I got my car in November, and after just a couple weeks, I noticed the 3rd brake light was no longer coming on. It had some loose solder so I redid the joints, and everything was good for about a week. It went out again, this time the two center LEDs had burnt out, so I bridged the gap with a spare diode I had lying around.

I probably could have kept it like that for quite a while, but I wanted to have a better, more permanent fix. So I set out to make my own. Took most of the day today, but I did it. Replaced it with 12x 5mm LEDs, same wavelength as stock. Here are some pictures of the final product. If anyone wants something like this, I could be convinced to make more and sell them.

 

How much would u sell em...if anything?

 

I was thinking like $50 or so, been working on getting a board to fit in the stock plastic bit, to make it look more better and fit easier into the holder.

 

I want to be your first customer. PM me when you have one ready to go please.

 

Good Job!

 

My middle two LEDs are out also. Can you explain where I need to bridge the gaps so that the outer two at least work? Thanks!

 

Well if the middle two are out, you just need to bridge across that gap. Although if you don't drop the voltage as you do so, it will burn out the other 4 in short order.

The system is not very well designed.

 

I see..I have a pack of assorted diode's..any particular one you recommend? Thanks again!

 

Test it on 12V before you solder it in for sure, but I'd go with the largest one you have if it illuminates. It's likely to be a temporary fix anyway.

 

Ok, it took a while, but I made a new one, and I'm ready to make as many as people want.


6 LEDs instead of 12, 12 seemed like overkill



Ignore the extra wires, they're just there for testing.
I used the little board from the stock setup, changed the resistance to suit the new LEDs and removed the second resistor which was silly to have in the first place. I didn't replace the diode as it works fine, but I can replace it if requested.



Fits into the stock unit



It's a little skewed due to the testing wires, but a final one wouldn't have that problem



Night time


I can make these now in any configuration, just send me a PM or something. 6 LEDs, 12, more? Any color (although it might be illegal to drive with a color besides red) I could have it fade out when you let go of the brake, pretty much anything you'd want.

 

How about while holding the brake, it could stay on for a few seconds, but if you were to hold it, they flash then stay on again? My old man's Goldwing does it; kind of. As he holds the brake lever, they come on as usual, but after 3 seconds, it flashes 3 times slowly, then comes back on again, and goes into a cycle through that until the brake is released. For this, I think it'd be better to have it strobe for a short moment after the inital braking, say steady light for 3 seconds, and strobe for a 1/2 second, then back to steady light.

Know what I'm saying? I know semi trailers around here have that, and so do police cars. I'm sure it'd be fine.

 

It's possible, but would require quite a lot more components, including an IC.

 

Hi ben35, could you please make one for me...And let me know how do I install it..

 

Hey is this legit? If I send you the money you will send me an LED? Do I need to send you my defective board?

 

Yeah I would need your old board to get some parts and make the new one able to be plugged in and ready to go. So far I've only got one taker, Freewheeler, the post above yours.

He sent his to me March 5th, and received the finished board on March 11th.