What Are These Things?

"mtdrift" (mtdrift) 05/24/2017 at 13:07 • Filed to: Cadillac, NPOCP, Questions

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I was looking at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and I’ve always wondered what the purpose of these little bullet-shaped decorations on the front fenders of GM cars from this era were.

I was going to comment on the post itself, but I thought Oppo might have the answer. I don’t even really know what to call them...

Roundbadge > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:11

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They are turn-signal and high-beam indicators that sit in the driver’s field of vision. There are little lights inside those pods that are visible to the driver.

Edit: The term ‘tattle-tales’ was escaping me at the time...

Shift24 > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:13

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Called tattle tales or tell tales. Basically a telling you your blinker is on, but on your hood

http://jalopnik.com/these-tattle-tales-are-americas-weirdest-secret-car-pa-1238802149

mtdrift > Roundbadge 05/24/2017 at 13:15

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That was fast! Thanks.

mtdrift > Shift24 05/24/2017 at 13:16

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Totally fascinating. I guess I’ve never really driven a car with these before.

McMike > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:16

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http://jalopnik.com/these-tattle-tales-are-americas-weirdest-secret-car-pa-1238802149

shop-teacher > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:17

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Turn signal repeaters!

Bourbon&JellyBeans > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:18

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Yep, they’re indicator lights. We had to stop making them when it wasn’t cool to build front ends that tore pedestrians in half anymore. Useless now that you can’t even see the hood in front of you in many modern cars.

crowmolly > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:19

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Vigilite lamp monitoring system. Lets you know if a light is out.

Super rare option on first gen Camaros, FWIW.

Dave the car guy , still here > Roundbadge 05/24/2017 at 13:19

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lol, I love it when someone else can answer these type questions. Now you know what half of my work day is comprised of. Its about 20-40 questions a day from salesmen as much as customers. Then there’s the can I put this year engine into this other year this other body style/brand/make car inquiry.

Shift24 > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:20

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Very rare now a days. I think only the newest mustang has it as an option. But it used to be on alot of 70s and 80s cars. Anything that had a hint of luxury basically.

vicali > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 13:36

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Our 81 Tornado had them.. they were super cool.. might have been the best part of that car.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > mtdrift 05/24/2017 at 14:10

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Yeah Caddys had them up on the fender I remember, old people forget the blinker is on.

kanadanmajava1 > Roundbadge 05/24/2017 at 16:35

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I had these in my ‘84 Buick Electra. They weren’t actually lights but fiber optic cables going to headlights and front direction indicators. So they told if these lights were on. So not just supposed to be on but also working.

They were originally wired to headlights too but my car had been converted to use euro spec H4 headlights instead of the original sealed beams. So in mine only the fibers to the direction indicators worked.