For what it’s worth, I asked Google Gemini. Can’t verify what it says because I don’t happen to have a 96 Sonoma.
On a 1996 GMC Sonoma, the flasher relay is located under the lower driver-side dashboard panel (knee bolster), positioned behind and just to the left of the ashtray / center stereo area.
How to Access It:
Remove the lower dash cover: Unscrew the fasteners/Torx screws holding the lower driver-side knee panel beneath the steering column. (Note: Be sure to pull out the ashtray, as there is often a hidden bolt behind it).
Locate the convenience block: Look upward toward the center console area to the left of the ashtray housing. You will see a small electrical relay cluster/harness holding round, cylindrical flasher units.
Identify the flasher:
Turn Signal Flasher: Mounted on the right side of the convenience bracket.
Hazard Flasher: Mounted on the left side of the convenience bracket.
(If your hazard flasher still works, turn it on while listening under the dash to quickly pinpoint the exact relay cluster by ear).
Ya know what, for shits and giggles, I decided to go ahead and read over the AI slop. It actually is describing one of 3 possible expected locations of the module on this family line of trucks, but I’ve already checked all 3 expected locations and haven’t had any luck finding the OG flasher module so far.
When we first got the truck back running back in April, the flashers actually did work, but somewhere along the way they just stopped flashing and stayed stuck on. Now, this part of the AI instructions gave me a good chuckle…
If your hazard flasher still works, turn it on while listening under the dash to quickly pinpoint the exact relay cluster by ear
LMFAO! Even when the flashers did work, it never made any sound whatsoever!
This truck has a rather interesting history, to say the least. I’m inclined to think the ‘original’ flasher module isn’t even original itself, and just might have been replaced with some sort of digital flasher that doesn’t make any sound. I dunno man, but this truck has had numerous modifications from previous owners, and I’m still sorting stuff out, with almost no expectations and gradually learning what the hell is what.
And the previous owner is unfortunately now deceased, so I can’t exactly ask him what all got modified, I’m finding this stuff out for myself. And it’s too damn hot lately to keep going out chasing wild geese to find this otherwise simple module, so for now this is what I’m working with and keeps the truck effectively road legal.
The original flasher module, wherever the hell it is, used to work, but has never once made a sound, and now it’s failed where the blinkers will otherwise just stay on. So, this is my solution for now, until I can figure out where it actually is.
I’ve heard that within this family line of trucks, it could be in any one of these 4 locations…
Under the dash under the steering column
Under the dash by the ashtray/cigarette lighter
Under the dash way back beside the emergency brake pedal
Under the hood near/under the main power distribution block
Still no dice, I’ve checked all 4 of these places. 🤷♂️
Oh, also, side note, our emergency flasher button is completely broke out of our steering column, so short of getting a whole new steering column, we don’t have emergency flashers, but at least my fix for the regular blinker flasher works.
Attacking people who disclose when they’ve used AI won’t bring the future you desire, it will only encourage people to not be forthcoming about their sources. I could have come here and dropped some paraphrased version of Gemini’s response and passed it off as my own, and no one would’ve been the wiser. I use AI sparingly, and when I do, I make sure to be clear about it.
I get that AI isn’t a favored technology around here, but with the enshittification of search engines, niche answers aren’t easy to surface anymore. It seems OP has done as much searching as he was willing to do, and I figured pursuing traditional search results on my own wouldn’t yield anything better, so I searched with AI.
You can call it slop if you want to, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily wrong. An LLM is a tool that groups words together by probability from training data. If that data includes documentation or forum posts that discuss the location of the flasher relay module in a '96 Sonoma, there’s a decent chance the LLM is going to spit out a worthwhile answer.
What are the stakes?
Job impact? OP clearly wasn’t going to bring this to a mechanic.
Environmental? An AI search has less environmental impact than a burning vehicle from a rigged bandaid fix.
Safety? This particular AI query hasn’t produced any dangerous suggestions. It’s exploratory.
Waste of time and effort? The LLM suggested a place that takes very little effort to verify for someone who has the truck in question. I don’t, so I can’t. If the information is correct, it gives OP the opportunity to implement a proper fix and undo the fire hazard he’s rigged up. If it’s not, no one’s in a worse position than they were before.
I use AI sparingly, and when I do, I make sure to be clear about it.
How about instead, you just don’t use it at all.
And especially don’t inject AI slop into a conversation with other people when nobody asked you to. You’re not adding anything of value to the discussion. If you have nothing of your own to say, it’s okay to say nothing at all. Go ahead, try it. Say nothing at all. Easy, isn’t it?
You’re not adding anything of value to the discussion.
If that’s your complete, honest take, I don’t see eye-to-eye with it. It was correct information, posted before anyone else came here with the same information. That’s the definition of adding to the discussion. That I sourced that information from an LLM and that I couldn’t independently verify on my end without access to the truck in question is irrelevant. Fuck AI for other reasons, but sometimes it’s useful.
“My confirmation bias confirms that it worked out.”
This is no different than writing, “the first ten Google results for Sonoma flasher are…” It’s the most basic, non-contributing information that anyone would get with even cursory investigation. It’s fake-work that doesn’t contribute anything, but gives you the warm-and-fuzzies for “helping”, while most likely muddying the waters with misinformation.
Dude, look at the vote totals on your posts here. Nobody sees eye-to-eye with you on it. Nobody wants it.
And it’s up to the people you’re ‘helping’ to determine if your slop is useful or not. Pretty obviously, nobody here thinks it’s useful.
If you don’t have anything worthwhile to say without AI, then just don’t say anything at all. If OP wanted AI slop answers, they could have just googled it and got google’s AI slop directly. In all likelihood, they already did. Who would ask a question like this without googling it first? And google always throws this shit in your face every time you search for something.
