[daly]

Anyone have a suggestion for upgrading bulbs in third brake light, have a couple out and if I am going to replace I was hoping something may be brighter out there.

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

Coupe or Cab?

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[flash]

lol - i deleted mine altogether.  made the back of the car look lower and wider, which was much better.

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[94SilverCab]

As far as I know, deleting the 3rd Brake Light is illegal (at least in my state), so I don't think that's a great solution for many of us.

 

Replacing the bulbs can be a PITA, it seems like one gets fixed and another goes out, the sockets are not extremely stable.

 

I have seen LED replacements that are both more stable and far brighter. I'm sure one of our lighting experts will pipe in with the bulb numbers, etc.

 

Jay

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[flash]

lol - this one is like your state's smog laws.  it is illegal to modify your car with a chip, exhaust, or anything like that.  it's federal law.  but, the state doesn't enforce it.  same with the 3rd brake light in most states.  only states with lighting inspections would be an issue, and as far as i know, that is limited to a few in the north east.

 

careful on going LED.  it can change the resistance, and has been known to mess with the cruise control.  a few threads on that here.

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[daly]

I agree pia, one works then goes out. I think it's the contacts. Going to see if I can weld them, regular replacement bulbs as to not mess up.

Would look nicer without it but pretty sure my state says illegal to remove, but will check.

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[Ryan]

Seems I remember hearing that the third brake light on the cab was a GM part borrowed from the corvette. Anybody?

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[flash]

yeah - pretty sure new york is one of the states with regular light inspections

 

the light was indeed a GM part, and carries the logo on it.  i found it on 1 year of corvette.  i posted a pic here somewhere.  i think it was also on the buick reatta

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[968Syncro]

When I brought my 968 back from totaled to salvage status (2008), it needed a full inspection.   It failed because not all of the little bulbs in the 3rd taillight were working.  So this is at least one example where the need is enforced.

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[Waylander]

Think I would much rather have it and as bright as possible, much more appealing than some blind fool stoving in the rear of the car

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[LES]

Interesting since in NJ my car (94) is no longer required to be inspected! State notified my a few months ago. Unless the police can stop you for not having a third break light I would think deleting the third break light would be the way to go!

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[ds968]

Why the heck would anyone delete the third brake light, just so you increase the chance of some un-attentive bozo rear ending your car.. ?!   That third brake light may be just be the extra alert he/ she needs at the last moment .. IMHO.

I would not delete ANY safety features whatsoever in any car, but hey, if someone wants  to drive without a seat belt also, I'm all in support of individual rights to do whatever they please..as long as they don't negatively impact anyone else but themselves, in the process ..          

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[MCL968]

Why the heck would anyone delete the third brake light, just so you increase the chance of some un-attentive bozo rear ending your car.. ?!   That third brake light may be just be the extra alert he/ she needs at the last moment .. IMHO.

I would not delete ANY safety features whatsoever in any car, but hey, if someone wants  to drive without a seat belt also, I'm all in support of individual rights to do whatever they please..as long as they don't negatively impact anyone else but themselves, in the process ..          

 

I'm with Dan on this one. While I agree that the Cab's look better without the light, I believe the light is there for a reason, and removing it might lead to some implied liability if you ever were rear-ended (Bill, you want to weigh in on this one?).

 

I had a Volvo P1800 for many years, and that thing got rear-ended regularly. I eventually tired of the experience, and I fitted an aftermarket 3rd brake light at the top of the rear window. The car was never hit again. Not even close. It was so successful that I fitted the same light (a very expensive and high quality unit I purchased from JC Whitney for about 5 bucks!) on several other 1800's in the Volvo Sport America club. They had had the same experience with accidents, and they also experienced the almost total elimination of accidents following the 3rd light installation.

 

While not a controlled double-blind experiment, the difference was pretty obvious. For my money, the 3rd brake easily makes up for the loss in aesthetics with the improvement in safety.

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[az968]

I'm getting ready to install an extra bulb in my rear tail lights to make my brake lights brighter for that reason. Got the parts, next to get the time.....

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[Ernie]

I installed an LED strip. It's very bright and really gets your attention...but alas, lost the cruise control feature on the car. Fair enough though, if it keeps some nitwit from smashing into the back of my car. JMHO

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[flash]

lol - you guys are paranoid.  i can count on one hand the number of people i know who have been rear-ended, where a light would have made any difference whatsoever.

 

heck, i've removed the reflectorization off of my brake light lenses before, to decrease their intensity, and i almost always lower the wattage on the bulbs.

 

if you really want safety features, then install a speed limiter (it won't be long on that), an automatic following space device (now being introduced into many cars), and a signal blanket to kill cell phones when in the car (now being experimented with).

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[Ryan]

Have you seen the strobe effect brake lights on many new bikes? It flashes rapidly for a couple seconds before settling to full on. Pretty attention getting.

 

My third brake light didn't seem to help as I sat at a light and watched some chick forget to brake into my rear. I was watching and let off the brake as she neared therefore lessening the impact. Good thing I was first in line at the light. 

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[94SilverCab]

Interesting since in NJ my car (94) is no longer required to be inspected! State notified my a few months ago. Unless the police can stop you for not having a third break light I would think deleting the third break light would be the way to go!

 

Interesting note. In PA, you can register the car as an antique at 25 (2019), and the car become "self inspecting", which means that the police can, and do, pull you over for safety infractions.

 

Cars never time out on needing inspection just by virtue of time.

 

Jay

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[lbpesq]

Delete the third brake light because it looks "cool"? How about those darn seatbelts? They really look geeky, and the air bag makes the steering wheel look fat! Let's delete those too. And that pesky parking brake handle always rides up my pants leg as I exit. Who needs a parking/emergency brake anyway? And why waste all that money on red paint for the end of the tachometer? And doesn't the turn signal stalk make the wheel look unbalanced. It would look much "cooler" without the stalk, and then we can delete those dorky turn signal lights. The important thing is that I know which direction I'm turning, the rest of the world can fend for themselves! You want safety? Drain the gas tank and I guarantee you'll never get in an accident!


Another thought about deleting the brake light. Aside from all the safety and legal arguments, what happens when you are ready to sell? A prospective buyer is certainly going to want a price reduction.

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[flash]

lol - i did delete those seat belts, and the airbag steering wheel.  i also deleted the red at the end of the tach.

 

p.s. - sold the car with no problem.

 

i don't include "safety" items as things i look for in a car.  i was fine driving an old mgb on a daily basis, and riding my motorcycle without a helmet.  that safety stuff is the other guy's problem if he hits me.

 

that being said, the roads would be a lot safer, and everyone would save a lot of money in insurance premiums, if they charged a high fee for a license, had regular and rigorous testing, and no fault insurance.  then you wouldn't need those silly lights and such, just to prevent idiots from hitting you, as they would not be on the road in the first place.  driving is a privilege, not a right.  if you cause an accident, like rear-ending somebody, you should lose your license.   you were following too closely, no matter what happened in front of you.

 

you should see what it is like over here.  insanely difficult to get a license.  very expensive too.  high registration and insurance costs.  in 3 plus months of being here though, i have only seen one accident.

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