"Third Brake" application question

[TMA62]

List:

I have been toying around in putting a third brake light on my '71 Avanti II. There are a couple of ways of doing it. One is to put a thin LED strip at the base of the rear window (inside). Another way is to buy one of those license plate frames that has an LED strip on it. Are there other methods? Have any of you used the license plate frame LED's and what do you think of them?

FYI, I did replace my standard brake light bulbs (1157) with the LED clusters. While it is a noticeable improvement, I really want a third brake light that would 1.) Meet motorists expectations for brake lights and 2.) not be conspicuous to take away from the overall appearance of the car.

Thanks in advance!

[Gunslinger]

I see no point in a license plate mounted third brake light...it's too low to do much good. I've been planning on installing a third brake light in my car but simply haven't gotten around to it...plus my car is 300 miles away at Myer's shop having some other upgrades done to it. There are universal lights that will stick on the interior of the back glass available.

When installing a third brake light you also have to buy a logic circuit to wire into the rear wiring harness since the brake lights also double as running lights. The better option, though a bit more of a headache is to splice into the brake light switch wire and run a lead back to the third brake light. It's probably a more reliable source of power for the light.

[GoldAvantiII]

Hey Guys, I have a gold '71 (RQB-1659). Last October I installed a 3rd (hi-mount) Stop Light. I got it from Daniel Stern Lighting http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ . He is a wizard of the aftermarket lighting systems for cars/trucks/jeeps. He has several models of the 3rd stop lights. They are mounted at the bottom center of the rear window and are ordered according to rear window angle. The Avanti window is 31 degrees at the bottom. So, I ordered Model 37. It cost about $75. It's made by Hella in Australia (or, New Zealand?). Take a look at the sight and check it out. It's a very bright LED unit and takes all of the worry out of being seen braking. I ran wiring forward to the brake switch (had to hid the wires under the threshold cover and behind the read side panel and side of the rear seat, then up under the rear window shelf. ............. Harv

[adamderosa]

Many years ago I installed the center rear brake light from a Porsche 944 on my Avanti. This light installs on the inside of the rear window at the top. It's held on with double-sided tape and it fits very well. It looks like it's supposed to be there. These should still be available from Porsche parts suppliers or wrecking yards.