Louder sound for trafficator

[Alchemist]

As my hearing is a bit dodgy, I appreciated the trafficator sound on my previous car (Grand Picasso) which increased in volume the longer the trafficator was working. I find the sound on my Karoq on the quiet side, does anyone  know if it is possible to increase it or fir some sort of aftermarket/homemade device to make it louder? As a matter of interest, where is the "ticker" located? is it easy to access? All help gratefully received!

[agedbriar]

75 and following this topic. 😊
BTW, on my 2005 Octavia it was even quieter.

[Tolpol62]

I had to look up what a trafficator is!

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Alchemist said:

...does anyone  know if it is possible to increase it or fir some sort of aftermarket/homemade device to make it louder?

 

A hearing aid.

Edited 10 February, 2020 by Guest

[Alchemist]

Good answer, but hearing aids do not discriminate between sounds! BTW I do have hearing aids, but they amplify everything, including those sounds you don't want to hear!

[Gomezz]

1 hour ago, Alchemist said:

Good answer, but hearing aids do not discriminate between sounds! BTW I do have hearing aids, but they amplify everything, including those sounds you don't want to hear!

Hi Alchemist, don't know what hearing aids you have now but mine have just been upgraded ( NHS ) to the Phonak Nanos Auto M and they are so much better than the last ones, more natural sounds and now the music in the car sounds better plus I can hear the indicator clicker!!

[Kenny R]

It’s only you that puts the indicators on, so you should know when they are on, or off, plus there are two green lights on the dash that flash when they are on. Not to mention the orange indicator lamps on the door mirrors are visible from the drivers seat. Can’t really see a need for a loud clicker, unless of course, you can’t see as well

Edited 10 February, 2020 by Kenny R

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Alchemist said:

Good answer, but hearing aids do not discriminate between sounds! BTW I do have hearing aids, but they amplify everything, including those sounds you don't want to hear!

 

1 hour ago, Kenny R said:

... unless of course, you can’t see as well

 

Ah but Kenny, the trouble with eyes is they don't discriminate beween sights, they see everything including those sights you don't want to see.

 

OP - What difference does a hearing aid make to picking up sounds you don't want to hear? My ears pick up sounds I'm not particularly interested in hearing too.  

Edited 10 February, 2020 by Guest

[Alchemist]

It's all to do with the frequencies hearing aids are tuned to - they do not cover the full spectrum of normal hearing and tend to amplify things like paper rustling, wind noise etc. . Don't tell me I should buy some hideously expensive ones, I am just looking for a simple solution to a simple matter. (Perhaps you are unhappy with the unfavourable comparison of Skoda with Citroen?!)

 

By the way, as a motorcyclist I had concerns with non-cancelling indicators and built a simple beeper which I wired to the lamps themselves. I made the system for a friend of mine who found it a life saver having earlier forgotten to cancel a left turn signal and got (understandably) pranged by a car pulling out in front of him. Simple to make, simple to fit on a bike with highly accessible wiring.

 

And, yes, for those who have pointed out that there are dash turn warning lights and lights on the door mirrors, I do keep an eye on them - I am not blind as well as (slightly) deaf!

[J.R.]

As someone who is recovering post op from the 11th eye operation, who has glaucoma and is currently but I hope temporarily blind in the left eye I am quite aware of feild of vision, macular vision, the difficulty of seeing dim warning lights against a non contrasting background and the brain giving more priority to processing what you are focussing on than small changes in peripheral illumination. If you have ever taken a field of vision test you will recall staring straight at the middle and then doubting whether or not you may have seen a very dim blink of light on the periphery. This will be the reality for each and every one of you when you age if it is not already the case.

 

The indicator audible warning is too quiet, very hard to discriminate against road noise and impossible if listening to the radio, on my MK1 I took the unit apart, tweaked the contact gap (it had dirty contacts & was not working properly) which resulted in it making a louder click, the MK2 is much much quieter, almost inaudible.

 

My indicators often dont self cancel but I can never replicate the fault on test, in certain lighting conditions the panel lights are very hard to see, I cannot see my LH mirror without moving my head (blind in eye) and am fairly certain that I cant see the side repeater flashing in the RH one from the drivers seat, that is to say that it is masked, visible only to other drivers.

 

If the binnacle indicator lights are flashing I dont see them when driving untill I scan the instruments, however if a MIL lights up I see it immediately like for instance the airbag light remaining on after start up (no audible warning).

 

So Kenny its not a case of not being able to see, I have 20/20 vision in the remaining eye and am allowed to drive, have slight hearing loss in the lowest frequencies from industrial exposure but dont need a hearing aid, I can hear the indicator relay but it is far too queit compared to other cars, I can see the dashboard indicator lights but they are not bright enough or contrasting enough to be visible when watching the road ahead, I dont think anyone could see my door mirror indicators from the drivers seat.

 

Maybe if I were 20 again I could do all these things however in 9 out of 10 times that I see indicators permanantly one, often on a motorway it will be a very young driver and I surmise that they have the stereo belting out music.

[Breezy_Pete]

The source of the ticking may well be a piezo tweeter on the instrument cluster circuit board.  It could possibly be replaced by a louder one with the same physical footprint. 

I'll dig out an image of the one on a Fabia shortly.

[Breezy_Pete]

Here's the sounder on a Mk1 Fabia instrument cluster board, (orange arrow, ignore red one). Things may have changed of course, and the sound may be made elsewhere, I doubt too many Karoq clusters have been dismantled to look at so far, but I bet someone has, somewhere.

 

 

If you're really lucky, VCDS may be able to alter the sound level in software.

Edited 10 February, 2020 by Wino