Hey-

I have a third brake light on my 84 camino that works great but looks like crap. It is glued to the window with black adhesive that was done sloppily so when you ook at the light from the outside all you see is a big blac splotch of crap with a red light in the middle. I have two Q's for ou guys

1) How would I take this old 3rd Light off? Razor blade? I just reaaallly dont want to break that back window as it looks very expensive to replace! Already hav broken two windows in a horrible mooning incident.

2) What would you guys recomend it be replaced with under 100 bucks? And how do I wire it to the brakes?

Thanks alot!
-Luke

Luke,

Get ahold of a J>C> Whitney catalog and go to page 51 or close to it and check out the mini LED brake light part number 83UF0680R.

It is the perfect size to go on the outside just above the back glass between the roof moulding and the back glass moulding.

I have that one on my 82 Elky.

Real simple. Only two wires to connect. One to ground and the other to the brake light switch.

Light is attached with self adhesive tape on the back. You only need to drill one small hole under the moulding to run the wires inside. Seal up the hole with a dab of silicone to keep the water out.

It looks like something the factory would have put on there and its nice and bright. Also cheap, at $9.99 plus $8.00 shipping.

Check it out and see what you think.

Looks neat-
This looks like a worth while thing but I have a couple of Q's. First off how would you conceal the wire? Right now the brake light is inside the rear window and the wire runs down the back, behind the cargo mat and underneath the carpet. How would I run it from outside and above the window back down to the carpet?

I am guessing run it through the metal- then in the headliner molding, over to one or the other back pilar? then down to your seat belts and finally underneath the carpet!?!

I had a VERY fun time installing speakers in the back, so I think I know my way around under the carpet. And just one more thing- any pics of how you did it or the final installation??

Thanks
-Luke

Yep,

Thats exactly how I did it. You can pull the dome light down out of the headliner to get to the wire you run through from the outside and run it up under your headliner.
I ran mine down the back pillar and under the step sill plate, up behind the kick panel, then over to the brake switch.

Just a note! There are two wires( orange and white I think) coming out of the brake switch. If you hook it to the wrong one, your third brake light will blink when you use your turn signals. So if this happens hook it to the other wire instead. I can't remember which color it is you hook into.

Sorry, I don't have any pics of mine to show you. Good luck!

Yeah- I only have two worries. How long have you had this on your camino? I am worried about the double-sided tape holding up. And just one more thing- I have two BLACK wires going from the current 3rd brake light down under the carpet. I will look tonight and see where it goes, but me being 16 this is my first car so I am a bit timid with pulling her apart! I dont know what you mean by the brake switch, but tonight I will look around under there and see whats up. Thanks alot!

-Luke

Luke,

Yeah, I was kinda concerned the stick-on brake light wouldn't stay stuck very long too but mine has been on there now for going on 3 years and its still stuck tight! My Elky is driven to work every day and sets outside all day in all kinds of weather and the light hasn't come off yet.

The brake light switch is found right behind your brake pedal arm. It is simply a push button type switch that touches the brake pedal arm and when you push your brake pedal down, it pushes in the button on the switch thus activating your brake lights.

Your current third brake light is probably wired to it.

Man- it really blows that you cant upload pictues on this forum. Is it a possibility that we can have like a vote and somehow make that a tool. Anywho-I followed the 3rd brake light wire down under the sill plate that goes under the carpet and it turns out that the Black wire splits into two wires. a blue and a white. The white one is grounded and the blue one goes into a small 1 1/2" x 1" black box. And two (green and yellow) wires come from that box down under the plate. Didnt have time to follow them up. But I have NO idea what thi thing is haha. But when I purchase this light does it come with wire? Cause I was just thinking I could just not even bother with wiring it and use the black wire and just extend it with more wire. Sound like a possibility??

Thanks for answering my nw 20 and counting questions

-Luke

Um, you can upload pictures on this forum. Look at all the buttons and read the FAQ's!

Can I post Images?
Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board. Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use either the BBCode [img] tag or appropriate HTML (if allowed).

You can give their URL from another place on the internet but you cant upload them from your PC. But hey- whatever. The forum probably wouldnt be free then and I like things free!

Thanks anyways
-Luke

[quote]
You can give their URL from another place on the internet but you cant upload them from your PC. But hey- whatever. The forum probably wouldnt be free then and I like things free!

Thanks anyways
-Luke

Actually, you can upload images to the ECC server from you PC by going to the ECC home page and registering for free web space...

Or by creating an album in the members cars area and linking to it.

a small 1 1/2" x 1" black box. And two (green and yellow) wires come from that box down under the plate. Didnt have time to follow them up. But I have NO idea what thi thing is haha
-Luke

Sounds like a device that J.C. Whitney sells, I got one for my Elky (76) then ended up removing it. It was suppose to hook one side to the left Stop/Turn signal light and one side hooks to the other Turn/Brake light but when it was hooked up that way it blinked when the brake light was one and you were turning. So that was a waste of something like $30.00 for that piece of garbage.

I hooked up to the brake light switch at the brake pedal and ran the wire from there. My light works fine. I also have the brake light from J.C. Whitney. I am unimpressed with the light and have thought about going to a GM dealer and ordering the light that comes on the Blazers. Or ... I noticed that Lauren Engineering sells a light that is for the Grand Nationals and fits on the trunk lid. It is something like 110 LEDs about 2' long and looks like it mounts like the ones on the Blazers and Yukons etc... It is way, way more money than this J.C. Whitnety thing.

