High level brake light - now fitted

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alolympic

High level brake light - now fitted

#1 Post by alolympic »

Has anyone managed to fit one that doesn't look out of keeping?
I am sold on them being a safety plus point. I know our cars have survived without one for many years, but I think their widespread application has changed what many drivers look for as the signal that a car is braking now. Anything that helps wake up the average driver on auto pilot will make me feel a bit less paranoid.
I want to fit one, but can't find one that won't look out of keeping. I definitely don't want one fitted to the parcel shelf, so that leaves roof mounted. Anyone cracked it?
Last edited by alolympic on Sat Jan 02, 2016 5:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
cliftyhanger
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Re: High level brake light?

#2 Post by cliftyhanger »

Got some cheapy ones that stick to the rear window. Came from china and about £3, thought they were worth a punt. Been working fine on our classic mini.
And you are right to think they are a good idea. Our cars seem to have the lights lower down and near impossible for many drivers to actually see. Or rather, they don't bother to look or notice.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-DC-12V-Ca ... SwVFlT10OQ

There may be an oe version that is tidier?
Clive Senior
Brighton
alolympic

Re: High level brake light?

#3 Post by alolympic »

cliftyhanger wrote:Got some cheapy ones that stick to the rear window. Came from china and about £3, thought they were worth a punt. Been working fine on our classic mini.
And you are right to think they are a good idea. Our cars seem to have the lights lower down and near impossible for many drivers to actually see. Or rather, they don't bother to look or notice.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-DC-12V-Ca ... SwVFlT10OQ

There may be an oe version that is tidier?
Thanks, could try one of those and see how discreet it looks.
After another search, it looks like someone had already cracked this, very nice solution -
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=25000&hilit=High+level
AlanH

Re: High level brake light?

#4 Post by AlanH »

This one from a Mazda 6 looks the part.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=20141&p=265622&hil ... a6#p265622
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Toledo Man
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Re: High level brake light?

#5 Post by Toledo Man »

A possible alternative would be to fit LED bulbs for the stop/tail lights. They're brighter and light up marginally quicker than filament bulbs which could make enough difference to avoid being rear-ended. You will either need red coloured bulbs or the warm white ones. The cool white bulbs look a bit washed-out and pale through the coloured lenses.
Toledo Man

West Yorkshire Area Organiser
Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm at The Railway, 1 Birstall Lane, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1JJ

2003 Volvo XC90 D5 SE (PX53 OVZ - The daily driver)
2009 Mercedes-Benz W204 C200 CDI Sport (BJ58 NCV - The 2nd car)
1991 Toyota Celica GT (J481 ONB - a project car)
Former stable of SAY 414M (1974 Toledo), GRH 244D (1966 1300fwd), CDB 324L (1973 1500fwd), GGN 573J (1971 1500fwd), DCP 625S (1977 Dolomite 1300) & LCG 367N (1975 Dolomite Sprint), NYE 751L (1972 Dolomite 1850 auto) plus 5 Acclaims and that's just the Triumphs!

Check my blog at http://triumphtoledo.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel with a bit of Dolomite content.

"There is only one way to avoid criticsm: Do nothing, say nothing and BE nothing." Aristotle
Dolly-Dimple

Re: High level brake light?

#6 Post by Dolly-Dimple »

AlanH wrote:This one from a Mazda 6 looks the part.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=20141&p=265622&hil ... a6#p265622
Now that does indeed look the part!
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tom16v
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Re: High level brake light?

#7 Post by tom16v »

I bought the one from this post

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=25000&hilit=High+level

Its currently fitted to my Saphire Sprint and is very discrete and effective. It is beautifully made from wood and shaped metal. I'm sure the right person (I have no such skills) could replicate it if people were keen enough.
1979 Carmine Dolomite Sprint
1974 Saphire Dolomite Sprint (Soon to be tastefully modified)
2005 Mystic blue BMW M3
2004 Mystic Blue 330d
2001 Peugeot 206 Hdi180
alolympic

Re: High level brake light?

