Thread: LED third brake light.

All the 04+ people do. Not certain about 97-03 though, but I don't think so

when i had my 97 i wired in a led strip

My friend put an led panel up there

I'm wondering the same thing as Kilroy. I installed new LED tails last week and the 3rd brake light looks rather lame now. Looking for an inexpensive LED mod. I'd like to hear about specific examples of what others have done. Pics would be appreciated!

Just put an LED bulb in that fits the socket.

If you are looking to have brighter light I would suggest a LED bulb of some sort. If you are going to the individual bulb LED look like the tail lights I would suggest LED strips or something similar.

Originally Posted by Kilroy

This is why I was hoping that if anyone has done ANY kind of LEDing to their third brake light, that they could post some pics so I can see what I think looks better, either just an LED bulb, or a strip, or????

I sould have quoted Old Fart because that was moreso directed at him.


As for you do you have LED tails on the car?

I have Putco LED bulbs in my 3rd brake light, but no pics. I can hardly tell the difference, so visually they aren't worth it. I want to do an LED strip or retro something from another vehicle.

Thanks for the responses

I don't know much about LEDs but I've looked at replacing the bulb with an LED equivalent. (1141 I believe?) It seems to me that the OEM lens would render this pretty much pointless. Bronco Boy seems to confirm this. I wonder if there are 1141 LED direct replacement bulbs in red that I could use, while removing the OEM red plastic lens? Does this sound like it might work?

This is all new to me so I'm looking for any and all ideas. Doing LED strips as burgundybullet suggests sounds interesting but I know nothing about wiring them up or what to order. Suggestions on this idea are most welcome.

I would suggest taking out the rear deck and looking for a way to install some LED strips in it. That way it will match your LED tails. At least thats what I would do in your situation.

Originally Posted by OldFart

Thanks for the responses

I don't know much about LEDs but I've looked at replacing the bulb with an LED equivalent. (1141 I believe?) It seems to be that the OEM lens would render this pretty much pointless. Bronco Boy seems to confirm this. I wonder if there are 1141 LED direct replacement bulbs in red that I could use, while removing the OEM red plastic lens? Does this sound like it might work?

This is all new to me so I'm looking for any and all ideas. Doing LED strips as burgundybullet suggests sounds interesting but I know nothing about wiring them up or what to order.

If you are serious about wiring them I would suggest cutting the stock bulb plug and wiring them straight up to that using a 12v LED strip. Ill poke around and see If I can find something that would work for you.

Thank you sir!
Much appreciated

Cutting out the bulbs and splicing something into the existing wiring is not a problem. Just looking for something has a good chance of success and I'll give it a try.

Originally Posted by burgundybullet

If you are serious about wiring them I would suggest cutting the stock bulb plug and wiring them straight up to that using a 12v LED strip. Ill poke around and see If I can find something that would work for you.

Ditto. The plan in my head was to re-use the light sockets to power an LED strip, but also use the sockets as a holder or mount, so the LED strip could be installed from the trunk, same as swapping the bulbs.

You can also take an old bulb, remove the glass and solder wires to the base. I did similar on my fogs.....

Originally Posted by Bronco Boy

Ditto. The plan in my head was to re-use the light sockets to power an LED strip, but also use the sockets as a holder or mount, so the LED strip could be installed from the trunk, same as swapping the bulbs.

You can also take an old bulb, remove the glass and solder wires to the base. I did similar on my fogs.....

Thanks! The visual is very helpful.

I really appreciate the help, guys. My son is a car nut and the GTP has rekindled my enthusiasm as well. Little projects like this mean good times for us!

A light similiar to this may be what you need. http://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-9-LED-ST...b0d13c&vxp=mtr It might take a little work to get it mounted right but in the end I think it will looke good. You could probably get away with a white light but it may not turn out to give off a red look. Might be orangish coming throught the red plastic.

And your welcome for the help.

Does replacing the 3rd brake light with LED's still cause issues with the cruise control feature on 97-03's?