Truck 3rd Brake Light - Done! and with Piccy Goodness...

Post by **akardam** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 4:16 pm

Kind of off topic, but I figure someone here might be able to lend their expertise to my conundrum.

As pictured here:

http://www.akardam.net/temp/3rdlight.jpg

The shell I have on my truck has the 3rd brake light handing down in the back window. This is precisely where I wish to place my nifty-rific traffic advisor. So, what I thought, is I could get a simple red no-smarts surface mount LED lighthead to place on the back of the shell above the rear window.

Caveats:

1. The current factory solution uses two bulbs and is fused with a 5w ATO fuse. Any replacement should fall within those power specs (so I can use the existing wiring).

2. As you can see from the pic, while on the outside there's this nice flat space to work with, on the inside there's part of the framing that runs right up the middle. Thus, whatever solution I chose (whether one long lighthead or two smaller lightheads side by side) need to be able to put mounting and power not through the center (I really don't want to drill through that rib there).

3. The back of the shell tips forward. It's not much, no more than a couple degrees, so unless I wanted to make some sort of bevel to install the lighthead in a perfectly vertical alignment, whatever solution I choose would have to have a wide enough off-axis light level to be usable and safe. A bit of digging around located the following information:

From CVC 24603 http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc24603.htm :
"(h) Any supplemental stoplamp installed after January 1, 1987, shall comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 (49 C.F.R. 571.108)."

From 49CFR571.108 S5.1.1.27 http://squid.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/ge ... &TYPE=TEXT :
""1) Shall have an effective projected luminous lens area not less than 2903 square mm. (4 & 1/2 square inches)." and "(2) Shall meet the visibility requirements specified in S5.3.2(c)."

From 49CFR571.108 S5.3.2(c):
"(c) A high mounted stop lamp must have a signal visible to the rear through a horizontal angle from 45 degrees to the left to 45 degrees to the right of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle."

So, in short, it would seem I need a seady burn surface mount external lighthead that is at least 4.5 square inches with a horizontal viewing angle of 45%. Any thoughts?

PriorityOne · Post by **PriorityOne** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 5:20 pm

yeah uh.. no offense, but that was the longest post I've ever seen to ask one question! But these lights are good for 3rd brake light replacement and they are thin and surface mountable. I replaced mine with one and it packs a punch.

tvsjr · Post by **tvsjr** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:51 pm

http://www.swps.net/whelstripled.html

These [language] are *bright*. One of the local engines uses the four-color version for a tank level indicator, and it's brighter than the emergency equipment on the engine (all strobe and halogen.)

[HumHead: edited for language]

Post by **akardam** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 9:21 pm

PriorityOne,

Sorry for such the long treatise... figured I'd be as detailed as possible :)

Am I correct in understanding that the ones you mentioned are steady burn unless you buy a flasher for them? And, that the power leads (with the single color lighthead I'd presume one red and one black) do not come out right in the middle of the back of the unit?

Thanks again for the info.

PriorityOne · Post by **PriorityOne** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:02 pm

Correct, they are steady burn (without flasher) with positive 12 volt wire and ground wire coming out the side, If I remember what it looks like. You could make them "studder" 3 or 4 times before they stay steadyburn with one of these. If you need something with the wire dead center in the back of the light you could go with a Whelen TIR3 or TIR6 which are flush mountable

KitN1MCC · Post by **KitN1MCC** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:17 pm

a whelen 500 series LED suface mount

Post by **akardam** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 8:43 pm

Sounds perfect for what I need. Because of the rib in the center I do need the wiring offset to the side. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

tc792 · Post by **tc792** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:09 am

Maybe something like this is what you are looking for...
http://www.ledranch.com/led.htm
Look at the: 15" SlimLine™ LED Center High 3rd Brake Identification Light Bar

These are DOT approved.

Post by **akardam** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 5:37 pm

Thanks again to all those who put in their two bits.

I went with the Sho-Me Able2 Mini-LED Solution. It works like a charm. Here's some pictures:

A closeup:

The wiring inside the shell. No more obstructions for moi!

Now, for the advisor...

PriorityOne · Post by **PriorityOne** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:36 pm

Glad to see the Sho-Me worked out for you. They are nice little lights for auxillary lighting.

Aces-Warehouse · Post by **Aces-Warehouse** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:45 pm

Did you order the shome light? That was quick delivery if so.

Post by **akardam** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:58 pm

I had it second day'ed. The goal is to get the advisor installed this weekend (amonst other things) and I wanted to get the 3rd brake light out of the way first. It took me all of half an hour to do the install and test it. They're nice little lights.