It is definitely possible to remove the 3rd brake light through the trunk without drilling. All I did was remove the black cover, pull out the insulation, remove the driver side screw, and use my pointer finger to direct the screw driver into the passenger side screw to remove. It took a while but its definitely possible. I wiggled the brake light along the way to try to get it looser so be careful to not break anything.

Now for actually fixing the light and getting it back in...I haven't done that yet but will be attempting it now. I am planning on using some batteries to complete the circuit indoors and then testing the voltage across each part. I'm no electrician so I'm not really sure what I'm doing. Does anyone know the voltage the light gets from the car? I was testing it with my multimeter through the pins but I let them touch accidentally and blew a fuse so I'd rather not do that again.

 

Mine is being held in with only one screw. That tucked one was a giant PITA so i said screw it. (lol pun)

 

I think the 2 leds in the middle are out on mine. When i use a wire to connect around these, the outer 4 leds work fine. Any ideas on replacement leds? I'd rather not have to order a whole new brake light for 2 faulty leds.

Probably not gonna be able to get the passenger side screw in once I'm done, but it's definitely not worth it to pull out the rear seats (imo).

 

i posted this question 2, check this out for diy and other info.

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...indow-out.html

 

thank you Ssmolkin , worked a treat. I shpped mine to orlando $30 , a guy i know repairs this board .It only had two leds out , but because of they were in series/parallell ( EE speak) he took two leds off and and put two exact replacements ( automotive red/orange by lumiled) and bang back in business. well worth it . you can contact me at my email kennyrefny@yahoo.com I will see if he is interested in doing more.

 

Do you know where I can get those LumiLED LEDs? I replaced the diode on my 2006 3rd light. All resistors and power measurements on the board are good now. But I now have the center two leds not working (not sure if the diode was the actual problem because I replaced it just on reading in the forum before testing the parts) on the tester, and when powered up now the light works but the whole unit is very dim. I could bridge those two with a soldered piece but then I'd have a dark hole in the middle of the tail-light. I haven't seen any broken led assemblies on eBay. Thanks.

 

I think I found them at Future Electronics, Philips LumiLED model number is HPWS-FH99-N20D0. Here's the link: http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/...H99-N20D0.aspx
Hopefully these are right.

Edit: These are the factory LEDs and the correct color. If you are handy at the electronics bench they are easy to solder on after you carefully snap the old ones off.

 

I was able to resolve my 04 sedan light out by repositioning the wires going in and out of the slide connector just below the lamp. While trying to remove lamp for replacement (only got as far as driver side screw) I had someone hold down brake pedal. Then, while gently pulling and tugging at the switch wires for any signs of life from the lamp, it came on. So it's currently duct taped in a position that passes current, but I think a connector replacement($4) is the permanent answer, not a lamp replacement ($350 from stealer plus major PIA install).

 

FYI, you can also get the light on eBay for $180 brand new if it comes to that.

 

We make direct replacement boards for the third brake light for 60 shipped . These are much more reliable than the factory boards and use genuine Lumiled LEDs with built in voltage regulation . Also comes with a 3 year warranty . They should last the life of the car .Its a major improvment over stock and less then half the price .Check our site for pics .http://www.ledmarkers.com/g35tails.html

Even if just replacing the leds on the factory board it will still fail again . Thats only a band aid . The driver used it the main cause of the leds failing . Our boards have much better and reliable drivers and use Lumiled superflux LEDs .

 

Might have to pull mine apart and check out the board. Good info here.

 

I've got a brand new rear shelf finisher (for willow interior w/ bose sub) that's made for sedans w/ no 3rd brake light in the window. It goes in sedans that have the rear spoiler w/ 3rd brake light instead, so you can do a "3rd brake light delete"!
I bought it to replace in my 03, but haven't gotten around to doing it and prolly won't.

 

I just had to do my 3rd brake light on '04 Coupe. Wanted to share..

Dealer wanted about $400 to change a light bulb so to me that's hilarious..

I did quite a bit of searching on this subject. So first of, if you have a Sedan this is more difficult because in order to get to the 3rd brake light you have to take out the seats (likely just as fun as it sounds) or drill through metal which is probably not too bad but still a pain.

On a coupe, I was pleasantly surprised that the 3rd brake light along with the housing simply comes out by pulling on it (no screws at all). So one you get the actual LED out, you must have a multimeter and be handy with it - otherwise, might as well order a new LED. Stock one you may be able to find on eBay (I didn't find anything under $150). Or there's also a post on this forum of a 3rd party selling custom replacements for $50 or so. https://g35driver.com/forums/exterio...placement.html

In any case, there's only so many things that can be wrong with you LED assembly: bad resistor(s), bad diode, bad LEDs, faulty wiring.. Should be very easy to tell with a multimeter. In my case, there was a problem with a cable connection (had to put a little solder on it to ensure good connection). Both resistors were fine and so was the diode. One LED was burned out and one next to it was ready to go as well (dim).

So I had to order some similar LEDs. I wanted HPWT-DH00-F4000's as described in the URL above, but they only sold these in packs of 60 (when I only needed 2). I ended up getting these from eBay 10 x Red Piranha Superflux LEDs 3mm Dome LED 9000 mcd http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEAFB:IT

Remove the 2 bad LED's using cutters/pliers and solder on new ones. That's it - if you're ok with using a voltmeter and some soldering you should be able to do this no prob. About 1/3 of the G35s I see on the streets have a 3rd brake light out so this is obviously a common problem with the LED assembly.

Here's mine - 2 new (center) LEDs needed to be replaced:
http://tinypic.com/r/2j16fwk/7

 

Great write up except for LEDs used . Pirahnas are the worst LEDs on the market and wont match current wise to the specs of the stock board nor have the brightness of lumileds snap LEDs . Also red is the wrong color . The correct color is red/orange which is a much different wavelength then red and has more intenisity . Using the pirahnas on the factory board will 100% lead to them failing in which pirahnas usually fail even when derating there specs .

If you didnt know we make replacements boards that should easily outlast the life of the car and a whole lot cheaper than buying a new factory board .The oem third brake light is a major problem as we sold over 40 replacment boards here in just 2 months . From the burnt out boards we have seen there are multiple different problem they have . An epidemic for sure

 

Yea I did read about Red/Orange color - kind of surprising to me. Above are the only LEDs I could get a hold of so that'll have to do.. Thanks for the info!