How To: Install a 3rd Brake Light

[Cory W]

The following is a verbatim copy of what was originally posted on the old DMCTalk.com by Shannon Y. Photos could not be retrieved, unfortunately.

"This How-to outlines the steps in installing a 3rd brake light on a DeLorean. Some steps/items may vary depending upon the specific brake light(s) chosen.

Tools Required:
Small flat head screw driver
Phillips screw driver
13mm wrench or socket (optional)
Pliers and/or needle nose pliers
long stick (optional, needed if working alone)
"Pushing Rod" = a sturdy wire at least 4 feet long (metal clothes hanger or 12 awg house wire works well)
Wire cutter/crimper
Masking tape
Rubbing alcohol
2 part epoxy - or - super glue - or something similar


Parts/Supplies Required:
1. JC Whitney Item # ZX830680R "Mini Red 12-LED Brake Light/Taillight". Quantity = 2 @ $12.99 each. They also make a 20-LED that you can get in red, Item # ZX076129U, $22.99 each. Or any other comparable 3rd brake item from another source.

2. Electrical - roughly 7 feet of paired wire (or one length of 14 feet of wire cut in half). One for power the other for ground.

3. Electrical - Bullet Disconnects or Covered Blade Disconnects , Quantity = 2 (2 males, 2 females)

4. Electrical - tap-in squeeze connector, Quantity = 1

5. Electrical - inline fuse holder with a 5 amp fuse

6. Electrical - Butt Connectors, Quantity = 2

7. Electrical - Spade Terminal connector or Ring Terminal connector, Quantity = 1

8. 3M double sided body molding tape

Estimated Time for Completion: 1 - 3 hours depending upon familiarity with items at hand.

Difficulty Level: Easy - Medium

Procedure:

Step 1: Remove the "Rear Screen Upper Finisher" (105721) using a tiny flat head screw driver to get the 3 black plastic caps off and a phillips head screw driver for the under lying screws. After removing the screws pull the bottom edge out towards you and pivot up. This will help to get the top edge out from under the little tabs on the T-pannel. Set this somewhere safe as a replacement currently costs $150.

After the project is complete, installation is in reverse for this piece. Make sure to get the Rear Screen Upper Finisher under all the T-Pannel tabs before screwing it back in. Mind those fingers, the ss is very sharp! Put the screws in loosely to allow wiggle room when aligning the next screw. Try to keep the screws centered the best you can. This help when re-installing the little black caps over the screws. Practice up on some of your favorite curse words, installing these little caps is very fun.

Step 2: Remove the "Scrn End, B/Glass RH" (10671 with a phillips screw driver. This is the little plastic finishing piece on the passenger side just to the right of the louver hinge. Again be careful of the sharp stainless.

Step 3: Remove passenger side tail light (6 phillips head screws). Pull it away from the car and disconnect the "Rabbit Joint" by squeezing either sides tabs and lifting up.

Step 4: Taking the power & ground wire you are going to run from the 3rd brake light to the rear tail light, tape it to the "Pushing Rod" with masking tape leaving a small tab at the end to easily remove after fishing the wires up thru the quarter panel. A slight bend at the end where you tape the wires together will help to grab the wires at the top of the quarter panel.

Step 5: Starting at the tail light opening feed the Pushing Rod & wires into the upper right hand corner over the fiberglass and into the rear quarter panel.

Push them all the way up to the little opening you made when removing the little trim piece in Step 2. This is where the little bend at the end of the Pushing Rod comes in handy. Using pliers or needle nose pliers grab the end of the Pushing Rod when it rears its little head thru the opening. (Note: the image shown below does not have the items removed from Step 1 & 2... they should be removed before running the new wires.)

Be careful NOT to pull the wires against the stainless. They could be cut open exposing wires and create a grounding out in the future. Pull enough of the Pushing Rod out to un-tape the masking tape holding the wires to the Push Rod. Hanging on to
the wires with one hand, remove the Pushing Rod with the other by pulling it out thru the tail light opening. Pull enough wire up to reach the place where you will be mounting the 3rd brake lights. Now feed this wire behind the right louver hinge. If you like you can also snake it thru the "Rear Screen Upper Finisher" brackets to better keep the wire centered behind the Finishing Screen.

Step 6: At the tail light opening take one of your newly run wires and ground it to the car. I used an a Spade Terminal connector and an existing ground where the back of the quarter panel attaches to the car. You can see the screw from inside the engine compartment.

