Third brake light added

[Nelson]

As my Sprite approaches the time when it is ready to go back on the road I've been thinking about how I might be a little safer. I had forgotten how low it is compared to so many vehicles on the road. Modern cars have a third brake light mounted in a higher position than the regular lights so I thought why not do that with the Sprite. I bought a red LED lamp so it would be bright enough to be seen but not stress the current carrying capability of the brake light switch. Then it needed to be mounted as high as possible to make it very visible. I now have it installed on a "heavy duty support" that fulfills my need very nicely. There is a photo of my installation as the newest addition to my Webshots page for anyone who would like to see it.

 

[JPSmit]

nice - and nice location!

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Nice, I used to mount one via a magnet on the trunk, but that is hard on the paint.

 

[64rocksprite]

How did to attach it, glued..double-sided tape? I was thinking this would be a great place to mount one as well..great minds as they say! :thumbsup:

 

[Nelson]

I mounted it by drilling and tapping for two 10-32 screws. I also made a flat plate for side that attaches to the car. This allowed me to put a gasket on the back side to keep bugs and water from getting inside.

 

[bill_powell]

That looks great; as does the whole car. Good job.

I also added a third brake light; daily driver, sometimes pretty heavy traffic, so I felt it was really a necessity.

Has it helped? Don't know. But I've not been hit, knock on wood.

 

[PAUL161]

Are these third brake lights you guys are installing the flashing kind? They sure do get your attention! I think it's a great idea! PJ

 

[Nelson]

Mine is just a six led unit that I picked up at Walmart. I didn't want anything that drew much current as I didn't want to stress the brake light switch. Wiring was easy as there is a wire junction at the right brake light. I just put a connector onto my new wire and plugged it in. My wiring harness is new so I cut the wire with the proper color code from the original harness and spliced it onto my new wire. Black electrical tape covers and hides the wire on its routing to the trunk and the original brake light. Come to Elkhart Lake next summer and see my setup in person.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Nelson,

I've got to add that to Bugsy as one of my next projects. Would love to figure out how to run wiring inside of rollbar but that might be tough to accomplish. But I can attach to my middle Windblocker Bracket and not have to drill extra holes.

 

[Pythias]

A thought on the whole of it. Back when the 3rd brake light idea was being proposed the "Safety Lobby" (Joan Claybrook and her compatriots) showed and swore to data showing a decrease in the high four (7000+) to low five digit numbers of "rear end" accidents per year if only the government would mandate to the recalcitrant auto industry the -high third brake light-. For mere pennies per car thousands of lives and property damage would be saved. .... Flash forward .... the statistics come in and the numbers show around 600. She was off by at least a factor of 10. While I won't say that they contribute NOTHING to your safety, it is more of a feel good exercise than one of real value, unless you are of the kind that feels that NO PRICE is to high to pay for SAFETY. Go ahead. Feel good.

 

[bill_powell]

Well, in my case, neither rear end accident statistics nor good feelings played any part in my decision to add a more visible brake light.

For me it was personal.

It was after hearing the second locked-up-brakes-right-behind-me sound, in the same afternoon, that did it. Both times I was stopped at a light. On that second incident, our cars were so close you could not have walked between our bumpers. The driver got out of her car and yelled that it was my fault because she didn't see my brake lights. She was obviously shaken up, so I waved it off.

So, rather than wonder who's 'fault' it might or might not be, or whether they did or did not see my brake lights, I decided a more visible, more highly located third brake light couldn't hurt, and might just help. It's kind of like increasing your visibility on a motorcycle, which is something I also do.
Plus, it only cost me about twenty bucks and an hour of my time. No brainer, really.

So I installed it.

As far as I'm concerned, it really only needs to work one time, keep one driver from hitting me, to prove it's worth.

Of course, I drive my Midget nearly every day. I suppose, statistically, if I only took it out every now and then, there would be a lot less risk. But I like driving my car. A lot. Makes me feel good.

 

[apbos]

Bill
Would you share where you got the light and cover?
Regards
Paul

 

[bill_powell]

Paul, it's an eBay find. Belongs to a mid to late 90s Audi A4 (and also the VW Passat, I believe).

It's not hard to find, looks good, and can be had pretty cheap, which is why I chose it.

Here's one for only a little more than I paid, and it's a good example:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Third-3rd...=item519353b884

As Robbie the Robot used to say, <span style="font-style: italic">Warning, Will Robinson</span>: I had to drill three holes in order to mount it. Two @ approx 1/4" for mounting, one @ approx 1/2" for the cental wiring post. Easy, but drilling a hole is drilling a hole. If you don't want to drill your boot lid, you might look at something different. Or alter how the light is mounted. I also had to file the edge of the light housing so it would follow the curve of the boot; again, pretty easy really. Oh, and I painted it flat black. As I said earlier, it didn't take but an hour or so to install.

Later, I also picked up a bit of edging material to make the installation look a little 'cleaner' if you follow.

Better view for you:

Just let me know if you need any help~

 

[apbos]

Excellant! On my dad's new MGA project we already have a hole plug in the upper center of the hood for a luggage rack. Might try some double sided tape for a non-invassive attachment.

Regards
Paul

 

[bill_powell]

I did consider the tape idea, or velcro, but in the end decided to go ahead and bolt it in. I drive some pretty rough roads, broken pavement, gravel, etc, and worry about losing anything not <span style="font-style: italic">very</span> well attached.


If you do pick one of these up, you will see how it mounts, and also how the housing separates from the lamps. I made a cardboard template of the mounting points, and used that to mark the boot.

The light is all LED, by the way, so the current draw is quite low. I've had mine wired straight into the brake circuit for perhaps a year now, no issues. Pretty bright, too.

If you do go for it, share some photos please! I just love photos. Especially if drilling, or cutting, or other mayhem is involved...

 

[apbos]

Picked one up 20 min ago (Audi A4) with shipping and Ca tax $20.00. I've got some left-over tape for attaching side strips to my F250 after it got pulled off a few years ago. The car will have to be painted first. I needed the light so I could get it painted at the same time. I looked at the pulg, did you find an aftermarket pulg or just solder it?

Paul

 

[bill_powell]

If I remember right, I removed the wires from a plug and installed individual connectors. I did this in the midst of other projects, so I confuse myself sometimes. Again, it was not a difficult job. And good catch on the $20 light; that's about what I spent.

EDIT: You know, after thinking about this for a while, I think the brake light had a cast in plug, and I plugged wires directly into it using small single 'pin' connectors.

Like those found here:

https://www.hobby-lobby.com/connectors.htm

I think I was confusing that wiring job with an electric fan I was also installing at the same time. Sorry about that...

 

[JPSmit]

I haven't figured out how to attach mine yet but I bought the kind that stick on the back of a motorcycle helmet - LCD and wireless - just soldered bullet ends on the transmitter piece and plugged in an extra socket on the brake circuit.

 

[jlaird]

Looks preaty darn good.