Re: IML: Light/signal monitors

["Pete Engel" <peter.engel@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

First of all, I want to say that I've missed reading/posting to this list
but taking care of a soon-to-be 1 year old is rather, uh, time consuming.
As far as working on or driving my old cars, well, that is just a dream at
the moment.  It's all I can do to maintain my daily drivers.

As for Patricks question, I think that he needs to distinguish between
outside-mounted turn signal indicators and true lamp monitors.

Many Mopars of the mid-60s had models where both dash-mounted indicators and
fender-mounted indicators were available.  The earliest example I can think
of offhand, the 65 Dodge c-body, had Polara and the Custom 880 models with
green arrows and bulbs in the cluster to let the driver know when the turn
signals were operating.  The Monaco, however, had chromed "bullets"
integrated into the fender top trim strips and they contained the bulb
socket and lens.  The instrument cluster on Monaco models did NOT have bulbs
installed and, in fact, many of the ones I've seen still had a piece of
black masking tape over the empty sockets.  The same is true for the 66 Fury
line and even the 66 Chrysler.  

Regarding bulb monitors, I guess simplest ones I can think of were those on
early 70s GM products, specifically a 1970 Impala convertible.  That car had
the fiber optic cables running from the bulb sockets to special add-on
housings on the fender.  (Cars not equipped with bulb monitors did not have
them).  I can't remember if the instrument cluster on that car had bulbs
installed but I do know that later GM cars I owned DID have both fender
monitors and operating dash bulbs.

True bulb monitors had a very different design and function.  My 73 Toronado
(oh, what a beast that car was) had a rather complex bulb monitoring system
that used a voltage comparator chip and totally unique body wiring harnesses
to compare left and right side high beam, low beam, brake, turn signal, etc.
lamps and, when a fault was found, turn on a small "BULB OUT" light on the
dash.

Pete in PA

From: <pnkmoore@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: IML: Light/signal Monitors
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:28:24 -0500
Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Hey folks:

I've been trying to find out when light monitors were introduced on one =
of my non-mopar autos (and not having much luck) and I'm wondering about =
when they appeared on Imperials.  Mopars stood out to me when I was a =
kid for many reasons, but the signal monitors on top of the fenders were =
particularly interesting to me.  I had them on my '70 300 and I think on =
my '79 Cordoba and liked them, especially their flash at night.  (I also =
had them, the fiber optic style, on a '75 Caddy)  There's a '66 Charger =
for sale across the street from my office, and I think I see them on the =
hood of that car.  (I'll be over there tomorrow, taking a long look)  My =
'58 Southampton doesn't have them, so plainly they appeared thereafter.  =
Anyone know when they were introduced?

Thanks:

Patrick Moore
Covington, LA




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