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My third tail light mod

7K views 43 replies 25 participants last post by  Bella119 
#1 ·
I saw the third tail light mod on here so I thought I would give it a try. Others used the wheel dust shields, but I found a disk made for the bottom of a smoker/grill that was only $6 at Academy Sports. I was scared of the Amazon LEDs so I bought mine from superbrightleds.com. As you can tell in the picture, they are super bright and I gained more back window to see out of.
 

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#3 ·
This looks great. Would you mind removing the tire and taking a daytime picture so we can see the disc you used and how you wired it up. As soon as I get my new rims this is the first mod I'm doing. I was kind of wary of the dust shields because they look flimsy so I'm interested to see how it worked out with something that is actually metal.

Thanks in advance

- Sparkuus
 
#4 ·
That is awesome!
 
#19 ·
Yeah...
It's pretty alright. But also not legal.
Not bashing you but you should be aware of that. It could get you a ticket from a knowledgeable LEO or one with a stick up his arse.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all the positive comments! I will get some more pictures for you. Here is the link to the disk I used. It really is sturdy. All I had to do was drill the holes for the studs and the lights and then painted flat black. I had found pizza separators online and would like to try them next time. They do not have the holes.

The youtube videos I saw showed tapping into the wire inside, but I just used the wires going to the third brake light. I ran a wire and soldered each light into it and then soldered that wire into the primary wires coming from the Jeep. Really a simple mod.

Old Smokey #18 Replacement Bottom Grate | Academy
 
#18 ·
http://www.wranglerforum.com/f274/video-cpo-third-brake-light-how-to-1565529.html

I used the brake dust shields like he did - they are plenty sturdy - not like they need to be load bearing they just have to hold the LED's







I used the same ones cpo did in his video - they aren't as bright as I had hoped in the daylight - but they are plenty bright at night. I was looking at replacing them with these from superbriteleds'

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...ht-w-3-high-flux-leds-pigtail-connector/1982/

I ran my wires in to the tail gate and reused the connector for the original third brake light and just plugged it in to the harness. I also put a waterproof connector on the outside so it could be removed if need be.

all in all - the hardest part I had was dividing the circle in to 8 and then getting them to line up with the holes in the wheel.
 
#14 ·
LOL next time you have a distracted punk texting behind you, the moment they see the bright red glow will make them think they are headed to the portal of hell!
 
#26 ·
Did some research and in Florida the Center High Mount Stop Lamp is regulated by Florida Statute Title XXIII Chaper 316.

Apparently Florida statute only requires TWO red brake lights visible from at least 300 feet away. So you can remove the third brake light or move it to the center of the rim without issue.

Florida does seem to be a little more laxed about vehicle regulation than some other states. We did get rid of annual vehicle inspections like 20 years ago.

I think I will test my luck and go ahead with the modification. If I get pulled over and it becomes a problem I will change it back.

I would suggest to anyone else that is interested in making such modification should look into local and state regulations for where they live. Best of luck.

Happy Jeeping.
 
#34 ·
Just tell the LEO "Awww man. I only use it at Jeep events, and must have forgotten to unplug it. It's been that way since last weekend. I'll unplug it now. Thanks for letting me know, Officer!"
 
#36 ·
@Texaslaw73 which Superbright LEDs did you use?
 
#37 ·
Got mine all wired up and installed today. Here are a couple of pics prior to install.
Back

Front


I followed CPO's video tutorial and used the dust cover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WaTsjufPVk

If I had known about the grill plate I would have saved the cash and used it instead.

If anyone is trying to calculate the spacing for a 5 whole wheel I came down with 8.25 inches. YMMV.
 
#38 ·
Got mine all wired up and installed today. Here are a couple of pics prior to install.
Back

Front


I followed CPO's video tutorial and used the dust cover.

If I had known about the grill plate I would have saved the cash and used it instead.

If anyone is trying to calculate the spacing for a 5 whole wheel I came down with 8.25 inches. YMMV.
Nice job, I'm looking forward to getting mine installed soon!
 
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