"...why is the right signal indicator blinking faster today...?"

"...why is the right signal indicator blinking faster today...?

...asked my kid last Saturday as we were going somewhere in the car. 

Apparently, the front side right indicator bulb had burned out. Those who drive a car would know that the car electricals are so wired that when one or more of the 3 direction indicator bulbs / blinkers (Front, Side & Rear) stop working, the other remaining bulbs as well as the blinker indicator on the car dash starts blinking at a higher frequency. This mechanism is set up to aid the driver, as, sitting inside the car, it is often difficult to know when any of the indicator bulbs are non-operational. 

So I told her about the mechanism. "I will have to get the bulb replaced & then it will blink at normal pace" I told her. Sunday morning, I took the car to the local mechanic to get the bulb replaced. On inspection, he found out that there was nothing wrong with the bulb. Further probing revealed that a rat had eaten the wire supplying power to the bulb, so he mended the connection and we were good. 

Now rats are a big menace for some car owners who do not have a great parking spot. I have been driving for over 12 years and have spent a lot of money on replacing wires feasted on by rats. Having tried everything from tambaku pudi (chewing tobacco powder) to naphthalene balls to camphor tablets to rat repellent sprays. Nothing works 100% at all times, but one has to keep at it. So after bringing the car back, I bought some tobacco packets & placed them under the hood, praying to Lord Ganesh & his Vaahan to spare the wires of my car. That was when I saw something interesting. The tobacco packet had a regulatory image & health warning but also a phone number on it to help consumers quit the habit. While tobacco & alcohol products always carry the health hazard warning, it was the first time I noticed a phone number on the product for quitting consumption as well.

- When you sense/see something going faster than usual, don't always think of it as progress. Sometimes a faster blinking indicator could mean something could be wrong & needs attention.

- At times, the most obvious deduction from observing an indicator can be completely wrong. I had assumed the bulb had burned out (from my driving experience of 12 years) yet it was actually a case of a broken connection.

- The mechanic could have easily taken me for a ride by telling me he had replaced the bulb. Instead, he told me he had just mended the wire for free. It is important to have reliable & genuine people to diagnose an issue at hand.

- Ironically, the people/companies who push us into a bad habit / wrong decision will often be the first one to offer help to get us out of it. It is up to us to identify them & avoid getting into play with them to begin with. 

- There is no perfect solution to keep rats out from under a car hood (except building a wire mesh around  the underhood assembly). If you have any other solutions, do let me know 😊.