A while back I noticed some of the LEDs in the 3rd brake light were busted and today I finally found some time to take it apart to see how I can replace it. To my knowledge from searching around LEDs for 3rd brake lights are not stock. I bought my car 2nd hand and had originally thought MRs came with LEDs but I think they just came with a single bulb. I'm assuming that someone did a 3rd brake light LED conversion before I purchased the vehicle.

How do I go about fixing/replacing the busted LEDs and where can I purchase them? Can I purchase individual LEDs or do I have to repurchase the entire unit?

Here's what I'm dealing with:


3rd brake light lit

Electrical wires for the 3rd brake light inside the trunk

3rd brake light pulled from housing

3rd brake light wiring

 

Reminds me of alarm clock when i was a kid lol.
Is your heart set on keeping that light if so u gonna have to source some leds and hope they match or replace them all, or go back to stock and get 1 led bulb .

 

I'm pretty partial to these now. They do look really nice and I'd rather keep the conversion with the 7 dead LEDs than go back to OEM.

 

This LED brake light was made by a guy named Curt. I have one like this too. I also make custom LED parts for Evos (or any car).

 

Nice! Finally getting somewhere. Do you have Curt's information so I can reach out? How much would you charge to fix the dead LEDs? Would I have to purchase the entire unit rather than single LEDs? What would be the next steps from my position? Please PM me if it's more appropriate.

Thanks!

-edited

 

I looked into this a bit more and it looks like I can purchase individual LEDs and replace them. I can check on this later when I have a measuring tape but is this a 5mm or 3mm LED?

I'm not really knowledgeable in Voltages and mA but would this work? https://www.adafruit.com/product/297

Or this:
I assume I should be getting a non-diffused LED?

-edited

 

I have his phone number. I can text him.

The LEDs likely failed because that style of LED didn't conduct heat away from the diodes effectively.

Those are an 'old school' type of LED that you don't really see anymore. LED technology has changed a ton since then and there are better things available.

If it was me, I would build a brake light with newer style SMD or maybe 4-post LEDs.

(I am actually working on custom LED evo tail lights now, I am 3d printing parts to hold my circuit boards)

One huge warning. I have learned through trial and error that the EVO 9 uses the brake pedal circuit as an input to the ACD. The ACD needs to know when the driver is pressing the brake pedal, so it puts a weak signal on the brake light circuit. Since the factory setup has nothing but incandescent bulbs (think of it like regular resistors) it will pull this to ground through the bulbs. If you put LEDs in series in all of your brake bulbs the diodes need a voltage HIGHER than what this weak signal is, and there isn't enough current flow to pass through since LEDs are semi-conductors, not just regular "conductors". (It works like a bias voltage). This causes an ACD "3 light error" when the parking lights are on. The way around this is to put a resistor of appropriate wattage and resistance in parallel with the brake light circuit.

 

What do SMD or 4-post LEDs look like? What's the cost? I wouldn't mind paying for a new 3rd brake light if it's reasonable.

It's interesting that you mention the ACD 3 light error because I used to get that and now it's gone. ACD lights seems to be working fine and switching between the 3 ACD modes look good as well... I wonder if it's related to the busted LEDs.

 

google images will show you the types of LEDs you request info about.

did the error only happen when your parking lamps were on?

do you have LEDs in your tail lights as well?

I did text Curt, but he didn't answer. I think he drives a truck for a living now, so I don't think he has time for these types of things. I don't want to speak on his behalf.

 

I can't recall if it only happened when parking lamps were on. It was a long time ago when I first bought my car around 2011-2012.

I do not have LEDs on tail lights. They're just stock bulbs. I think my LEDs are 10mm in size. Pretty huge. Do you think these would work?

 

The "3 light ACD error" will be caused if all of your brake-lights have LEDs, but if you have original OEM bulbs in the brake lights for the tail lights then it has a path to ground. If you experienced this error, it is probably not due to your LEDs then.

Switching to your question, you can use any LED that fits. Those ones you are using area already current limited I see as well. It won't be a very efficient setup, but it should work.

If it were me, I would use superflux lumileds and put 3 in series with a resistor. Many branches like this would give awesome results. Unfortunately that would mean you have to redo the whole light.

 

FYI- I have the exact same brake-light, but mine is in near perfect condition. I will be making a new style design brake light so I will have no need for it anymore.

I see your paint is kind of cracked up too, the paint on mine is mint.

 

I eventually was able to fix it buy buying 5mm LEDs off of Amazon (I quoted 10mm above but those suckers are huge... way bigger than what I have). Just curious - are you selling yours? If so and depending on the price I might be interested.

 

Yeah- I want mine to match my new tail lights I just made which I am putting the finishing touches on. I'll sell it for 40$, plus whatever shipping is- but when I'm ready I need to make a proper FS post to respect the rules here.

 

Sounds good, let me know. I may be interested. The LED's I purchased off Amazon works but they have a different "shine" to them and doesn't match my other LED's. Kinda bothers me. Got any pics of the components and of the lights when they're lit?