My 3rd brake light mod

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09-06-2011, 09:23 AM

Nelly

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My 3rd brake light mod

I know there are a few 3rd brake light mods out there, but I thought I'd throw another into the mix. I wanted a inexpensive option that relocated the 3rd brake light into the spare tire. I didn't want to have to deal with mounting one in the center cap and plugging and unplugging it every time the tire had to come off, and I didn't like the look of a relocated factory 3rd brake light just sitting back there either. So this is what I came up with. It is a clean inexpensive way to completely eliminate the factory 3rd brake light and replace it with a nice clean looking 6 LED light that sits right between the spokes. It will run you anywhere between $10-$20 depending on if you have to buy paint or not. Here is a quick write up on it:

Parts needed:

1 - 4" sealed running board light (Blazer part #C535R)
2 - L brackets (4" for a factory 17" wheel or 5" for a factory 18' wheel)
Stainless steel hardware for mounting
Shrink tubing for wiring
Black paint of your choice
Zip ties

First thing to do is to remove the spare tire and disconnect the factory 3rd brake light. There are 4 T-20 torques screws holding the light on to the mount. Remove these and unplug the light. Once the light is unplugged you can then remove the spare tire holder from the door. It is held on by 8 13mm bolts.

You have to remove this from the Jeep because it needs to be cut and there was no way I was going to try doing that while it was still mounted. I did this mod to 2 Jeeps this weekend (a 2011 and 2010), both had the solid rear arm that extends up over the tire. This piece will have to be cut off. I chose to cut it off as close to the base as possible.

Once it was cut off, I sanded down the cut edges so they were flat to the top of the holder. Now it is ready to be painted.

I chose to use Rust-oleum's truck bed coating to match the texture that was already on the tire holder and to make it look factory. I also used this paint on the 2 "L" brackets as they will be slightly visible through the wheel.

While you paint is drying you can get to work on the wiring. The new brake light has 2 wires coming out of it (1 red, 1 black). These need to be spliced onto the factory wiring. I chose to just cut the factory plug off as there was no way the factory light was ever going back on this thing. The factory wire colors are black, white w/red stripe. You can choose to either solder these connections or use crimp connectors. However you choose to do it, I highly recommend using some sort of heat shrink tubing after the connections are made. This will help keep moisture from corroding the wires. The wires are connected like this: black to black and red to white w/red stripe.

Once the paint has dried you are ready to bolt the tire holder back on the door. You cant even tell the factory brake light extension was there.

Now route the light through the holder and attach it to your "L" brackets. I used some tape to temporarily hold the brackets in place so I could mount the tire back on the holder. Once the tire is back on you can check for clearance and get the light positioned exactly where you like. Once it is in the right position you can mark your holes for mounting. Remove the tire and screw the L brackets to the tire holder. I chose to use galvanized self-tapping screws for this.