Step 7: Install the Inline fuse holder. The purpose of this is to keep the stock brake lights functional if there ever was a problem/cut/grounding of the newly run wire. If that happens the fuse will blow and you still have working stock brake lights. If you are unfamiliar with an inline fuse holder it is the White item below with the blue wires coming out of it.

Still at the tail light opening take the other newly run wire and connect the inline fuse holder to it with a Butt Connector. Attach the other butt connector to the other end of the inline fuse holder and add a short piece of wire to that Butt Connector. It's length will need to be able to reach to the upper left side of the tail light opening where the current tail light connector ("Rabbit Joint") connects to the circuit board.

Step 8: Using the wire coming from the inline fuse holder, tap into the brake light wire at the tail light connection's "Rabbit Joint". The brake wire to tap into is number 5 (the 2nd from the right, position 4 should be empty).

Be sure to use a "Tap-In Squeeze Connector" for a clean installation...(The Red wire represents the existing brake light power wire, the Blue wire represents the new wire coming from the inline fuse holder. All you do is position the wires in the Tap-In Squeeze Connector, squeeze the metal down into the wires with a pair of pliers and close the cover.)

.. and do not use the twist connects I used after cutting the stock wiring. Sadly I added my 3rd brake light before discovering the wonders of the "Tap-In Squeeze Connectors".

Step 9: Now working back up under the louvers temporarily connect the newly run wires to the 3rd brake lights by twisting the wires together (the same wires from each of the LEDs to one of the newly run wires up the quarter pannel). If working alone place the 3rd brake lights on the engine cover so you can see them when seated inside the car. If you cannot, use a long stick to depress the brake pedal. Better yet, if you have a friend with you have them sit in the car and press the brake. If the LEDs in the 3rd brake lights don't come on you may have to switch the quarter panel wires around. They will only light wired up one way. Once you determine which way is correct place a piece of tape on one of the connections so you know which wires go together and then disconnect all of them.

Step 10: Test to see if the Bullet Disconnects or Covered Blade Disconnects will fit thru the slits in the "Rear Screen Upper Finisher" (105721). If they don't run the wires from the 3rd brake lights thru the slits near the center of the "Finisher" before crimping on the Bullet Disconnects or Covered Blade Disconnects. Note: You will be twisting one wire from each LED brake light together before crimping them in the Disconnects. By using these connections, versus butt connecting the wires to the 3rd brake light, you will be able to disconnect the wires if you ever need to remove the louvers and
"Finisher" without cutting. Also before crimping, cut the wires to the desired length so there is not a huge wad of wires that needs to be crammed behind the "Finisher". Leave enough so there is a little slack that it doesn't pull when opening the louvers.

When crimping, put a 1 male and 1 female Disconnect on the 3rd brake light end of the wires - and put their counter parts on the wires you just ran thru the quarter panel. (Do not install to male ends side by side and two female ends side by side.) That way if you ever have to remove the louvers and disconnect the wires there is no guessing as to which wire connects to which connector... there is only one way to plug them in.

Step 11: Mount 3rd brake lights to louvers. I would highly recommend 3M's double sided body molding tape. Randal Brown (our 3M guy down in the AZ-D club) calls it "certain death" tape. Meaning be sure you position it properly because when you
stick it... it stays!

Using these particular 3rd brake lights I mounted them all the way to the edge underneath the top louver. This gives the car a stock appearance when the lights are not on. Clean the LED lights and mounting area on the louvers with rubbing alcohol
to remove all the greasy areas your fingers may have left after touching.

If you choose to use a Corvette or similar 3rd brake light you may be required to mound it on top of the louvers, and that may or may not require drilling through the louvers. While the end product looks nice, if you're not into drilling thru the
louvers that option may not be for you.

If you are not tall enough, cannot contort well or don't have monkey arms, you may want to remove the louvers. That requires removing four 13mm bolts (on either side of the louvers), the struts and a buddy to help lift it off to safety. By doing this you can lay them upside down (on something soft and non scratching) and sick the 3rd brake lights on in a more comfortable manner. But this comfort has a downside... you now have to remount the louvers and getting them aligned is a pain in the butt with the up, down, forward & aft adjustment that those four 13 mm bolts allow. Personally, I would try the contortion method first after my experience with removing & re-installing the louvers.

