Mod to driver's blindspot indicator light

[GCB]

This is my mod to the driver's blindspot indicator light. I've had it fitted for a few weeks, and it works for me. Please don't attack me for my DIY skills etc. I thought I'd put it out there in case it helps anyone. If you don't like the look of it, please just ignore it!

Let's face it, the blindspot lights are poor design. There's not much that can be done about the nearside light, but the driver's light is naff. It's out of the driver's line of sight when looking in the mirror, it's dim, it's recessed and it points the wrong way. It's so bad that I found I was just not using it, which seemed a shame. This mod makes a reflector that directs the beam towards the driver. In effect, it doubles the visible size of the light and, as it directs it towards the driver, the light is brighter.

You will need:

• A piece of black plastic about 2.5cm x 1.5cm x 1 cm approx. I used a cheap wallpaper brush from The Range (£2.99) as the plastic was a similar texture to the car's plastic.
• A plastic reflector of some kind. I just used mirror finish gift wrap tape that was lying around, but maybe a piece cut from a plastic mirror tile would be even better.
• Double sided tape or sticky fixers.

1. Cut the rough block of plastic from whatever you are using.

2. Cut the reflecting face. This will be just over 45 degrees and slightly tilted up, but it depends where you sit. I bluetacked a reflector in place on the car and positioned it to reflect towards my eyes to estimate the angle needed before I made the cut.

3. Apply double sided tape to the face that sticks to the car and apply the mirror material to the reflecting face. My double sided tape didn't work well on the car's slightly curved plastic surface. I used sticky fixers that have a bit more 'give' and they worked well. Also, if using very thin mirror tape like me, the cut face might need smoothing with sandpaper to get a good surface.

4. This is what it looks like fitted. You can see that the reflection doubles the size of the indicator lamp and it really appears much brighter. I don't think it looks too bodged and ugly, but you might think differently .

Like I said. I works for me, but if you don't like the look of it, just ignore it.

 

[Jto]

Very good ide,

 

[kazuki1328]

Just picked up my hs the other day and agree the blind spot light is crap. I like your idea and looks useful but I personally am rubbish at diy so wouldnt even start attempting it.

Im just getting used to when turning on indicators the 360 camera comes on, so majority of time I use that. But not sure that will help when trying to open car door

 

[JABO]

i've been experimenting with increasing the intensity of the lights, (yes i took off the door cards in my brand new car............. ) it's clear to me that these lights was intended to be much brighter, but for some reason a component in the light itself is wrong, either miscalculated or an error in production, this is causing it to shine with about 1/4 of intended output. (i'm an electronics engineer so i know what to look for.)

i modded it, and usability of the lights is much better now.

when i'm all done i'll upload pics and a small tutorial, if anyone got hooked on trying.

when you know how it's done it's a really small fix.

 

[Flatcoat]

If I end up with an HS, will be interested. Does it the full door card removing?

 

[JABO]

yes , unfortunately , as the console with treble spkr & led sits behind the door card

 

[JABO]

i'm changing the speakers anyway, so no prob to remove

 

[Flatcoat]

I am also very interested in the speaker upgrade/mod! Keep me posted please.

 

[Gerlof]

I will study the GCB proposal some more.
But the JABO solution sounds very promising too! Whenever you are ready to provide details on it, I'll be interested!

 

[JABO]

I'm done and i'm quite happy with it, now it actually gets my attention ? i'll be posting a small guide with a few pics during the week. If you know someone with a soldering iron it's a one minute job (when the door cards has been removed)

 

[Chromvogel]

Hi Jabo - any news on that? Thanks

 

[JABO]

sorry for the wait, i got pics of the mod itself, but forgot pics of how to remove the door card , i'm going to remove rear door cards this weekend for speaker replacement, so will do some pics of those.

 

[GCB]

Hi JABO, your mod looks interesting. I don't think I would want to go removing door cards and modding components myself. That's why I went with a simple, easy to remove mechanical mod.

It sounds like you have done your mod and are happy with it. Out of interest I have a few questions about what you suggest.

