metroplex

Has anyone replaced their 3rd brake light with a LED replacement? The owner's manual says to use a 921, which IIRC is the same physical form as a 194.

What size/model LED replacement did you use? I don't imagine the 921 providing any substantial amount of light, so I don't feel it is worth paying $130+ for the LED array replacement that they're selling online, but I am open to suggestions. I want to replace as much of the exterior lighting with LEDs as possible without resorting to load resistors to trick the SJB/BEC.

MTAS

Not sure where you're seeing $130+, I've had this unit for over a year with no problems. It's plug & play.

metroplex

Interesting. How bright was the stock lamp? The 921 bulb can't be that bright and I figure I could use a $1 LED replacement in its place.

The $60 LED replacement looks good but they were well over $100 at Summit. How easy was the installation?

sound wave

i have basically the same one as mtas. i think that is a MUCH better way to go than a single cluster LED bulb. from past experience, those bulbs are pretty dim. i can't remember how much it was, but it wasn't over $50 shipped to hawaii. got mine on ebay.

the one problem i had was that when the brake was not being pressed, there was a constant faint glow of the LEDs. what i ended up doing was putting a circuit in-line resistor and that did the trick (oh, just re-read your post and you don't want to do this). very easy to wire-up.

metroplex

The problem is that the clear/red, clear, and smoke LED arrays don't match with Vista Blue. It'd look kind of "rice" with that color combination. Both your gray Mustangs look great with smoke or even clear, but I can't find an LED array with a red/OEM-style lens which is why I was considering a single LED replacement. I can't imagine the stock lamp being extremely bright in the first place.

How do you access the third brake lamp? I couldn't find a way to remove that black plastic housing in the trunk lid.

sound wave

iirc, you just pull that black plastic cover. i don't quite remember, but i think you have to feed that emergency trunk open latch through an opening... there really wasn't much to it.

i guess if there isn't anything else blackish on the rear of your car, then yeah it may look a bit off. my car is alloy, so the 3rd light basically blends in with the rest of my trunk. not sure if you ever seen it before, but here is a pic of the stock 3rd brake light. would be really easy to just swap in an led cluster bulb.

sound wave

oh, or buy the clear LED tail light and then just buy some red tail light tint paint.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Red...3QQrefidZstore

eh, yeah, maybe just try that cluster led bulb first... lol. but yeah, seems like the 921 and 194 are interchangable.

metroplex

Soundwave: Cool pic! Do you remember if there was a reflector on that black piece that clips into the clear plastic? That looks like a funky diffuser setup.

07 GT/CS

I'm thinking a piece of chrome reflective tape on that black plastic holder might increase the brightness, and it would be cheap.

metroplex

I don't want to break anything, do you remember how the black plastic clips to the rear decklid?

sound wave

you talking about the black cover that has the emergency trunk pull again? i looked it up again in my service manual to make sure, since it has been a while that i took mine off... yeah, like i was saying, you just pull on it. there are clips on either side of the cover.

hold on.... i will go downstairs and take mine off and snap a pic. should have pics up in a bit.

sound wave

disconnect the emergency pull handle


reach behind both sides and stick fingers into little space (sorry blurry. took pic with my left hand)


firmly pull down with both hands


cover only held on with 2 clips.


from there, easy access to the 3rd brake light (i guess that resistor DOES get hot)

metroplex

Excellent pics!!! I appreciate you taking the time to take off the cover.

Have you considered switching the trunk light to a LED? I swapped my hot, power hungry, and yellow trunk light for a LED festoon capsule. I soldered on a glob on the festoon to prevent it from spinning, but it looks kind of cool.

I ordered a few 921/912 replacement LEDs to use as 3rd brake lights. Hopefully the SJB/BEC in the S197 doesn't throw a hissy fit, but I can also use them in my Crown Vic. I looked at the stock light and it's not that bright in the first place, but I want to get rid of as many incandescent bulbs as possible without resorting to load-down resistors.

rony1976

Plug and play on mine, you have an entire line of LEDs and not just one bulb. This is my 3rd mustang and it's my third set (bought them with each one). Wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, and I didn't have to take any of that stuff off! That's a lot of work that I haven't gone through with either car I've owend.

metroplex

The only problem with those is that they're available only in clear, clear/red, and smoke. They'd look on a Vista Blue Mustang. So far the people that have chimed in have gray or black Mustangs, which are perfect candidates for the smoked lens.

How did you swap out the third brake light without removing the plastic trim?

gremlin190

I'm hoping your wrong on the vista blue/ led brake lights. I just ordered everything needed to change mine and rice isn't what I'm after.

I'm looking for a nice clean look with less different colors on the car. I felt the red just jumped out at me. Soo, we will see. If not, I may have a whole set up for sale

Thanks sound wave for the pictures. I was looking for a Taco Bill write up and you handled it nicely

metroplex

That's just my opinion of course! I like the LEDs but would prefer a red lens cover and a potted circuit board, but I could settle for just a LED cluster replacement. Ford's diffuser/reflector assembly looks very funky but it might work well even for a LED cluster. I'm not looking for blinding red light to come out considering the stock lamp doesn't seem to be extremely bright either.

Soundwave: Where's the load-down resistor? The resistors I see in the pic appear to be ones that reduce the input 12VDC to a voltage level suited for the individual LEDs.

sound wave

in the last pic, it is that white block looking thing. i know they come smaller, but that is all my local store had. i originally had it electrical taped to the trunk, but it melted through it. it is just a 2-wire hook up. splice it into the hot and ground wire of the bulb.
you're welcome. i was thinking about changing the trunk bulb. however, for now, i did install a 24" neon wand-type bulb. it is mounted on the deep ceiling of the trunk, so you can't see it unless you stick your head in the trunk and look up. it COMPLETELY lights up the trunk at night. i just have it spliced into the stock trunk light, so i turns on and off when the trunk is opened and closed. was a cheap and effective mod. planning on doing the same thing in a couple weeks with the interior footwell lights.

not in the same category as tacobill, but you're welcome.

metroplex

sound wave: Was there a specific reason you had to use a load-down resistor? Was it to trick the car into thinking your brake lights are fine?

sound wave

when i didn't use the resistor, the brake lights would be dimly lit when not in use. it would start once i first pressed the brake. after that even after i turn off the lights and park the car, it would constantly stay lit for i think about 40 mins? i don't remember. i am sure it was fine for the battery, but that kind of stuff bugs me so i put in the resistor.

hey since you are going LED as much as possible, have you changed out the map lights? if so, what did you do? i wanted to go with the one from moss, but i heard people are having the same problem with the lights being constantly dimly lit when off.