After mounting the lights to the louvers with the 3M tape run the wires of each light up either side of the center support. To hold the wires to the underside of the louvers I used a little dab of 2 part epoxy here and there (super glue or something similar should also work). The wires are run on either side of the louver support and then behind the "Rear Screen Upper Finisher" shown below.

Step 11: Re-Test your work.
Before re-installing items like the "Rear Screen Upper Finisher" (Step 1), the "Scrn End, B/Glass RH" (Step 2) and the tail light (Step 3) hit the brake one more time just to make sure brake lights come on. If all is well, reinstall these pieces. Some tips for installing the "Rear Screen Upper Finisher" are at the end of Step 1.

Again be very careful when your fingers are near the sharp stainless edges. Re-connect the tail light circuit board by pushing down on the "Rabbit Joint". Do not torque down the screws in the tail light like a mad man. A nice snug fit will
due.

Notes:
The order of some steps may be re-arranged to suit your needs.
Images for this How To were taken years after the work was completed, therefore some images may not be as detailed or specific as I would have liked... and not to mention dirtier than I like. If you have wired up your 3rd brake light a different way or have installed one that mounts on top of the louvers please post your procedures here so others can see multiple options."

[Notifier]

Awesome!

[Shep]

I'm currently installing a 3rd taillight myself, but the process I'm going through is vastly different to what I'm reading here. I'm taking pictures as I go for documentation... should I post my method as a separate how-to when I finish it up?

My method seems to be ten times easier than what I'm finding here. The only tools required using my method are a screwdriver, wire strippers, crimpers, wire, electrical tape, aaaand that's it. No wrench, no pliers, no stick, no fuse even, yet it'll function just as well as the one described here, and it isn't preferential to one side vs. the other. Pictures will be high-res too.

[EdR5150]

Here's my 3rd brake light install: http://www.16908.info/?p=1161

[Helirich]

I thought I would add to this thread instead of a new one. Most of my "third brake light" install is the same as the original poster. I'm only featuring my actual light(s).

I wanted a third brake light for safety, but I didn't want to change the appearance of the car and I didn't want any obstructions to visibility in my rear view mirror. This ment I needed a "low profile" light. Of course I wanted LED, so I searched the net and came up empty. If you can't find it, make it.

I did find this LED rope light at Superbrite LEDs. I also had some aluminum Z-angle leftover from another project. I believe I got this from Metal Depot online, but I think it's available at a hardware store.

IMG_0554.jpg

I cut and bent the Z-angle to give it a somewhat finished appearance. Painted it flat black to make it less noticeable. I attached the LED rope with aircraft safety wire.

IMG_0556.jpg

I attached the Z-angle to the louvers with some double sided tape. The lights/Z-angle don't weigh anything, so I hope they will stay put.

IMG_0557.jpg

From the side, you can't even see them. Also, they are completely invisible in the rear view.

IMG_0558.jpg

In broad daylight, they light up good.

IMG_0559.jpg

In the dark, I really like them.

IMG_0560.jpg

I was worried that maybe a tall truck behind me might not be able to see them because the louver would block it. But when I looked down at an angle, I found the lights reflect off the louvers.

IMG_0561.jpg

[ssdelorean]

The following is a verbatim copy of what was originally posted on the old DMCTalk.com by Shannon Y. Photos could not be retrieved, unfortunately.

[snip]

Parts/Supplies Required:
1. JC Whitney Item # ZX830680R "Mini Red 12-LED Brake Light/Taillight". Quantity = 2 @ $12.99 each. They also make a 20-LED that you can get in red, Item # ZX076129U, $22.99 each. Or any other comparable 3rd brake item from another source.

[snip]

The little JCWhitney lights have since died out some years ago. I replaced them with something much better & brighter.
Optronics Thinline LED Trailer lights from etrailer.com
Item # STL69RB

If you wanted to, they can be wired to also blink with the turn signal.

These are so freaking bright, I love them! If they were not red I could tell you the color of the persons eyes behind me at a stop at night :-). Patrick C can confirm how bright they are in the daytime. He and his wife were behind me one year at the MI Fall Driving Tour.

3rd Brake light.jpg

[WHO1DMC]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/25491388173...mis&media=COPY

I've had these installed on my car for about 5 years or so and I've not had one problem.
Even the adhesive they come with holds well. I did prep with alcohol. My car is in a non heated garage that gets to -20 plus degrees and they still hold. They sell for $23 but if you offer $20 they will probably take it.
This is not my car in the picture but they are mounted in the same location with no visibility problems but seeing them light up at night.


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