• Isn't it odd that a component has been designed or manufactured incorrectly and has gone unnoticed during development, testing and quality control? I suspect the brightness is as designed even if it is poor design.
• By removing the door cards and modding components surely you will invalidate warranty.
• By making the lamp much brighter, might you not be degrading its working life?
• If the lamp ends up 4 times brighter, isn't it a distraction at night?
• Can changing the component in any way affect the can bus and/or upset any other electronics?

When I looked at the problem, I came to the conclusion that the lamp wasn't very bright but that the main issue was that it is recessed and is not directed into the driver's line of vision.

It's a shame SAIC didn't design it properly in the first place! ?

 

[JABO]

Hi JABO, your mod looks interesting. I don't think I would want to go removing door cards and modding components myself. That's why I went with a simple, easy to remove mechanical mod.

It sounds like you have done your mod and are happy with it. Out of interest I have a few questions about what you suggest.

• Isn't it odd that a component has been designed or manufactured incorrectly and has gone unnoticed during development, testing and quality control? I suspect the brightness is as designed even if it is poor design.
• By removing the door cards and modding components surely you will invalidate warranty.
• By making the lamp much brighter, might you not be degrading its working life?
• If the lamp ends up 4 times brighter, isn't it a distraction at night?
• Can changing the component in any way affect the can bus and/or upset any other electronics?

When I looked at the problem, I came to the conclusion that the lamp wasn't very bright but that the main issue was that it is recessed and is not directed into the driver's line of vision.

It's a shame SAIC didn't design it properly in the first place! ?

Hi GCB, i understand your worries about warranty, however i covered all bases when looking in to the solution, and if MG can/will ever detect the removal & mod i'll be extremely surprised. the doorcards is made to be removable by design, and remounted without it can bee seen, and the mod itself can only be seen by disassembling the lamp housing, and even then you must know what you're looking for.

as an electronics engineer for 30 years i've seen tons of poorly designed electronics, but for sure many production errors as well. as long as the product is not defective those errors can go on for years.

the lamp itself is made of 2 LEDS in a series connection, with a simple resistor as a current limiter, the simplest circuit in the book ;-)

the problem is that the resistor has an ohmic value so high that the led's barely light up, they're limited to 3 milliamps, thats less than 1/6 of their rated current...... i've yet to see any LED light designed to less than 80% of rated current.

i'm raising the current to 15mA in drivers side and 10mA in passenger side to avoid blinding.

the canbus is designed for 50mA current delivery, and i tested the load capacity before deciding.

i believe i found the right combo of intensity and night driving, thats also the reason for holding back in passenger side, as the viewing angle makes it much easier to see.

the power draw is still so incredibly so low that absolutely no components can ever be damaged, it's just made to the specs of the components.

the benefit is definately to be seen, as now you're actually alerted ;-)

 

[GCB]

Hi JABO,

Well, that's certainly a comprehensive and well researched answer!!!

Looks like you've considered all areas. I'm sure anyone considering your mod will be reassured that you have put so much thought into it.

 

[JABO]

Here's some pics of the modded light, door card removal follows...... ;-)

when door card is removed, the panel containing the light can be removed (one visible screw to be removed)

i used two pointy tweezers to insert in the small slots between the panel & light fixture (marked with white & black arrows), to remove the light fixture from the panel

when the light is removed, separate the clear & the brown part using the tweezers again, 4 slots is visible, see the small retainers on the brown part, marked with arrows.

when these are separated, the electronic PCB is visible inside the brown part, just gently bend the small clips retaining it and push it out.

one pic show the upper side of the PCB with the led's and some protection circuit.

the other pics show the PCB as it is delivered , and the modded one as well. original is with one resistor only, and one empty slot. the mod itself is simply the added resistor in the empty slot.

for the drivers side i suggest a resistor value of 560 Ohms and for passenger side 1000 Ohm
the resistors is so called SMD , size 0805

they can be purchased from RS Components, Farnell, etc. , maybe even the local dealer, if any ;-)
cost is max 10p.

if enough is interested i can buy some and send them as a letter.

also i could easily do the mod if you send the PCB, but as most is located in the UK, and DK is checking all incoming mail from UK, i'll probably be paying import tax etc.

let me know what you think.

