Can the turn signal noise be modified in any way?

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JasonT

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From http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2773&start=70:
OrientExpress said:
The Leaf does not have a traditional analog flasher relay. It is all done electronically in the Body Control Module, complete with a synthesized "clicker" noise.
I didn't want to go off-topic in that thread so I am starting this one. I had no idea about this and now it makes me wonder if there is a way to modify the sound. I have thought that the clicker noise was WAY too loud, so if there is some way to make this quieter that would be awesome. Is there a separate speaker for this function?
 
JasonT said:
From http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2773&start=70:
OrientExpress said:
The Leaf does not have a traditional analog flasher relay. It is all done electronically in the Body Control Module, complete with a synthesized "clicker" noise.
I didn't want to go off-topic in that thread so I am starting this one. I had no idea about this and now it makes me wonder if there is a way to modify the sound. I have thought that the clicker noise was WAY too loud, so if there is some way to make this quieter that would be awesome. Is there a separate speaker for this function?

In an ICE car you can barely hear the turn signals (even with the radio off) and a lot of people leave them on without knowing...doubt that will happen with these. :lol:
 
I don't think they're too loud, they're just right the way they are. But yeah, if the sound is synthesized then it should be possible to make it quieter or even change the sound. I'll leave it to someone else to figure that out! ;)
 
+1 on the clicker being too loud. That was the very first thing I noticed when I drove off in the car. Please, someone figures out a mod to change its volume!

By the way, is it me? Or sometimes when I brake I thought the clicker volume decreases a little bit?
 
+1

Absolutely - the first thing I noticed when driving it - wow - those blinkers are LOUD.... maybe its because the cabin is so quiet? Then I did some side by side comparisons - the Leaf is easily twice as loud as my Honda Civic.

Would love to be able to turn down a notch.

Matt
 
I rarely drive with the turn signals on, using them only for merging and exits, lane changes, and turning corners.

However, for the short times that they are on, my old ears can hear them, so they MUST be quite LOUD to others.

But, like the "Carwings" accept "scream" screen, it is a short-lived annoyance.

Has anybody located the "clicker" in the service manual. Is it the same speaker that makes the beeps when the driver's door is open, or one trys to lock the car when it is still ON? Some of those sounds, for my ears, are too soft/high-pitched for my hearing-loss ears to reliably detect.

Assuming these are all software generated, a volume setting screen would be easy for Nissan to add.

Otherwise, any muting of the speaker would affect all the other warning sounds as well as the turn-signal "click".
 
It's way too loud when there's no music, but it's been so long since I've been able to play my music while driving (since my previous car's CD player crapped out and there's no decent radio reception here) that I've been playing my own collection of mp3/WMA clips via USB lately and occasionally cranking up the volume. The blinker needs to be that loud when I do that, but most of the time it is annoying. And it's too fast, too. Still I doubt we'll ever get control over the blinker volume.
 
I was looking for a thread on this topic to see if anyone had found a way to adjust the volume (turn down!) the simulated flasher noise.

There's got to be a separate volume setting for it, just don't know how buried it is in what layers of software.

Would this be a CAN bus item?
 
What makes you all think that the turnsignal noise is synthesized? Judging by the way Nissan used off-the-shelf technology for several other subsystems (notably, the heater - grrr!), I would bet TWO raspberry tarts that the turn signals are good ol' bimetallic strip electromechanical flashers. Really quite an admirable bit of technology - you get a flashing oscillator AND an audio annunciator in one cheap package. Isn't it rather suspicious that (some of) the turn-signal lamps are incandescent? While pondering that anachronism, I concluded that "oh, they must need something that draws enough current for the flashers to work".

But one of the fanatics who have downloaded the service manual could probably look this up for sure.


Anyway, if it is a standard turnsignal flasher from the 1930s, then a remedy would be to just muffle it somehow. Maybe it's rigidly connected to a cabin panel that serves as a sounding-board, and one could stick a rubber washer in the mounting somewhere.
 
the noise level is fine. I would like a signal that goes BLINK BLIN BLINK three times with modest pressure, and unlimited if you push all the way.
my audi has it.
\
perfect for lane changes.
 
My wife refers to the turn signal annunciator as "The Time Bomb!" because it is so loud and irritating! When we are on the phone through the car, she can always tell by the loud ticking in the background when I am turning...
 

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Unfortunately it looks like they went with a more complicated approach. According to the schematic the turn light signal comes from the BCM and the sound comes from a buzzer connected to the BCM as well. The following was copied from page 15 of the exterior lights section of the service manual.

TURN SIGNAL AND HAZARD WARNING LAMP SYSTEM : System Description
INFOID:0000000006893310
SYSTEM DIAGRAM
OUTLINE
Turn signal lamp and the hazard warning lamp is controlled by combination switch reading function and the
flasher control function of BCM.
TURN SIGNAL LAMP OPERATION
• BCM detects the combination switch condition by the combination switch reading function.
• BCM supplies voltage to the right (left) turn signal lamp circuit when the power switch is ON and the turn signal
switch is in the right (left) position. BCM blinks the turn signal lamp.
HAZARD WARNING LAMP OPERATION
BCM supplies voltage to both turn signal lamp circuit when the hazard switch is ON. BCM blinks the hazard
warning lamp.
TURN SIGNAL INDICATOR LAMP AND TURN SIGNAL OPERATION
• BCM transmits the turn signal indicator lamp signal to the combination meter using CAN communication
while the turn signal lamp and the hazard warning lamp are operating.
Combination meter outputs the turn signal sound with the integrated buzzer while blinking the turn signal
indicator lamp according to the turn signal indicator lamp signal.

HIGH FLASHER OPERATION
• BCM detects the turn signal lamp circuit status from the current value.
• BCM increases the turn signal lamp blinking speed if the bulb or harness open is detected with the turn signal
lamp operating.
NOTE:
The blinking speed is normal while operating the hazard warning lamp.
 
MrFish said:
Unfortunately it looks like they went with a more complicated approach. According to the schematic the turn light signal comes from the BCM and the sound comes from a buzzer connected to the BCM as well. The following was copied from page 15 of the exterior lights section of the service manual <...elided...>
The language, even if it hadn't suffered from being translated semi-mechanically from Japanese, seems to be typical block-diagram-level meaningless babble whose primary purpose was very likely just to allow a "did we write something" box to be checked.
 
Apparently the turn signal clicking is twice as fast as some folks are expecting, probably because the Combination Meter was programmed to click its "clicker" both when the lights go ON AND when they go OFF (twice per flash).
 
MrFish quoted the Service Manual as saying:
Combination meter outputs the turn signal sound with the integrated buzzer while blinking the turn signal indicator lamp according to the turn signal indicator lamp signal.
I dug a bit deeper into this. The "Combination meter" is pretty clearly a computer. It controls the display of the lower dash area, including the bubbles, the three sets of bars, the DTE (GOM), and all warning and indicator llights. The "integrated buzzer" must be a general purpose tone generator. It is used for warning chimes as well as the turn signal clicks. I would guess it is used for all sounds associated with the dash (power up, etc.). It is told what to do by CAN messages.

Other than muffling all sounds by covering the sound diaphragm, I suspect the only way to reduce the turn signal volume (something I would love to see) would be to modify the firmware that controls the Combination meter. As MrFish suggested, the speed of the click and flash is actually controlled by a different computer, the Body Control Module. Each click or flash appears to be a separate CAN message.

Ray
 
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