Six_Shooter Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) Since there has been a couple people ask about my 3rd brake light in another thread I thought I'd start a new thread to not hijack the other. I feel that a 3rd brake is pretty much a must in today's driving world. I know before I installed the 3rd brake light there were more than a few close calls in getting rear ended. Ever since I installed it, I have only noticed one person that didn't seem to be paying attention and get close in a panic kind of way. Yes I do pay attention to what is going on behind me when I am stopped, I also leave space between myself and the car in front of me in case I need to roll forward, again this has also helped in saving the rear end of a few of my cars, you know defensive driving and all of that. Anyway, onto the meat and potatoes of this thread. I started with a Safari/Astro van 3rd brake light. Jimmy/Blazer should also be the same. Years seem to be 1995 to about 2003. This particular light seems to fit the space above the hatch window perfectly as you will see later in this thread. Alternatively you could install this near the rear edge of the roof, which will make wiring much easier. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the install and did it a few years ago. I started by measuring out to place the light in the center, and marking mounting hole and wire pass through locations. I then drilled the three holes, two for the screws and one for the wires. I then moved to the inside where I drilled a hole to pass the wire into the interior, but there was a problem, there was a re-enforcement plate between the two holes. So since I was at the point of no return, I decided to forge on and drill a hole through this plate from the outside. Then through some creative use of wire, string and pick tools passed a fish wire through from the outside of the hatch to the inside. I had to remove the connector that is on the 3rd brake light in order to pass the wires through. I also had to add some extra tape around the wire where it passes through the inside re-enforcement plate to act like a grommet. I tried to get it so that the wire was actually secure and not able to move around to reduce the chance of chafing. The other holes can use a grommet. After that it's just a matter of running a wire to the brake switch. Something to note here is that on my '73 with the 3rd brake light attached to the brake switch the 3rd brake light will also flash with the hazzards (4 ways) on, which is something that I wanted so this was a bonus for me. If you want it to work more conventionally, where the hazzards will not turn on the 3rd brake lights you will have to add a diode to remove the feedback from the hazard switch. I think the next time I do this I will try to pass the wire all the way along the panels that surround the window of the hatch and use contact switches at the turtle deck, or some other way, that I haven't thought of yet. Onto the pictures, because everyone likes pictures. Fits that space like it was meant to be: Wire as it passes to the interior: Lit up: Edited May 26, 2014 by Six_Shooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BitchinZ Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Very nice. I agree the the Zs need a third brake light. I used the Hella Model 37 from Daniel Stern - http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html It just sticks inside the top of the hatch glass. Since its LED I just ran the wire down under the molding and spliced it into the brake light wire. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I like both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 I had thought about getting an inside 3rd brake light, but since I couldn't find one that I liked, that wouldn't block even a little bit of the view through my mirror and I had this one, I decided to forge ahead with it. I even looked at making a bracket and shield to mount this one inside but couldn't come up with anything I liked. Once I mounted this on the outside I thought it was a great decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 (edited) Good idea. A while back I saw a thread where someone had put an LED strip on the inside/top of the hatch window. Discrete, but functional. Edit: Found it: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/82524-third-brake-light-cheap-easy-bright/ Edited May 26, 2014 by rturbo 930 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 It seems like those stick on led strips would blind you at night since there is no shield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 First off, I would like to thank socorob for putting the idea in my head. Here is my 3rd brake light addition. It's off of a Chevy Tahoe ( $10 @ pick-n-pull ). 1 drilled hole 2 self tapping screws small bead of permaflex all the way around before attaching ran wires inside top panel (where dome light is) down around passenger side and spliced into brake light harness. I think it came out pretty damn good if I do say so myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 The thanks should go to subwoofer (sorry no offense socorob) Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 The thanks should go to sixshooter (sorry no offense socorob) Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Auto correct:-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Plenty bright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Thanks again for the direction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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