Side markers: To blink or not to blink?

[Edmond]

Well maybe this is the dumb question of the day, but in what year did they started with the blinking side markers.
Mine do blink, but according to the wiring diagram they are not supose to blink... (1971 Longhorn)
How do these side marker lights blink by the way?

Thanks...

Cya,
Edmond

[COBALT]

Um....powering your side markers was an option. They'd stay on with the headlights, but I don't know what you mean by blinking. You mean the fronts would blink when you had the turn signal on? I thought they just stayed on.

Sometimes people who bought these trucks new wouldn't agree to buy them unless the dealership did some "extras", or changed some things. Remember that dealerships used to actually be very good at doing some very custom stuff, and were reliable mechanics.

This is debatable with a lot of people, but I for one know because my dad told me he did it when he bought his 67 C10 brand new. He made them change the mirrors, front/rear bumper, shocks, seat, and radio just to name a few. None of it was written down on the option sticker, but nevertheless it was changed! Someone probably thought it was crap to have reflecter side markers. I for one like them lit too.

[Longhorn Man]

Begining '70, all side marker lights were light from the factory.
There is some confusion on the blinking thing too though.
My old '70 CST/20 longhorn would blink...with unmolested wires.
My C/30 Longhorn does not blink...again, unmolested.
I have run polls about this, but got so many odd answers, I didn't even bother to tally it all up. (old board...I'd had to have done it all in my head)
At first, I had thought it could have been a mid year introduction, but I looked at my papers, and my One ton was built in june (non-blinking) while the 3/4 ton was built in April (blinknig)
So there seems to be no continuity on this with the exception that all trucks 1970 and newer had working side marker lights.

[Hooter]

My 69 chevy is unmollested (well mostly) and the side marker lights light up but do not blink

[Longhorn Man]

Hooter, very interesting...most 69's were not optioned with the lights.
That is good info.

[barn9]

Edmond, this is a little OT, but I just noticed your grill in the avatar pic, and that is not a '71 grill, did you change it?

[Edmond]

Barn9: No this is the grill it came with. Not a good job by the way, because the outer grill is correct for '71, and they cut off the headlight parts of an 69/70 grill. Looks real ugly upclose....
Next year, when we are gonna repaint the truck (and this time not by hand ) we put on the correct grill.

New69owner: About the blinking side markers, yes I meant together with the turnsignal on.
I must apollogise, but I have sometimes difficulty explaining myself in the english language. Let alone writing it down.

Now if the lights blink, how does that work?

Thanks again,
Cya,
Edmond

[SWINGSAX68]

my 68 was not originally set up to have the side markers blink or even work with the park lamps.....I rigged it myself to have the side markers come on only with the signal/park lamps....but not to blink with the signal/park lamps.

[chevy2racr]

myine blink on my LWB, not sure on the step, they've never worked

[Alex]

Mine blinks on the 72 as well. Looks factory to me.

[toms68cst]

I've looked a various year's schematics for our trucks and they always show the side lights wired together (Brown Wire) and then wired to the parking light circuit. If that's the case they should not blink. IMO having them come on with the parking lights makes more sense. They put them on to increase visibilty to vehicles approaching the truck from the side. If they only came on with the blinker they wouldn't come on at all at night unless the driver is signaling a turn.

[Benrs86]

but if you spliced the two wires coming back from the front for each blinker to the sidemarkers, then you would get blinking on the sidemarkers, BUT they would light up with the brake lights too? how do i get around that? thanks, Ben

[Longhorn Man]

Ok, to clerify...
The rear ones never blinked on any of the 68 - 72.
The ones with the blinking front markers, do light up with the parking lights, but blink the oposite of the front signal.
To wire non blinking ones to blink, you just run the ground of the side marker to the positive on the btight filiment of the front turn signal. When the signal is not on, that wire will act as a ground, then when it gets power, the ground is inturupted, and turns off the side marker.
The only way I can think of getting the back ones to blink, would be to run the ground wire all the way to the front, and wire with the front markers in the same maner.
If you were to run it to the tail lights, the rear ones would in fact turn off every time you hit the brakes.

[tom hand]

After reading this post I did some investigating. I looked at a wiring diagram on this website, http://www.geocities.com/chevroletc1070/v8engcomp.html
and then looked at my truck which "blinks" [the sidemarkers go out when the blinkers come on] My truck is NOT wired like that diagram. The diagram plainly shows the sidemarkers grounded near the sidemarker to the metal of the truck. On my truck the "ground" wire goes back into the harness that plugs into the firewall. It is untouched factory wiring.

[1971LT1SWBPOSI373]

I have a 71 Chevy short fleet, and a 72 long fleet. They both blink... TJ

[chevy2racr]

my wires also both runinto the harness and go back to the cab

[toms68cst]

LOL, We will never settle this question! If someone can show me factory schematic of that ground wire set up you are talking about (Tom Hand) I'd be a believer.