Just a thought.

Elkypete,

I just like the small JC Whitney light because it IS small enough to fit in the area between the two mouldings so it kinda looks like it was engineered to go there.

Some of the third brake lights in my opinion are just too big and gaudy looking. Makes the back of the car look like a rolling Christmas tree to me.

If thats what you like, then thats perfectly fine. A good one to get from the Blazers and Astro vans is about a foot wide and very bright but you would have to bolt in on the top of the Elky or top of a hard bed cover or something such as that and it just doesn't blend in well with the Elky I don't think.
But, as I said, to each his own, we don't all like the same things, and I guess thats good!

NJluke,

To answer your question about the wire coming with the light. Yes, it has two wires coming out of it but they're only a foot or two long so you would need to extend one of them to the brake light switch. The other one can just be grounded wherever you can find a place. I think I grounded mine at the dome light screw.

As Elkypete said, you don't need that little black box to make it work. Whitney has one in the ad just below the light and they say you need it but it ain't so. They just wanna make some more money off ya!

If it did not come on the Elky why add something like that? just my 2 cents or maybe 1 1/2

Hey Guys, this is my first post. I am PADEMAMA's son. hehe. Original Parts Group has 3 different options for a third brake light. They offer:

1) Polished Billit light (C980018)$69.95- Bowtie shaped light in LED's

2) Oval shaped brake light (CH22208)$54.95- Brushed T-6 aluminum

3) Oval shaped brake light (CH22209)$59.95- Polished T-6 aluminum


OPG's website is http://www.gmrestoparts.com OR
http://www.originalpartsgroup.com

OPG's FAX: 1-714-230-6050
OPG's Phone: 1-800-243-8355

I hope this has helped anyone or maybe given some ideas. Thank you. :D















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If it did not come on the Elky why add something like that? just my 2 cents or maybe 1 1/2

Are you saying you don't have ANYTHING on your Elky that didn't come on it from the factory?

I couldn't be happy with a car or truck that I couldn't modify in some way to suit my tastes.

The main reason I wanted a third brake light on my Elky was for safety reasons. With the tailights being so low in the back bumper, if you have someone following you very closely, especially a large truck with a long hood, chances are he can't even see your brakelights come on if he is too close to you.
So I figured a third brake light up high might keep me from getting rearended sometime.
I didn't put it on there for looks because personnally, I think it looks better without it but there are just too many tailgaters and inconsiderate drivers out there these days so I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Just my 1 1/2 cents worth!

As ElkyPete once said (paraphrased here) 'As much money as I have put into my Elky anything that reduces the chances of it getting in an accident is a good thing' (he was referring to silvering the factory taillight reflectors with bumper chrome paint).

I have been seriously considering putting a 3rd brakelight on mine. My inclination is to rig up something not-too-big (maybe 2" tall and 4" to 6" wide) inside the top of the rear window, color-matched to the interior. That's how GM probably would have done it since they always tended to use car styling on the Elkies, not truck styling (such as an external mount light). I haven't actually set forth to do it yet (so it may be more painful than I expect), but that's my general thought.

Unfortunately, there are now a huge number of drivers out there who never drove in a world without 3rd brake lights. Too many of these look for that light, not the bumper-mounted ones, in traffic. On top of that, Elky taillights have never been all that great in the first place. If you drive yours regularly and can figure out a way to put one in that looks right to you, it's probably a good idea unless you are going for a 100% accurate restoration.

As always, your mileage may vary...

For anyone with the flat style fiberglass tonneau cover, here's an idea, go to the bone yard and get the roof mounted led brake light off an Astro van or a Blazer and mount that all the way forward behind the glass on the tonneau cover. Cheap and no modifications to the body.

Elkypete,

I just like the small JC Whitney light because it IS small enough to fit in the area between the two mouldings so it kinda looks like it was engineered to go there.
But, as I said, to each his own, we don't all like the same things, and I guess thats good!

I don't let differences in taste bother me. If I did I would have had a problem with a Brother-in-law who told me that my Paint Job looked like something from "South of the border!" :D

I just told him "What the hell do you know you drive a Dodge!" :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have had the same little led light that these guys are talking about for a few years now. That's small enough not to be noticed until you press the brake, then its amazing how bright it is. I think it will stay stuck there forever. You spice it into the orange wire for the brake switch. Works great, lasts long time.

Well, for a long time i had the "billet specialties" license plate with the third brake light built in, very cool, and its worked very well,but at a local car show last year, i saw something a little different, but looked impressive, so i thought i would try one,so iam in the process of finishing a custom L.E.D light in the tailgate of the elky,actually recessing the new brake light in. Getting it flush was a lot of work because of the shape of the tailgate, the real problem now is getting the paint to blend in because of the old pearl mix in the original color, though the gate is still in primer its so awsome looking! post some pics when i can later, Jim

I've got a third BL out of a junker that works great and is easily seen. It's a recycle yard special. 8)
http://elcaminocentral.com/modules.php?set_albumName=albun20&id=80_Elky_Cargo&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
Note in the window below the rear view mirror. If they can't see that ... they deserve whatever I sue for. :cool: