narrow LED third (86+) brake light

ryan

ryan

True Classic
Didn't someone like Bob Brown find a nice retrofit LED third brake light for our cars? I'm upgrading my tail lights to LED and it would be nice to do the third brake light too. It would also be nice to have one that doesn't famously block rearward vision! I was searching around but couldn't find any thread on it yet.

thanks,
-ryan
 
I would expect there are universal/generic LED strips that will work. I used the LED brake light from a Volvo 1998-2000 V70 wagon :D

Secured to the glass with thin strips of Velcro. It fits along the bottom edge nicely, and even with a rear spoiler is clearly visible in operation. It does not impact rearward vision at all, unlike the bulky upper mount original. Can't find any of my install pics, you can see it if you enlarge this pic.

DallaraPaint00208.jpg
 
Funny, I was just thinking about this. Now that I've been able to drive my '87 a couple of times, I noticed that the 3rd brake light is the worst afterthought design in history! It almost completely blocks the view out of the rear window.
 
It is amazingly horrible, I pulled mine on my 87. I am going to put an interior light in that location and put an exterior CHMSL LED brake light elsewhere.
 
Huey said:
Funny, I was just thinking about this. Now that I've been able to drive my '87 a couple of times, I noticed that the 3rd brake light is the worst afterthought design in history! It almost completely blocks the view out of the rear window.
Click to expand...
Yes, it blocks your view, and someone in an SUV behind you can't see it, as it as the targa bar is in the way. Great design any way you look at it.
 
Driving in Detroit, the lack of CHMSL has scared me a bit for both the safety of myself and the car. I will not remove the 70s ladder bumpers from my car for that reason. I have been thinking of something to put on the outside of the upper cross member just above the chrome trim. I know there isn't much room and I haven't done too much analysis at the car. As always my mind is one upping the standard CHMSL.

If I could create the circuit here is what I've wanted. I think some Bob Brown or other members' advice here would greatly help.
Inputs:
  • brake light switch
  • turn signals
Outputs
  • brake lights that pulses or flashes for the first 1.5 seconds
  • either sweep left to right or have outer couple LEDs flash to turn signals.
Given how low the car is and considering all the OEMs are doing away with cars in lieu of SUVs and CUVs I wanted to provide as much communication as high and as bright as I could. That means above the roll bar is optimal.

Given the pulsing and desired multiple uses with the turn signals an Ardruino is probably needed. If I can keep the wires to a minimal I could store the Ardruino on the interior and run a ribbon or select wires to the light. If that's not possible then the 4 wires (brake +, left +, right +, and ground) are needed. Ground might be optional if i could ground right there.

The housing requires metal fab work which I really want to learn and do much more often. If I had plans for a new paint job in the future

All this could easily be done with a lower mounted one like Joe has done. To me its just not high enough. It could definitely be a first step in the right direction, allowing for the flashing and even turn signal input. Does anyone know, is that even high enough for a modern FMVSS legal CHMSL?
 
AKimball92 said:
If I could create the circuit here is what I've wanted. I think some Bob Brown or other members' advice here would greatly help.
Inputs:
  • brake light switch
  • turn signals
Outputs
  • brake lights that pulses or flashes for the first 1.5 seconds
  • either sweep left to right or have outer couple LEDs flash to turn signals.
Click to expand...
You can probably find that on Aliexpress. The problem is finding what you want among all their listings. Something like this may be half of what you need. I have made dozens of purchases through Aliexpress, and have no unresolved issues. Once I did not receive what I ordered, and got my money back within 24 hours of filing a refund request. Shipping can take a while, though. Expect 2 - 3 weeks, occasionally even longer.
 
This has the functions you are looking for, but it is 48-49" long for pickup tailgates. There was also a 60" verion. While not ideal, I figured it might give you some ideas to work from. The only thing that jumps to mind is to perhaps stick it on the trim piece for the pinch weld at the rear of the targa sail. It uses a 4 wire trailer plug, so it could be removable if you added the plug to your X wiring.
 
I got this strip LED a year or two ago to replace the mirror-blocker on my '86, but haven't installed it yet; 12" long, just over 3/8"wide, and as bright as the LED brake lights on the back of the car; self adhesive with a 3M strip on the back, seems to be black underneath so a glass mount near the bottom would be feasible. Sorry I don't remember the source, but I'm sure I still have the receipt- somewhere. Not expensive.IMG_1097.JPG IMG_1098.JPG
 
ng_randolph said:
You can probably find that on Aliexpress. The problem is finding what you want among all their listings. Something like this may be half of what you need. I have made dozens of purchases through Aliexpress, and have no unresolved issues. Once I did not receive what I ordered, and got my money back within 24 hours of filing a refund request. Shipping can take a while, though. Expect 2 - 3 weeks, occasionally even longer.
Click to expand...

I've seen that website before in a few searches. It reminded me too much of alibaba which screwed me over twice on books for classes. Ill have to actually consider the site.

I kind of need to figure out how much I want to put into it and how much I want to get out of it. Between light output and skills gained, time remaining to do other things, all that needs to be weighed. If i get enough time bored at work, I'll have have the whole circuit laid out, meaning i either place it on the speaker tray or try above the chrome.

In an ideal world, i would cap the chrome trim off leaving a foot gap in the middle, cut out a hole for the light housing, and mold it in there as if Fiat designed it in there in the first place. For now my idea will just stick up similar to the Ford Mustang or Fusion.
 
Ryan, how do you want yours to look? I did not mean to steal the thread, but it could get your creative juices flowing. Technically all you need is something that can take 12V and connect though the light to ground. Adding LEDs might alter that a bit. An easier fix would be search a pull apart and see what one could pull out, paint to match your interior and fit on that tray or at the top of the glass if you are not tall. I have been continuously scanning cars while driving trying to find the correct shape CHMSL lens to match the contours of where I want to put mine.
 
JimD said:
This has the functions you are looking for, but it is 48-49" long for pickup tailgates. There was also a 60" verion. While not ideal, I figured it might give you some ideas to work from. The only thing that jumps to mind is to perhaps stick it on the trim piece for the pinch weld at the rear of the targa sail. It uses a 4 wire trailer plug, so it could be removable if you added the plug to your X wiring.
Click to expand...

I have thought about this one, it could mount on the plastic filler under the back edge of the engine lid and could shine nicely on the rear deck lid. I need to go and verify it would fit under there and not be too wide.

It wouldn’t be hyper obvious but visible from behind as the overhang isn’t too great.
 
Never having driven a CHMSL equipped X, I never realized how much of the rear view it blocks until I saw your interior photo.. It basically blocks the best rear view from the driver's seat. I would remove the whole thing. If you still want a CHMSL, perhaps you could you could mount one externally outside the driver's view line. Have you considered something like that LED light strip on the back of the engine cover?
 
On my ‘87 that CHMSL literally filled the majority of the rear view mirror. I hope to run a downlight in that position (like they used to have) and an external CHMSL.

One can run a new brake wire up the passenger side of the targa bar into the rear channel of the targa bar (old the interior light and the OE CHMSL bring the wire up the “front” channel of the targa bar) to then drill a hole to the rear of the bar for the new, externally mounted CHMSL. One hopes one could find a smaller LED strip to tuck below the chrome trim back there.

There was a thread last year where a member ran the wire in the back channel. We got clued into the space being accessible by the crashed late model Chris Obert took apart last year.
 
kmead said:
On my ‘87 that CHMSL literally filled the majority of the rear view mirror. I hope to run a downlight in that position (like they used to have) and an external CHMSL.

One can run a new brake wire up the passenger side of the targa bar into the rear channel of the targa bar (old the interior light and the OE CHMSL bring the wire up the “front” channel of the targa bar) to then drill a hole to the rear of the bar for the new, externally mounted CHMSL. One hopes one could find a smaller LED strip to tuck below the chrome trim back there.

There was a thread last year where a member ran the wire in the back channel. We got clued into the space being accessible by the crashed late model Chris Obert took apart last year.
Click to expand...

Here's what it looked like in the rear view mirror. Ridiculous.
PXL_20210711_003139774.jpg
 
The 2nd owner of my 86X replaced the stock view blocker with a much smaller LED light prior to me buying it in 2006. I don't even notice it when driving, so it must be much better than the stock fixture. So small, I had to highlight it. :)
IM001680.JPGIM001680b.JPG
 
Lots of great comments in this thread. We've discussed it in the past but it is worth revisiting.

I also agree that having some sort of extra "warning" light (CHMSL) is a good idea, but that stock one is just ridiculous. While we've heard several members say they hate the ones that 'flash', I think it does add to the effectiveness of it. To this day they get my attention much better than the non-flashing ones. There are tiny electronic modules that can be wired into the circuit to give a couple of quick "pulses" before going steady on everytime the brakes are applied.

The one noted earlier for pickup truck tailgates came to my mind as well. They are very thin and might work across the top of the targa bar as @AKimball92 is thinking. It has all of the multi-functions he was describing. It may also fit across the back of the engine lid or trunk lid, as others suggested.

I will be trying a custom approach by converting an original (vintage) style "rear fog" light into one (like the red one below):
0dghj01.jpg

They are typically mounted on the rear bumper, but I don't bumpers on my X's, so I'll find another place to mount it. By using a LED bulb inside and adding the "pulsing" module to it, it should act as a CHMSL but not look like one.

Regarding AliExpress. I've likely made a couple hundred purchases from there. In my opinion the customer service is better than what eBay has become. In the past eBay was excellent but in recent times I've found otherwise. By comparison Amazon also has excellent customer service but in my experience the prices are MUCH higher than the others. The service at AliExpress continues to be great. I will say the 'search' function on eBay is better than with AliExpress, however Amazon's is the worst of all three by far. AliExpress has also suffered the effects of slower shipping times since the pandemic began, just like everyone everywhere. I often get purchases from China delivered in a week, but once in awhile it can be as long as a month. Large heavy merchandise can get very pricey to ship, but small stuff is often free or very cheap shipping (although this is also changing due to the pandemic effects - shipping costs have gone up a little). AliExpress is a spin off of Alibaba; Alibaba is for large quantity wholesale purchases (like container load size), while AliExpress is for small individual purchases. That may be why AK had problems with Alibaba in the past, if it was for a small quantity? Many of the same sellers are on both, originally they were mostly the manufacturers selling directly. However AliExpress has grown considerably to be a bit more like eBay with general sellers that carry everything. So the nature of it has changed. But the prices still remain unbeatable for most items. Sadly a couple years ago I saw prices go up as a result of former president Trump's tariffs on China.
 
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