 

[Quentin]

Here's some pics of the modded light, door card removal follows...... ;-)

when door card is removed, the panel containing the light can be removed (one visible screw to be removed)

i used two pointy tweezers to insert in the small slots between the panel & light fixture (marked with white & black arrows), to remove the light fixture from the panel

when the light is removed, separate the clear & the brown part using the tweezers again, 4 slots is visible, see the small retainers on the brown part, marked with arrows.

when these are separated, the electronic PCB is visible inside the brown part, just gently bend the small clips retaining it and push it out.

one pic show the upper side of the PCB with the led's and some protection circuit.

the other pics show the PCB as it is delivered , and the modded one as well. original is with one resistor only, and one empty slot. the mod itself is simply the added resistor in the empty slot.

for the drivers side i suggest a resistor value of 560 Ohms and for passenger side 1000 Ohm
the resistors is so called SMD , size 0805

they can be purchased from RS Components, Farnell, etc. , maybe even the local dealer, if any ;-)
cost is max 10p.

if enough is interested i can buy some and send them as a letter.

also i could easily do the mod if you send the PCB, but as most is located in the UK, and DK is checking all incoming mail from UK, i'll probably be paying import tax etc.

let me know what you think.
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Hello, thank you for this tutorial, can you tell us today, after 1 year, if it still works? can you maybe send us a video? thanks!

 

[ajw1100]

Thank you GCB, excellent idea. Thought of an easier? way to do the mount in the original post. Instead of plastic Paint brush maybe the end of an old wooden coat hanger? Two ends to play with and experiment on, easily trimmed to size then painted or even use a black felt tip permanent marker.

 

[GCB]

Good idea. I used the cheap plastic brush as it was already black and textured finish. Also, I just caught sight of it in the Range and though that it would do the job, but anything with a suitable profile would do.

The mod is still in place a year later and it's pretty effective as far as I'm concerned.

 

[johnDM]

This is my mod to the driver's blindspot indicator light. I've had it fitted for a few weeks, and it works for me. Please don't attack me for my DIY skills etc. I thought I'd put it out there in case it helps anyone. If you don't like the look of it, please just ignore it!

Let's face it, the blindspot lights are poor design. There's not much that can be done about the nearside light, but the driver's light is naff. It's out of the driver's line of sight when looking in the mirror, it's dim, it's recessed and it points the wrong way. It's so bad that I found I was just not using it, which seemed a shame. This mod makes a reflector that directs the beam towards the driver. In effect, it doubles the visible size of the light and, as it directs it towards the driver, the light is brighter.

You will need:

• A piece of black plastic about 2.5cm x 1.5cm x 1 cm approx. I used a cheap wallpaper brush from The Range (£2.99) as the plastic was a similar texture to the car's plastic.
• A plastic reflector of some kind. I just used mirror finish gift wrap tape that was lying around, but maybe a piece cut from a plastic mirror tile would be even better.
• Double sided tape or sticky fixers.

1. Cut the rough block of plastic from whatever you are using.
View attachment 4661

2. Cut the reflecting face. This will be just over 45 degrees and slightly tilted up, but it depends where you sit. I bluetacked a reflector in place on the car and positioned it to reflect towards my eyes to estimate the angle needed before I made the cut.
View attachment 4662

3. Apply double sided tape to the face that sticks to the car and apply the mirror material to the reflecting face. My double sided tape didn't work well on the car's slightly curved plastic surface. I used sticky fixers that have a bit more 'give' and they worked well. Also, if using very thin mirror tape like me, the cut face might need smoothing with sandpaper to get a good surface.
View attachment 4663

4. This is what it looks like fitted. You can see that the reflection doubles the size of the indicator lamp and it really appears much brighter. I don't think it looks too bodged and ugly, but you might think differently .
View attachment 4664View attachment 4665

Like I said. I works for me, but if you don't like the look of it, just ignore it.

So simple it's brilliant