#8 Post by alolympic »

Toledo Man wrote:A possible alternative would be to fit LED bulbs for the stop/tail lights. They're brighter and light up marginally quicker than filament bulbs which could make enough difference to avoid being rear-ended. You will either need red coloured bulbs or the warm white ones. The cool white bulbs look a bit washed-out and pale through the coloured lenses.
Yes, recently fitted some excellent LED's and they certainly brighten things up. I still want a high level light too, as I think these are the most visible. I have actually ordered one now, from eBay. Arrived yesterday. I will be fitting it within the middle roof vent. It is nice and small, so discreet and will hopefully be bright enough.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131020847926? ... EBIDX%3AIT
alolympic

Re: High level brake light?

#9 Post by alolympic »

tom16v wrote:I bought the one from this post

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=25000&hilit=High+level

Its currently fitted to my Saphire Sprint and is very discrete and effective. It is beautifully made from wood and shaped metal. I'm sure the right person (I have no such skills) could replicate it if people were keen enough.
You're lucky, I think it is a beautiful solution. Like you, I don't think I could manage to fabricate one...
cliftyhanger
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Re: High level brake light?

#10 Post by cliftyhanger »

Please tell of source of the decent led brake/tail bulbs. All the ones I have seen so far have been hopeless!
Clive Senior
Brighton
alolympic

Re: High level brake light?

#11 Post by alolympic »

cliftyhanger wrote:Please tell of source of the decent led brake/tail bulbs. All the ones I have seen so far have been hopeless!
Not cheap I'm afraid but the Cree LED's really are worth paying for (I discovered them as bike lights first).
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151843788725? ... EBIDX%3AIT
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Re: High level brake light?

#12 Post by Toledo Man »

The stop/tail bulbs were bought from HERE
Toledo Man

West Yorkshire Area Organiser
Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm at The Railway, 1 Birstall Lane, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1JJ

2003 Volvo XC90 D5 SE (PX53 OVZ - The daily driver)
2009 Mercedes-Benz W204 C200 CDI Sport (BJ58 NCV - The 2nd car)
1991 Toyota Celica GT (J481 ONB - a project car)
Former stable of SAY 414M (1974 Toledo), GRH 244D (1966 1300fwd), CDB 324L (1973 1500fwd), GGN 573J (1971 1500fwd), DCP 625S (1977 Dolomite 1300) & LCG 367N (1975 Dolomite Sprint), NYE 751L (1972 Dolomite 1850 auto) plus 5 Acclaims and that's just the Triumphs!

Check my blog at http://triumphtoledo.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel with a bit of Dolomite content.

"There is only one way to avoid criticsm: Do nothing, say nothing and BE nothing." Aristotle
Pippin
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Re: High level brake light?

#13 Post by Pippin »

Ring sell a few designs of third brake light:

http://www.ringautomotive.co.uk/uk/prod ... ting/RL098

and there are other designs here:

http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/l ... ake-lights

(see also page 2)

Jer
Great Lakes Sprint

Re: High level brake light?

#14 Post by Great Lakes Sprint »

I came up with a solution for this that I’m quite happy with.

I bought the part from https://www.ronfrancis.com/products.asp?dept=25. I got RW-12, with a 30-degree angle to the plastic housing. That part number doesn’t seem to be listed anymore, but maybe they still have it. The wiring was just long enough to reach the brake-light connector in the boot.

The custom mount uses a really strong magnet to grab through the headliner. Then it has an adjustable elbow to connect, via a screw, to the plastic LED housing. I can’t direct you to a place to buy such a setup online, but maybe this will give you some ideas to work with.

In any case, if you mount something on the passenger-compartment side of the glass, you’ll want some sort of shroud housing in order to avoid nasty, distracting reflections while driving at night.
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alolympic

Re: High level brake light?

#15 Post by alolympic »

Happy New Year all!
So, I finally got around to tackling this today.
In actual fact it was very simple. I just spliced into the drivers side brake light wire, one live, one for earth. Fed the new wires though the side of the boot, via the inside of the C pillar and fed through to the roof, above the headlining and out of the centre roof vent. Brake light then secured in the vent itself.
It works fine, I think is discreet, and is good and bright (although not as bright as the new LED brake lights which are VERY bright). I'm pretty happy that it will make braking more noticeable.
Total cost, less than a tenner, and probably a 15 minute job once I decided where to fit etc.

Here are some quick phone photos if anybody is interested in doing similar.

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