottmcphee

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**** UPDATE ALERT ****

This is a really old thread. TapTurn described in this thread has been replaced by an all-new and modern version. You can still make a convenience blinker as described here for your stock flasher following this thread and it will work. But when you check the new TapTurn out, you'll probably want that instead.

 

Go here: vendor forum post

 

 

Tap-turn is a mod I built for my Legacy so I don't have to click (or hold) the turn signal stalk on the steering column to make a lane change. I got the idea from a VW Jetta I rented once, where you just tap the signal stalk and it sends three blinks in that direction, and cancels itself - hands free!

 

[edit by author]

I've deleted the beta version details of this mod, because, like I said, it was a proof of concept and had some shortcomings that made it unsafe. Mods shown here address those problems..

 

I've left a few photos here to show opening the Denso flasher module. This component is labeled B32 on the "Turn Signal Light and Hazard Light System" electrical plan.

 

You do not have to open the module for this mod, I only show this for fun, when I was doing the beta. The tap turn mod attaches onto 4 of the Denso flasher module wires. No need to cut car wires if you use 3M wiretaps (red #558 are good ones). Unravel some tape on the bundle of wires near the flasher connector and tap into the four wires there.

 

The circuit schematics are shown deep in this thread.

 

 

 

by the way - to get at the flasher module: drop the kick panel under the dash, open the fuse flap by your knee, there is a relay pack (full of blue cubes) snapped to the side of the fuse panel, reaching in through the fuse access press the two tabs and slide the relay pack forward (toward the driver). You have to kind of "twist" the last bit away from the panel then the relay pack drops down. It's kinda packed in there tight. The denso flasher module is clipped on the top of this relay pack. Insert a slim tool under the flasher module tab from the back (connector side) and then it slides off the pack.. Undo the connector and you've got the module in your hand. I pulled the module apart, you can see what's inside.

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I think the idea here is that you just tap the lever without setting it. Doing so will give you three flashes nstead of just one.

 

Right.. tap for 3 blinks. (Self-cancels)

or

Click all the way... for as many as you want. (Need to cancel).

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So when you cancel it does it keep on blinking three times until the capacitors are discharged?

 

I found it annoying when I drove my brother in laws BMW that the turn signal stick did not have any click feedback.

 

X

---
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NICE!!!! :)

 

If Anna gives me some time, I'll certainly do this mod in the next few weeks! :) Thanks for the walk-through!

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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i love that feature on my wife's car but sometimes i think 3 blinks is not enough. its great that someone with skillz did it, the only problem now is i cant' solder to save my life.

 

if i send you the flasher and some cash, can you hook me up, i'm sure someone else would be interested.

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umm......you're lazy

 

 

:lol::icon_lol::lol::icon_lol::lol::icon_lol::lol:

258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos
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So when you cancel it does it keep on blinking three times until the capacitors are discharged?

X

BINGO! Yes. It does. You continue to get 3 more blinks after a cancel. My wife feels this makes her appear as a slow to react driver. She calls the whole thing a "signal nanny". Ouch! But she's right we need to crisp this up! So we can do one better if you want to wait and see Rev.2 of the mod I'm going to change behaviour a little, as follows:

 

If you tap, click, or hold the stalk you'll get a minimum of 3 blinks.

You'll continue get more blinks as long as the stalk is clicked or held.

but .. with rev.2 ...

Release or cancel after the minimum three blinks stops signaling immediately,

so you will not get the three lingering blinks the mod is doing today.

 

This still isn't perfect. The extreme goodness would be if you clicked into position but cancel before the minimum three blinks are done then you cut short rather than get the minimum three.

But sadly this is not doable without changing the stalk switch to add two more poles... no way I want to do that.

 

However, rev.2 should be much less noticeable for normal driving if you were unaware of the feature and just used signals in a normal fashion. You would only notice it if you did a tap, or a quick cancel, and said, "hey! it did three blinks".

 

Regards

Scott

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Great instructions and awesome pics!!...

 

do you want to the the OEM stereo mod for us?...you know..the one where you remove the entire stereo/air condition plastic, remove the "stereo screen", install an aftermarket single din, and do "some rewiring" :D

In Taiwan now...:spin:
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REV.2

The thing we've been waiting for. Now I've got real "tap turn". This works on any Subaru that uses the same Denso flasher module. In fact, it should work on any car that uses this module. This mod does not require cutting any car wires, it taps onto 4 wires going to module B32 found on the "Turn Signal Light and Hazard Light System" electrical plan. You don't have to modify the Denso module as was done in the beta.

 

But..

 

For kicks I opened the module and packed the new circuit onto a postage stamp sized board and added it inside the flasher module, as shown in the photos below - but you don't have to do it this way. To be truthful, it was a PITA and was probably the smallest non-SMT job I've ever built. But it proved a point - it can be done using a standard sized DIP chip and supporting circuitry - it *just* fits inside. The benefit of doing it this way is getting an "invisible" mod.. can't tell it's been done.

 

For sanity, I recommend building the circuit on a reasonably sized board put in your own small plastic enclosure, bringing out the four wires needed, and simply tapping wires near the Denso module plug - because it's easy to get at. (See original post).

 

The way to fix the beta problems was to add some logic. Adding or replacing the Denso microcontroller crossed my mind.. but that puts a mod into a different league. Turns out a standard CMOS chip offers exactly the function needed, it's called CD4538. Look it up on google, a dual one-shot timer configured to be non-retriggering. Why write a program?

 

When wired as shown, the chip "holds the signal stalk" for you with just a tap. It holds for a configurable amount of time. I picked R=42K and C=47uF as the timing constant which is about 5 blinks. Adjust to taste. You could even add a pot to fine tune, I simply didn't have the space on my board ;-(

 

If the stalk is held for longer than the timer and then released, the signaling stops immediately, no more lingering blinks, as the beta did...

 

Also, there's a reset line on each half of the dual timer wired to the opposite signal line. So, when the circuit is holding the signal and you wish to signal the other way.. as soon as the stalk makes contact in the other direction it kills any time remaining signalling in the other direction. This means you get an immediate cancellation of the way you were signaling, and immediately start signal the other direction. No more "hazards" of both signals on at the same time found in the beta version.

 

This all means, with rev.2 of the mod.. you get a minimum number of signals in a given direction, even if you cancel the stalk. So tap, hold, or click sets it off. If you hold or click the stalk and exceed the minimum number of signals and then cancel the stalk, signaling stops immediately upon release. The only way you can cut-short a minimum number of signals in a direction is to flip the stalk the other way.. (tap, hold, or click) in which case you get a minimum number of signals in the new direction.

 

Pictures of my insanity, plus the circuit diagram. Only half the circuit is shown in the diagram because the second half is built exactly the same way using the 2nd timer on the chip - just follow similarly named pins and mirror the connections to signal lines. You only need the chip power supply pin parts once (0.1 bypass cap between Vss and Vdd, and the topmost diode on IGN line). All other parts are duplicated for 2nd half. I show recommended values for RC timer, gives about 5 blinks, but do as you please.. Observe polarity for electrolytic caps for C.

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