# Fast-Blinking Turn Signal - A Sign of the Apocalypse?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 7, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836 "2002-08-07T20:15:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/1 "2002-08-07T20:15:17Z")
Late last week, the left turn signal on our 1998 Toyota Camry started blinking twice as fast. It’s so annoying! And of course, we cannot find our owner’s manual.
I think that it is a signal that something specific is wrong with the electrical system and that our owner’s manual would validate my opinon.
My husband thinks it is a sign that the end times are here.
I’m kidding - El Hubbo just thinks that we need a new bulb or something.
Does anyone know the answer to this question before I give up and call the dealership?
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### Author:  [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/2 "2002-08-07T20:23:16Z")
My guess is that you blew a bulb somewhere like your hubby suggests. Same thing happened on an Accord I owned once.
You are not one of those people that remove the owners manual from the glove box are you?
dead0man
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### Author:  [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/3 "2002-08-07T20:40:41Z")
**dead0man** , it was in my glove box until I got my car detailed a week ago. I think they took it out and didn’t put it back, dang them straight to heck.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/4 "2002-08-07T20:42:14Z")
I’d start with replacing the turn signal bulbs. If that doesn’t do it, then it is the relay, or flasher or whatever it’s called. I found something called a turn signal flasher on [NAPAOnline](http://www.napaonline.com) for about $15. It’s under ‘electrical systems’.
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### Author:  [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/5 "2002-08-07T20:49:53Z")
I own a 1998 Toyota Camry, and this has happened to me a few times. Basically, the signal bulb has two filaments in it so that there are different levels of brightness so that the signal can still be seen when the lights are on at night. I’ve found that when the signal starts blinking doubletime, it means that one of the filaments is no longer working and the bulb needs to be replaced. IME, the signal still lights/flashes, just not as brightly as it should (and at twice the speed).
The signal bulb can be easily replaced at home for the cost of the bulb at your local auto parts store (probably around $3.00). Instructions on how to remove the plastic housing are in your owner’s manual. It requires only a screwdriver and a soft cloth to pry the unit out after removing one clip.
Good luck. 🙂
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/6 "2002-08-07T21:00:23Z")
My Camry has done this. And when I tried to describe it to the mechanic, he figured out the problem instantly. It happens quite frequently. And since there are a lot of Camrys, they hear it a lot.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/7 "2002-08-07T21:03:53Z")
The great majority of cars are designed so that the flash rate quickens when the circuit resistance changes. Almost always a burnt-out bulb is the culprit. Usually it’s quite obvious which bulb isn’t working, but a handful of cars use more than one bulb per corner, in which case you have to look carefully to see that one is working while the other is not.
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### Author:  [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/8 "2002-08-07T21:32:17Z")
Just a helpful hint on your '98 Camry, you change the bulb from _Inside_ the trunk if it’s a rear one. If you live near Highland Park in Saint Paul, and you find yourself stumped, let me know. I could pop over for a looksee. Maybe it’ll end up like [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=129544). 😉
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/9 "2002-08-07T22:13:50Z")
My Camry wagon has done this as well. Like the others said, it was a bulb issue.
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### Author:  [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2002, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/10 "2002-08-08T05:26:36Z")
Turn on your emergency flashers. That way you can walk around the car and see which bulbs are flashing, and which are not.
Compare the lights on one side of the car to the other side.
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### Author:  [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/11 "2002-08-08T12:36:04Z")
You guys rock… Thanks for the advice! I’ll let you know what happens.
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### Author:  [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2002, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/12 "2002-08-08T16:31:11Z")
Not sure about Camry’s, but on most of the cars I’ve owned in the last few years, the bulbs could be replaced without taking off the plastic cover. Look on the inside of the car for a black bolt-like attachment. Twist it and pull it through the hole. Your burnt out bulb hsould be on the end of it. Voila - easy replacement.
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### Author:  [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/13 "2002-08-08T17:14:51Z")
Maybe I’m jaded, and my own experience with a 1980 Tercel match those of everyone else who posted, but I was really hoping for at least one anecdote that ended with something like “the car broke in half after all four wheels fell off”.
Just a suggestion – I’ll go quietly.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-blinking-turn-signal-a-sign-of-the-apocalypse/122836/14 "2002-08-08T19:22:58Z")
Okay, **whiteho.** The turn signal on my old 1978 Chevette started blinking rapidly, and then two weeks later, the vehicle was severely vandalized in the parking lot. Clearly something had set off the “roaming goon” alarm, but silly me, I disregarded it.