After many requests to see my 3rd brake light mod, here it is: Pic1 and Pic2 . This WAS NOT EASY to install, and took quite a while to do. The light is a red LED light made by Sho-Me Able2 products and is really made for emergency vehicle lighting however it fit perfectly for my application as a brake light. You could easily find another make that would fit in there also. Firstly you need to remove the 2 screws on top of the light assembly and then remove the assembly from the truck. There is a wiring harness that needs to be unsnapped and then you can take the assembly off for the mod. Next remove the standard halogen bulbs from both the brake section and the clear white lights. To pry the front lenses from the housing I used a heatgun on a low setting, you can also put it in an oven for a brief period of time to loosen the sealant. Once this is done the assembly can be pryed apart with care. The LED had to be trimmed slightly to fit snuggly and then I used a plastic compatible glue to reinforce it. I then used Silicone sealant to re-seal the housing and let air-dry for 6 hours before installing again. Dont forget to wire it up, the easiest way is to use in-line connectors on the wires that go into the harness on the truck side. Well there it is, and I warned you its not easy. But it looks unique and it is bright AS HELL!



2004 F150 XLT SCaB

 

WoW... really cool mod.

I'd really like to see some pictures of it lit if you get a chance...

RP

 

There are some pics embedded into the above thread labeled Pic1 and Pic2

 

Gotcha...sorry about that...

NICE MOD!

 

PriorityOne, can you provide a link to the Sho-Me Able2 web page? I'd like to order one or two of those.

Love the mod! I always add the timed flasher to my 3rd brake lights, and an LED just makes it that much more effective at waking up drivers that are not paying attention.

CA vehicle code allows the 3rd brake lamp to flash no more than 4 times in the first 4 seconds of applying the brake so I take advantage of that vehicle code section.

EDIT: I found the link: Able2 Products

 

here's a good place to buy them. Either that or eBay. Whats this timed flasher? is that like the studder you will sometimes see when a LED brake is engaged on some trucks like ambulances? And yes this light does get attention, its much brighter than any OEM LED's and people are always staring at the back of my truck, especially other F150 owners!

 

cool, nice mod, woulda never thought of doing that, but now that uve done the brake light, might as well do the proximity lighting also...get the clear led's for the sides

 

This timer is "somewhat" adjustable for the number of flashes and and the speed of the flashes by turning two pots. It is very simple to hook up. You can get them here. Click on B- Alert in this link.

Brake light flasher

 

Wow thanks that's exactly what I've been looking for. Im a bit of a light addict
________________________________
Front Strobes Rear Strobes

 

hey priority one, what part of jersey you from, maybe you can come up an assist on my strobe install, im interested in this led mod also...might even put them on flashers for responding

 

Central Jersey, Somerset / Hunterdon County area. Let me know what I can do for ya, these Fords were made for emergency lighting!

 

yea i know, its tough running those cables for the strobes though lol, so far i have ONE cable run lol...to my fog , with the strobe installed, gotta finish these up one day, also need to install the siren , and now im interested in this LED stuff wit the brake light...

 

Me too! You wouldn't happen to be planning a trip to Northern CA would you? I'd like to borrow your expertise in doing this LED brake light mod.

 

couple tips for strobe installs: Dont use the stuff the strobe kits come with. The cable is entirely too thick. I go to a local electronic supply shop and get 100ft rolls of 18ga 3 conductor shielded wire. ITs hella cheaper and works perfect, its about half if not less the size of the "Whelen" stuff and therefore much easier to run. You can also get more of the "AMP" connectors used to connect to the bulbs and the power supply cheaper at these places. Running the cables to the front of this truck is cake. The back takes some patience, you need to exit the cab of the truck through a pre-drilled hole that lies under the step rail on the passenger side then carefully route it to the back through the various holes in the frame, being sure to be carefull of the moving parts/gears under there. Drilling holes in the headlights and foglights is probably the most skilled area of strobe installs, because it HAS to be the perfect cut the first time or else. I do quite a few of these and have some fancy hole-saw bits that minimize the need to remove the plastic shavings that come with the drilling. As far as sirens go I just used the airhorn function on mine and tapped it into the horn ring on the steering wheel. I have no need for the other tones, or the honky switches. The speaker fits like a glove in the lower grill.
And no sorry no trips to Cali anytime soon for me, although it sounds good!

 

This is the flasher I use on most of my cars 3rd brake lite:

3rd Brake Flash

You apply your brake and your brake light(s) will immediately turn ON and then flash for about 3-4 seconds then stay ON continuously. Release your brake and apply again will cause the cycle to repeat but the flash period will be shorter depending on how long the brakes were off. A complete reset takes about 20-30 seconds. This helps prevent distracting flashing in stop & go traffic.

Thanks PriorityOne for the LED info, I will be adding that mod directly!