Clear high level LED brake light......

wolfie308 · May 27, 2008

As a rather discreet mod, I fancy fitting an LED 3rd brake light at the top of the hatch. I'm after the clear type to match in with the rest of my clear lenses.[8D]

Has anybody found a suitable unit for the job ?

BTW I've noticed that Turnclear are now only offering clear S.2/ Turbo fronts, but these are twice the price you can get them for on eBay. If anyone wants Lux fronts or clear rear indicator lenses, I think there's only one company in Europe doing them now [

]

os951 · May 27, 2008

Jokim (turnclear) has restarted the front clear lenses production. He plans to make rears as well. Those lenses which can be found from Ebay are made in Taiwan. You can buy them for 12$/pair if you order 20 pairs of them. Do not know into which european manufacturer you are referring but at least in Germany is a manufacturer who make rear/front lenses as well.

Here's my set up; taiwanese fronts and the rears Joakim made for me

pauljmcnulty · May 27, 2008

Do not know into which european manufacturer you are referring

I suspect Wolfie means Protocast. He won't blow his own trumpet, but has supplied many of the clear lenses to people here so I'm happy to recommend him!

http://www.protocast.co.uk/

wolfie308 · May 27, 2008

Many thanks Paul - I must confess it was a veiled reference [

]

Here's what my latest rears look like....

And here's a pic of one of the first trial conversions I did over 3 years ago - looks like Joakim pinched my idea of using the reverse lens as a mould for clear in place of the top fog lens [

]. I decided not to supply these as I was concerned over the legality/MOT issues.

TBH as far as the S.2/Turbo fronts are concerned, the eBay ones may well be Taiwanese, but at less than £30 with bulbs delivered, I'd buy them if I hadn't made my own.

Regards the main reason for the post, I'd be really interested if anybody can come up with a suggestion of a suitable clear LED brake light unit.

Richard

sawood12 · May 27, 2008

I've been looking for a clear third brake light and so far have not found one that I think will look OK. They've all mostly been the type that stick onto the glass and hinge out. I don't think that any of these will work on our cars due to the very flat angle of the hatch glass at the top of the hatch. I'd like something like the Bently Continental that streatches across the entire width of the hatch but I think there will be nothing available for our cars.

os951 · May 28, 2008

Richard,
your lenses looks real nice!

What comes to those taiwanese lenses; i have been in touch to the manufacturer and i bought a 20 pairs. During that time 1½ years ago, the pair price was 11,50 US $. Quality of these lenses are good. I negotiated with them of the possibilty to produce other lenses as well, but they were not interested. I was also in contact to some other manufacturers in China & Taiwan and tried to have a possibilty to start manufacture completely new rear light units for 944 models. This whole mission ended after they offered me somekind of Lexus style bolt-on lamp units. They had hard to belive when i told Porsche people are not interested in such a lights [

]

What comes to your original question, i have some US spec rear glass mounted third brakelight units. I have tought it might be possible to modify them to accept LED's. Let's see how this turns out.

Olli

Suffolk944 · May 28, 2008

I really like the idea of those clear rear lenses but the thought of hacking away at the light cluster to fit them fills me with horror. [&:]

wolfie308 · May 28, 2008

ORIGINAL: os951

Richard,
your lenses looks real nice!

What comes to those taiwanese lenses; i have been in touch to the manufacturer and i bought a 20 pairs. During that time 1½ years ago, the pair price was 11,50 US $. Quality of these lenses are good. I negotiated with them of the possibilty to produce other lenses as well, but they were not interested. I was also in contact to some other manufacturers in China & Taiwan and tried to have a possibilty to start manufacture completely new rear light units for 944 models. This whole mission ended after they offered me somekind of Lexus style bolt-on lamp units. They had hard to belive when i told Porsche people are not interested in such a lights []

What comes to your original question, i have some US spec rear glass mounted third brakelight units. I have tought it might be possible to modify them to accept LED's. Let's see how this turns out.

Olli

Thanks for that Olli, IMHO they're as good as you can get individually hand casting them as I do.

Don't know if it's of any interest , but I also produced a small run of clear front U.S side markers.....

The thought of anything remotely Lexarse for a rear conversion would definitely be [:'(] to 99.9% of owners - many owners are happy with the OEM units, or as Suffolk944 and others, would like them but are a bit nervous about taking a Dremel to a perfectly sound pair of light clusters. It really isn't that difficult, but does need a degree of comittment, care and patience.

