ilko

EDIT 2/7/09:

I HAVE MADE THE COMPLETE WRITE-UP INCLUDING PICTURES AVAILABLE IN THE HOW-TO SECTION ON MY WEB SITE:

http://www.rennsportamerica.com/

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DISCLAIMER: At the time of this writing, this how-to is incomplete, I am writing this from memory, and will try to address any omissions in the future

Due to popular demand (thanks Lonnie ) I am about to attempt to explain how I did the 5 brake light mod...

Parts needed:
ROW center reflector - optional
Reverse light harness
Brake light bulbs
Wiring 18 gauge or less
Wiring connectors

Tools needed:
Dremel or an old soldering iron
Hot glue or silicone
Voltmeter

First let me start with the reasoning behind doing this. Having a car that with great brakes is a blessing, but can also be a curse if the person behind you doesn't react in time and you get rear-ended. Having extra brake lights is very useful both on the street and at the track, especially since the brake lights on the 964 are pretty small compared to modern cars.

So how do we go about warning people behind us that we're about to rapidly stop? Our cars are equipped with rear fog light sockets from the factory. They are located in the rear center reflector. On US cars, the sockets are sealed and unusable. I ended up "modifying" the seals by cutting them with a dremel (an old soldering iron works as well to melt the plastic) and inserting brake light sockets, bulbs, and wiring. Now, the proper way of doing this is to get a ROW center reflector, but I found it rather costly and that's why I went with the "budget" approach of cutting

Once you're done making nice round holes in the center reflector fog light sockets, test fit the bulb holders with bulbs installed from the reverse light harness and make sure they fit in flush.

The next step is to get power to the bulbs from one of the brake lights. I used the driver side. There are 3 wires going into the socket, since that bulb is also used as a tail light. Unfortunately I forgot to note which two wires are the ones you need and IIRC the conventional wisdom of brown = ground for German cars does not hold true in this case. I ended up testing the wires with the voltmeter and the brake pedal depressed to figure out which two to use. I will check next weekend and modify the thread with the info.

Once you have the wiring figured out it's time to put things together. Connect the wires from the brake light to the harness in the center reflector through the hole where the breather tube goes. Then test everything and make sure it works. The final step is to secure the sockets in the center reflector. I used hot glue because it holds them in place very firm and it's also easy to remove if you ever need to change a bulb. Silicone works well also. Make sure that the bulb holder is sealed well to the socket, you don't want any moisture in there. Again, not as easy to do than getting a ROW reflector, but much cheaper at the end.

PS: I can add a how-to for ROW cars that already have rear fog lights if anyone's interested. It has an extra wiring step and a couple 3A diodes.

Feel free to add info and comments, I'll update the first post as needed. Thanks!

Here's the end result:

rotorheadcase

Would love to see the extra steps for ROW cars as mine already has the lenses bulbs and wiring but are sitting doing bugger all as I don't have the rear fog light switch.

Thanks

Neil

elbeee964

hmmm... *most* interesting...

(-- still prefer the Beretta.)

ilko

I'll try to post the ROW write-up later.

PorscheZen

Yo!
Awesome idea. I'll add it to my list. (now at 108 things to be done)

J-F-O

Good idea. All Canadian cars(not just Porsche) have had an eye level brake light since at least 1990.

It really increases the reaction time of the driver behind

Smokin

WAY behind!

cobalt

Great Idea.

I saved the parts from my damaged reflector and was going to add in the fogs but adding additional brake lights is a better idea. Sounds like project time for me, that and the H4's.

Gus

Great Idea - thanks for the share - It is the sharing of projects and ideas like this that make the Rennlist so great - When you burned or cut away the plastic on the rear of the center panel - was there a position to mount / attach the extra brake light housing ? OR do you have to kind of fabricate the mounting support for the light housing?

ilko

Gus, thanks! Once you cut/burn the holes, the housing slides right in, but there is nothing to hold it in place. That's where the hot glue comes in handy. Theoretically you could cut the hole precise enough to be able to twist the socket in so that it stays in, but that's beyond what my tool's capabilities and I just didn't have the patience. Also if you cut it to the exact shape, you still need to seal it from moisture, that's why I opted for the hot glue/silicone method.

newsboy

If you have replaced a center reflector and have a spare, you can remove and use the back-up lights for your center brake lights, with no glue, and have them twist in like the back up lights.
Make a round template out of 15lb. felt paper. Place it over the hole in the back up lamp holder. You will see two different grooves, which accept the prongs on the bulb assembly. Carefully cut these grooves into the template. Place the template over the soon to be brake light socket. Mark the cutouts.(make sure you orient the template correctly). Now use a dremel tool with the fine drill/cutting bit to cut out the circle, including these notches. If your careful, the bulb socket will fit right in. Give it a twist and it's set.

Dwane

Ilko, I checked the wiring diagram and got BK/RE 1.0 for power and BROWN 0.75 for GROUND.
Do you know the color of the wires?
What bulbs did you use?
thanks
Dwane

ilko

Hey Dwane,

Just checked the wiring diagram as well and I agree with you. Unfortunately I won't be near the car until next weekend before I can check for sure. I did this the fool-proof way - tap into the harness, hit the brake pedal, if the brake lights turn on - bingo!

I used brake light bulbs, since they have dual filament and provide the most light output. This is what they look like:



Hope this helps!

Dwane

What light socket did you use?

ilko

I used a spare wiring harness for the rear center reflector.