3rd brake light

[inchoate]

I'm planning to put a third brake light on my roll bar to slightly reduce the chance of a soccer mom rolling over me in a 6000 lb. suv.

 

My car is an '87 so I don't have connectors for the tail lights so my plan was to get a 12" LED light bar and just tap into the wiring going to either the left or right tail lights. Seem like a sound plan or would I be better off running dedicated wiring from the brake light switch?

 

The list of little things this car needs never seems to get any shorter.

[xcarguy]

Tap into an existing brake light wire...easiest course of action.

Edited May 7, 2018 by xcarguy

[JohnCh]

More effort, but I wired mine into a brake flashing module that rapidly flashes the light 3 times before going solid. A little annoying for those behind me, but it definitely gets their attention.

 

-John

[wemtd]

I installed a custom dynamics CHMSL (ST6126ARACPT) 24LED version in my roll bar with connectors tucked into end of roll bar. This ties into the rear chassis loom to provide running, brake, & turn signals.

Very happy so far

Edited May 8, 2018 by wemtd

[Edger]

Flashing brake light seems very effective. Seen a few in the streets and definitely gets good attention. We'll start working on the Caterham right after we finished installing the new rack and tonneau cover for the kayak mount on the truck. We'll consider getting as 12" 3rd brake light as well.

[TurboWood]

I HATE blinking brake lights. It does get attention, but it's a distraction. Most of them turn on every time you depress the brake. If you could have it only turn on with a significant braking event then it would make sense. Maybe a pressure switch on the brake line?

 

Daniel

[JohnCh]

Given the risk to a se7en and its passengers from just a minor rear impact, I'm fine with displeasing the person behind me to reduce that risk. Besides, people are often so interested in these cars, I don't think the annoyance factor is as high as with a normal vehicle.

 

The proof to me that this setup makes a difference came with dissuading tailgaters who were trying to get a better look at the Westfield. Before the blinking module was added, it would usually take 2-3 taps of the brakes to get the person to clue in and back off. These days I rarely have to hit them more than once.

 

-John

[TurboWood]

John,

You make a good point. My annoyance is more with standard sedans having these flashing brake lights. It's probably a good bet on these oversized gokarts.

 

Daniel

[inchoate]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

 

I ended up fabbing up something out of various bits. I ended up putting a flasher relay on it but I've got a switch in the trunk so it can be turned off if necessary. In a fit of creativity I also put everything together with weather pack connectors so the whole thing can be taken off in about a minute if needed.

[BeagleGuy78]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

 

I ended up fabbing up something out of various bits. I ended up putting a flasher relay on it but I've got a switch in the trunk so it can be turned off if necessary. In a fit of creativity I also put everything together with weather pack connectors so the whole thing can be taken off in about a minute if needed.

 

Would love to see some pictures of what you did ... I am going to install a 3rd brake light also but undecided how I want to do it.

[inchoate]

Would love to see some pictures of what you did ... I am going to install a 3rd brake light also but undecided how I want to do it.

 

Here's the light. I attached it to the roll bar with a couple of clamps:

 

 

I tapped into the power going to the right rear brake light and picked up a chassis ground in approximately the same location. No pics of that because it's a little hard to see what's actually going on.

 

 

I wired in a flasher relay that I found on ebay. It lives in the little box with a switch to allow me to turn it off if I need to. Please excuse the appearance of the trunk area, my car was built with the intention of it being a track only vehicle and I'm between trunk carpets at the moment. When I do something about that I'll probably remount the box.

 

 

The idea was to have it be quickly removable hence the modular connectors.

 

I can get you a parts list if you'd like but there are some caveats. The light itself came as a bare unit so I had to fabricate the aluminium chassis to hold it. I also had to do some refinishing on the clamps as they were effective but not up to my standards when I got them.

[BeagleGuy78]

Here's the light. I attached it to the roll bar with a couple of clamps:

 

 

I tapped into the power going to the right rear brake light and picked up a chassis ground in approximately the same location. No pics of that because it's a little hard to see what's actually going on.

 

 

I wired in a flasher relay that I found on ebay. It lives in the little box with a switch to allow me to turn it off if I need to. Please excuse the appearance of the trunk area, my car was built with the intention of it being a track only vehicle and I'm between trunk carpets at the moment. When I do something about that I'll probably remount the box.

 

 

The idea was to have it be quickly removable hence the modular connectors.

 

I can get you a parts list if you'd like but there are some caveats. The light itself came as a bare unit so I had to fabricate the aluminium chassis to hold it. I also had to do some refinishing on the clamps as they were effective but not up to my standards when I got them.

 

Thank you so much for the pictures! The only thing I would want to change on mine are the clamps ... I would be afraid they would wear holes in the top when it's on. (I do actually use my top occasionally) Perhaps the could be rotated so that they are flush on top?

 

I love the idea of the switch tho, that's a great idea! I can see times where I might want to turn it off.

 

Thanks for the great info and pics!

[inchoate]

Thank you so much for the pictures! The only thing I would want to change on mine are the clamps ... I would be afraid they would wear holes in the top when it's on. (I do actually use my top occasionally) Perhaps the could be rotated so that they are flush on top?

 

I love the idea of the switch tho, that's a great idea! I can see times where I might want to turn it off.

 

Thanks for the great info and pics!

 

I hear you about the clamps but the roof isn't an issue for me. I got those clamps from Summit Racing and I think they're intended for a Jeep or something like that. I'm sure with a bit more poking around one could find something more elegant but I figure I'll live with it as is for a little while, I can always revisit it in the future.

[MPG]

That looks great. Here's the rig I came up with for my Westfield.

 

 

As you can see, the rollbar's doing a few jobs here. From left to right:

• GoPro Mount
  
• Extinguisher
  
• 3rd Brake Light
  
• GPS Antennae for the Data Logger
  

 

I wrote up some of the details of the brake light installation here.