Next time you want to add AI slop to a conversation, just don’t. Nobody asked you to. Nobody wants you to. We’re here to talk to real people. We don’t want to talk to AI.
For what it’s worth, I asked Google Gemini. Can’t verify what it says because I don’t happen to have a 96 Sonoma.
On a 1996 GMC Sonoma, the flasher relay is located under the lower driver-side dashboard panel (knee bolster), positioned behind and just to the left of the ashtray / center stereo area.
How to Access It:
Ya know what, for shits and giggles, I decided to go ahead and read over the AI slop. It actually is describing one of 3 possible expected locations of the module on this family line of trucks, but I’ve already checked all 3 expected locations and haven’t had any luck finding the OG flasher module so far.
When we first got the truck back running back in April, the flashers actually did work, but somewhere along the way they just stopped flashing and stayed stuck on. Now, this part of the AI instructions gave me a good chuckle…
LMFAO! Even when the flashers did work, it never made any sound whatsoever!
This truck has a rather interesting history, to say the least. I’m inclined to think the ‘original’ flasher module isn’t even original itself, and just might have been replaced with some sort of digital flasher that doesn’t make any sound. I dunno man, but this truck has had numerous modifications from previous owners, and I’m still sorting stuff out, with almost no expectations and gradually learning what the hell is what.
And the previous owner is unfortunately now deceased, so I can’t exactly ask him what all got modified, I’m finding this stuff out for myself. And it’s too damn hot lately to keep going out chasing wild geese to find this otherwise simple module, so for now this is what I’m working with and keeps the truck effectively road legal.
I’ll find that damn module someday, eventually…
Do the turn signals work, and do they make a sound? If they do, I’d probably follow that sound and look for the hazard flasher module nearby.
The original flasher module, wherever the hell it is, used to work, but has never once made a sound, and now it’s failed where the blinkers will otherwise just stay on. So, this is my solution for now, until I can figure out where it actually is.
I’ve heard that within this family line of trucks, it could be in any one of these 4 locations…
Still no dice, I’ve checked all 4 of these places. 🤷♂️
Oh, also, side note, our emergency flasher button is completely broke out of our steering column, so short of getting a whole new steering column, we don’t have emergency flashers, but at least my fix for the regular blinker flasher works.
Then don’t post it.
Just don’t.
Nobody wants your AI slop.
Attacking people who disclose when they’ve used AI won’t bring the future you desire, it will only encourage people to not be forthcoming about their sources. I could have come here and dropped some paraphrased version of Gemini’s response and passed it off as my own, and no one would’ve been the wiser. I use AI sparingly, and when I do, I make sure to be clear about it.
I get that AI isn’t a favored technology around here, but with the enshittification of search engines, niche answers aren’t easy to surface anymore. It seems OP has done as much searching as he was willing to do, and I figured pursuing traditional search results on my own wouldn’t yield anything better, so I searched with AI.
You can call it slop if you want to, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily wrong. An LLM is a tool that groups words together by probability from training data. If that data includes documentation or forum posts that discuss the location of the flasher relay module in a '96 Sonoma, there’s a decent chance the LLM is going to spit out a worthwhile answer.
What are the stakes?
Job impact? OP clearly wasn’t going to bring this to a mechanic.
Environmental? An AI search has less environmental impact than a burning vehicle from a rigged bandaid fix.
Safety? This particular AI query hasn’t produced any dangerous suggestions. It’s exploratory.
Waste of time and effort? The LLM suggested a place that takes very little effort to verify for someone who has the truck in question. I don’t, so I can’t. If the information is correct, it gives OP the opportunity to implement a proper fix and undo the fire hazard he’s rigged up. If it’s not, no one’s in a worse position than they were before.
How about instead, you just don’t use it at all.
And especially don’t inject AI slop into a conversation with other people when nobody asked you to. You’re not adding anything of value to the discussion. If you have nothing of your own to say, it’s okay to say nothing at all. Go ahead, try it. Say nothing at all. Easy, isn’t it?
If that’s your complete, honest take, I don’t see eye-to-eye with it. It was correct information, posted before anyone else came here with the same information. That’s the definition of adding to the discussion. That I sourced that information from an LLM and that I couldn’t independently verify on my end without access to the truck in question is irrelevant. Fuck AI for other reasons, but sometimes it’s useful.
“My confirmation bias confirms that it worked out.”
This is no different than writing, “the first ten Google results for Sonoma flasher are…” It’s the most basic, non-contributing information that anyone would get with even cursory investigation. It’s fake-work that doesn’t contribute anything, but gives you the warm-and-fuzzies for “helping”, while most likely muddying the waters with misinformation.
Dude, look at the vote totals on your posts here. Nobody sees eye-to-eye with you on it. Nobody wants it.
And it’s up to the people you’re ‘helping’ to determine if your slop is useful or not. Pretty obviously, nobody here thinks it’s useful.
If you don’t have anything worthwhile to say without AI, then just don’t say anything at all. If OP wanted AI slop answers, they could have just googled it and got google’s AI slop directly. In all likelihood, they already did. Who would ask a question like this without googling it first? And google always throws this shit in your face every time you search for something.
Next time you want to add AI slop to a conversation, just don’t. Nobody asked you to. Nobody wants you to. We’re here to talk to real people. We don’t want to talk to AI.
Slop
I gotta give you this much though, you apparently noticed that I installed this bodge fix with an easy Undo button.
All I gotta do is pull the bodge out and plug a 15 amp fuse back in, if I ever manage to find the original flasher module anyways.
This works perfectly for now. Easy Undo…
Don’t post slop when you have no idea if it is accurate.