Turn Signal Retrofit

I have always thought the rear stop/turn signals were a little inadequate. One 4 inch LED to perform these functions just did not seem visible enough...especially given the numerous distracted drivers out there now. I'm a big fan of a yellow light for turn signals, as it is far easier to notice than when just red is used. Our Santa Fe uses only red indicators as well, and quite frankly, I think they suck.

A few years back, SC started work on a new trailer...the Koala Project. They would tease us with little photos on their corporate web site, until the surprise was finally revealed. An Alto reconfigured for the Australian market. All sorts of changes took place...the reversing of the entire layout was the big one, and a bunch of little regulatory changes. One photo caught my eye right away. It was of the roof being lowered onto an Australian body. I immediately noticed the addition of a nice yellow turn signal, right beside the red brake signal. It looked perfect! I was smitten. Could this be a retrofit for us? This idea was soon dashed when I realized the need for a dedicated turn signal line, which did not exist in our model. Perhaps a new line could be run in another trailer, but there was no way to do this aesthetically correct in ours, as the current wires are embedded inside the edge of the roof. One could run new lines under the Alto, but I did not really want to go that route. I then wondered if perhaps the addition of a second turn/brake light would help the visibility, and I figured it could certainly not hurt.

I did a ton of thinking about this mod, and a lot of it involved looking at double light setups on all sorts of transport trailers. Rarely do you see a new trailer with a single 4 inch led, and this helped make the decision to go forward. I then finally ordered another set of lights from SC. I've drilled a couple of two inch holes in the floor before, and that was worrisome enough, but drilling a couple of new FOUR inch holes, right in the roof, took this concern to a whole new level all together. Before committing, I wanted to do a dry run to see how the lights would look and function. I already knew they would fit and not look out of place, but would there be enough extra visibility to justify the effort for the mod. I removed the inside cover over the tail light assemblies, spliced into the existing lines with the new connectors and a little extra wire, and ran the lines out the bottom. I wired up a new light, stuck it in place, and connected the tow vehicle. On went the lights and the testing started. I was most curious to see if there was an improvement in the daylight, and I was not disappointed. I think the visibility for both the turn signalling and braking will be much improved! At night, it was better as well.

testing before committing

Drilling through the Alto is very nerve wracking, and this job cannot be hidden if it goes off the rails. I sourced the best quality hole saw I could find, and measured the locations incessantly. Next thing you know, there was no turning back as there were now two lovely new holes in the roof.

done deal now...

On went some silicone, the grommets, then the lights. I discovered during my testing that the new lights, although virtually identical, did seem to be brighter, so I swapped them into the outer position, and the old ones went into the new spots. Connections were made inside, the cover panel replaced, and we were done.

Although a separate yellow turn signal is my ideal, the addition of a second red signal I think is a big improvement. Hopefully it will help in the long run, to better catch the attention of those who are absentmindedly wandering the roads.