glack

I'm putting this into an '85 Euro S.

I spliced into the passenger side brakelight wire and also grounded close by.
I wrapped the wire directly around the brakelight connections, using a very thin wire which seems to have burnt grooves around each connection where it was wrapped. What did I do wrong? I guess a better question is, do I need a wire with slightly higher resistance and should I be using a female connector made especially for the brakelights power connections?

Also, the double-sided tape I have sucks, and no longer holds up the light. Anyone got a good brand and preferably one that is in a clear color?

SharkSkin

Why not use the wire already in the harness for this? You're going to get brakelight warnings if you unbalance the system by adding a light to one side.

heinrich

Thin cable == high resistance. Thick cable == good.

BrianG

3rd brake-lights are gay!

glack

I did not see such a wire. Is there one on each side (as in each light cluster)?

FlyingDog

...not that there's anything wrong with that.

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

3M makes a black double-sided foam tape. I got it on the internet but the place is closed. Be careful about scraping the inside of the rear window, not just because of the defrost wires, but there may be an interior film which you could wreck with a razor blade. Guess how I know.
BTW I think I priced the factory adhesive kit for 3rd brake light and it was like $90!. I might have been given the wrong info but that made DIY tape sound pretty good. Cut it carefully and don't really press it down (up?) until you get it on the glass.
Good luck,
Dave McK.

jeff jackson

Ditto to what Dave said on the tape...you can get the 3M tape, at most auto stores, definitely any that sell paint, or bodywork supplies. This stuff is for attaching body side moldings and such things. It really bonds tight to a clean surface, so use alcohol or equivalent to remove any latent film present on the glass. BTW...you can get this tape in several width rolls for individual applications.
Good luck.

glack

Nice. That's what I needed to find out.

Thanks!

SharkSkin

It should already be in the hatch harness. Pull the rear visors, then pop off the headliner section that attaches to the hatch. The wire ought to be floating around in there. Oh, remove your interior light fuse before you start, or you will most likely blow the fuse.

glack

New Question (for tint savvy listers):

The rear hatch is tinted, causing the light emitted from the third brakelight to be drastically dimmed.

Is there a way to cut/remove only a small area of the relevant tint (i.e. an area in the size and shape that is covering the light)?

Thanks!

hacker-pschorr

Sounds like a lot of work to reduce your odds of being rear ended by a paltry 4.3%

Alan

You should be able to remove the tint with a razor blade, xacto knife etc, just go carefully... you should remove the tint so you are gluing to the glass not the tint quite aside from the light transmission issue.

As for double side stick - best bet may be the factory glue seal - I bought one of these several year ago to fix my sagging brake light. If I racall it comes with the attachment backing plate.

a 21W bulb needs about 2A so you need appropriately sized wire - at least 20AWG (or 18AWG is more common).

Alan

SharkSkin

I thought they were required on all '79 and later US cars? Under that assumption, I thought it was just one more reason to be glad I have a 78. Whenever I'm behind a shark with the 3rd light, it seems to me that the light obscures a lot of their rearward view...

hacker-pschorr

1986