Back on the subject of 3rd brake lights, I was thinking of a unit of just sufficient height to be fixed to the rear headlining panel rather than fitted to the glass, but any ideas would be welcome. The angle of the glass is an additional complication as Scott pointed out.

Looks I'll be prowling round supermarket car parks looking for ideas [

]

Olli... have you got a pic of the U.S unit ? I've seen a U.K original option item with bulb which looked pants. [:-]

sawood12 · May 28, 2008

The only potential issue with any light units that do not adhesively attach to the glass is glare from the light reflecting back and annoying you in the rear view mirror. Also I was thinking about a thin narrow strip of LED's ala Bently so as to minimise the amount it blocks your view in the rear view mirror. But thinking about it given that cars have grown somewhat over the past 20yrs the vast majority of cars are looking down on our 944's so having the light slightly angled upwards is probably more effective - especially for those in their mini-bigfoot Q8's and Touregs.

Peter Empson · May 28, 2008

I don't suppose you have any pictures of your clear rear lights on a white 944? I would really like to see how it looks before comitting myself, but suspect I could be tempted...

wolfie308 · May 29, 2008

Sorry Peter, I don't have any pics of the rears on a white car, although I'm sure someone has fitted them...photo call please.

Here's one of the fronts which you might like as well, courtesy of the owner [

]

os951 · May 29, 2008

Here you are, some pictures i just took from my dusty 951's third brakelight.

Here's some pictures with clear lenses we have installed. Also few shots taken from white car as well. front splitters seen on these pictures are own fabrication.

wolfie308 · May 29, 2008

Morning Olli,

Many thanks for the photos - a fine collection of very smart cars [8D] and the best pics I've seen with the clear U.S sidemarkers.

The 3rd brake light.....hmm....it's bigger and uglier than I remembered it. Even it were fitted with LED's, think the unit is just too bulky. What I have in mind is a thin unit maybe 3-5cms high and deep and 20-30 cms wide mounted to the headlining rather than against the glass, but reflection might be a problem - won't know without trying.

If I can find a suitable housing with a red lens, it may be worth me fabricating a clear lens for it. That way I could offer a unique solution, but I'd be happy if I could find a suitable off the shelf item.

At least we don't have the issue that I have with one of my Toyota 3rd brake lights. If you fit an LED cluster bulb in place of the original filament bulb, the brake light fail lamp on the dash will come on as the circuit thinks a bulb is blown due to the low resistance of the LED's. It can be overcome by fitting a load resistor, but it'a bit of a PITA.

Most owners fit a red bulb instead, but this doesn't give full advantage of the clear lens IMHO. Anyway, I'm working on a solution with integral resistor to get over this.

Those vented badge panels look pretty neat too.......are these sourced or modded by the owners? Think there might be some interest in those from folks on here.

Richard

os951 · May 29, 2008

Badge panes are own fabrication as well, we got the molds. Panel with one hole is modified original item.

Wigeon Incognito · May 29, 2008

Could a modified version of something like this not do the trick?

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/lighting/photo/rl099a.jpg

Glass fitting, although as others have said I suspect that will be better.

Link to product details at the bottom of this page:

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/lighting/rear.php#led

Peter Empson · May 29, 2008

Curses, I really like them on the white 944! Thanks for the pic. I'm going to mull this over for a few days [&:]

sawood12 · May 29, 2008

This is more like what I had in mind for a 3rd brake light, though i've no idea where you could get something like this:-

pauljmcnulty · May 30, 2008

This is more like what I had in mind for a 3rd brake light, though i've no idea where you could get something like this:-

From a Bentley dealer? [

][

]

graham.webb · May 30, 2008

I spent some time looking for one (my first 944 was written off when rear ended, so I'm a bit nervous about it!). Found one on one of the American sites (Paragon or Pelikan) and ordered it.....an OEM Porsche part No, but they had no stock. Looks a bit like the one show in os951's photos. Wonder if it's available here. I'll look up the part No and try my OPC.

sawood12 · May 30, 2008

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

This is more like what I had in mind for a 3rd brake light, though i've no idea where you could get something like this:-

Click to expand...

From a Bentley dealer? [][]