third brake light ideas

[maxwedge5281]

in my nasty bj7 i am running higher speeds especially on the interstate and i am aware that the healey brake lights are very low and not very bright. i am working on a nasty bn6 and am considering a third brake light. looking for ideas of something not to obtrusive and i would like to attach without drilling holes in the rear shroud. any and all ideas welcome and if you have a picture or two that would be great...

 

[Gliderman8]

Here's what I did...
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...Winter-Project-complete&highlight=brake+light

 

[RDKeysor]

I just installed a Chinese sourced triangular-shaped LED brake light that flashes when braking. My car is a BN7, a two seater. I removed the center screw that holds the aluminum surround behind the seats. I then fabricated a hinged mount that allows me to raise and lower the brake light. This entails no alteration of the car whatsoever other than replacing the bolt and nut at that location with a screw with a similar head. The mount is made from two pieces L-shaped 1/4" fiberboard, with the L running up behind the surround and held in place with the screw. I installed a small hinge on the portion extending forward, attaching the light to the other hinged side. This allows me to swing the brake light up (held with a small wire clip) or down. This won't work with the tonneau or hood in place, but I can hinge it out of the way if I use the tonneau. I live in Florida, so I rarely use the hood and haven't installed the side curtains since I brought the car down here. This car also has the reflectors electrified, giving me four brake lights in addition to the new flasher. I'm about to install LED bulbs in the basic brake/running/turn signal lights. I'll try to post a picture if there is interest. I paid about $6 for the brake light, my total investment. Truthfully, I rarely drive this car at night, but we are little guys out there, and good lights help.

 

[65_BRG_Sprite]

RD- do you recall the source of your light? Will it work with my + ground?

 

[Keoke]

Here's what I did...
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf...Winter-Project-complete&highlight=brake+light

HEY!! That is neat.
You know what U can make that a HI VISIBILITY TAIL LIGHT AS WELL AS A HI VISIBILITY STOP LIGHT.

JUST GET A CHEAP 12V RELAY AND A SMALL DIODE WITH A SMALL FORWARD RESISTANCE'
PLACE THE DIODE IN SERIES WITH THE NORMAL TAIL LIGHT 12V FEED.

THEN USE THE 12V FEED FROM THE BRAKE CIRCUIT TO SHORT OUT THE DIODE VIA THE RELAY AND IT WILL GET BRIGHTER EVERY TIME U PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL'

OTHERWISE IT IS A SLIGHTLY DIMMER HI VISIBILITY TAIL LIGHT WHEN THE CAR'S LIGHT SWITCH IS TURNED ON.

Just a fat finger today:highly_amused:

 

[Randy Forbes]

The 3rd brake light is incorporated into license plate frame and light; Jeg's or Summit should stock them

Instead of messing with diodes or the OE Lucas turn signal relay, I swapped out the 3-way block on the rear axle for a 4-way and gave the 3rd brakelight a dedicated switch, fed off the fuel pump's circuit breaker.

 

[Keoke]

DO it jump up on the top of the boot at night so folks can see it?

 

[tahoe healey]

Put a halogen bulb behind the reflector and replace the standard break bulb with a halogen bulb ( Moss has the correct bub that needs only to be screwed in). It mad a big difference. Still low but bright.

 

[Healey Nut]

The 3rd brake light is incorporated into license plate frame and light; Jeg's or Summit should stock them

Instead of messing with diodes or the OE Lucas turn signal relay, I swapped out the 3-way block on the rear axle for a 4-way and gave the 3rd brakelight a dedicated switch, fed off the fuel pump's circuit breaker.

The third brake light is a good safety feature and Randys way of doing it is simple and effective , however its location above the licence plate is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot . No one in any modern day pick up truck , SUV, long nosed sedan delivery truck or practically any other vehicle on the highway today is going to see it .
Get it up high on top of the shroud , bigger and brighter is better .

 

[GregoryW]

Here are some photos of what I did on our bn7.
I wanted something that could be easily moved out of the way, so we could still use the tonneau cover.
I bought the light on Ebay (nothing special) and the magnet at Home Depot. I think the magnet cost more than the light!
It sticks firmly to the steel brace under the shroud.

Greg

 

[Michael Oritt]

When I got out of the car show scene I gave up on the idea of having something that was not permanent and searched for a light that was highly visible yet not too obtrusive. See the attached which is an LCD light bar mounted to the boot lid.

 

[maxwedge5281]

i like this one that was on a healey that i bought from healeysix. ut had two mounting holes plus a hole for the power. it was very unobtrusive and fit the body lines very well. maybe something like this with double-sided tape or velcro or magnets might work!

 

[Keoke]

Man that is a bunch ah holes HUH---:friendly_wink:

 

[RDKeysor]

I bought the light at Newfrog.com. This Chinese company offers all kinds of stuff all shipped postage free, but slow reaching the U.S. I would assume that you can reverse the wires--there are three--to gain function with a positive ground car. Mine is a negative ground. I kind of like the alternative suggested by Gregory in his post.

 

[HealeyRick]

Trying to figure out how to make these work:

 

[Michael Oritt]

The attachment did not seem to come through on my earlier...here it is, I hope.

 

[Keoke]

NOPE!--Michael---:highly_amused:

 

[BN2guy]

Hi Healey Rick -

I think the most reliable way to get the red and blue lights to turn on is by speeding. Try it and let us know how it works in your area.

Bill

 

[Keoke]

Hi Healey Rick -

I think the most reliable way to get the red and blue lights to turn on is by speeding. Try it and let us know how it works in your are

Bill

-----------:lol:

 

[DerekJ]

…anybody that can't see Randy's light is driving too close so you have a much bigger problem.