Blinking Rear Brake Light?
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From: San Fernando Valley, CA
Blinking Rear Brake Light?
I saw an xB with the upper rear brake set up to blink when the brake lights come on....
Is there an easy way to do this?
It really gets your attention when that light blinks when someone steps on the brakes and i would like to have it for safety purposes.
Thanks!
__________________
Is there an easy way to do this?
It really gets your attention when that light blinks when someone steps on the brakes and i would like to have it for safety purposes.
Thanks!
__________________
Last edited by MR_LUV; Apr 21, 2020 at 02:02 AM. Reason: Awarded 15 Yr Badge
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there are modules u can hook it up to the third brake light to make it blink
here's one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=42613
here's one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=42613
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From: 886motorwerx
I haven't checked into it, but it did get my attention when I was behind a Rav4 with it installed. If anything, it would just be a fix it ticket, but most wouldn't know if there was a VC section for it anyway. I'll have to check around next week.
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I have one on my xB. I’m in California, It is legal. I had cops ride behind me and they have never pulled me over.
I also have one on my other car and it has been on for over 3 yrs no problem.
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I also have one on my other car and it has been on for over 3 yrs no problem.
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Last edited by MR_LUV; Apr 21, 2020 at 01:52 AM. Reason: Awarded 15 Yr Badge
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Remember if you do this make, sure the light never goes off. If the lights goes off you might get a ticket. The blinking third light that I have never goes off it blinks but the actual light does not go off and on.
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From: North Los Angeles County
Originally Posted by toyotaisme
I have one on my XB. I’m in California, It is legal. I had cops ride behind me and they have never polled me over. I also have one on my other car and it has been on for over 3 yrs no problem.
Note the occasional lament seen here of "The cops don't they have anything better to do than pull me over for [insert illegal mod]? Sometimes they really have something better to do!
Here's the vehicle code regarding brake lights:
24603. Every motor vehicle which is not in combination with any
other vehicle and every vehicle at the end of a combination of
vehicles shall at all times be equipped with stoplamps mounted on the
rear as follows:
(a) Every such vehicle shall be equipped with one or more
stoplamps.
(b) Every such vehicle, other than a motorcycle, manufactured and
first registered on or after January 1, 1958, shall be equipped with
two stoplamps, except that trailers and semitrailers manufactured
after July 23, 1973, which are less than 30 inches wide, may be
equipped with one stoplamp which shall be mounted at or near the
vertical centerline of the trailer. If such vehicle is equipped with
two stoplamps, they shall be mounted as specified in subdivision
(d).
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (h), stoplamps on vehicles
manufactured on or after January 1, 1969, shall be mounted not lower
than 15 inches nor higher than 72 inches, except that a tow truck, in
addition to being equipped with the required stoplamps, may also be
equipped with two stoplamps which may be mounted not lower than 15
inches nor higher than the maximum allowable vehicle height and as
far forward as the rearmost portion of the driver's seat in the
rearmost position.
(d) Where two stoplamps are required, at least one shall be
mounted at the left and one at the right side, respectively, at the
same level.
(e) Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured on or after January 1,
1979, shall emit a red light. Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured
before January 1, 1979, shall emit a red or yellow light. All
stoplamps shall be plainly visible and understandable from a distance
of 300 feet to the rear both during normal sunlight and at
nighttime, except that stoplamps on a vehicle of a size required to
be equipped with clearance lamps shall be visible from a distance of
500 feet during such times.
(f) Stoplamps shall be activated upon application of the service
(foot) brake and the hand control head for air, vacuum, or electric
brakes. In addition, all stoplamps may be activated by a mechanical
device designed to function only upon sudden release of the
accelerator while the vehicle is in motion. Stoplamps on vehicles
equipped with a manual transmission may be manually activated by a
mechanical device when the vehicle is downshifted if the device is
automatically rendered inoperative while the vehicle is accelerating.
(g) Any vehicle may be equipped with supplemental stoplamps
mounted to the rear of the rearmost portion of the driver's seat in
its rearmost position in addition to the lamps required to be mounted
on the rear of the vehicle. Supplemental stoplamps installed after
January 1, 1979, shall be red in color and mounted not lower than 15
inches above the roadway. The supplemental stoplamp on that side of
a vehicle toward which a turn will be made may flash as part of the
supplemental turn signal lamp.
A supplemental stoplamp may be mounted inside the rear window of a
vehicle, if it is mounted at the centerline of the vehicle and is
constructed and mounted so as to prevent any light, other than a
monitorial indicator emitted from the device, either direct or
reflected, from being visible to the driver.
(h) Any supplemental stoplamp installed after January 1, 1987,
shall comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 (49
C.F.R. 571.10
. Any vehicle equipped with a stoplamp which complies
with the federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to that
make and model vehicle shall conform to that applicable safety
standard unless modified to comply with the federal motor vehicle
safety standard designated in this subdivision.
other vehicle and every vehicle at the end of a combination of
vehicles shall at all times be equipped with stoplamps mounted on the
rear as follows:
(a) Every such vehicle shall be equipped with one or more
stoplamps.
(b) Every such vehicle, other than a motorcycle, manufactured and
first registered on or after January 1, 1958, shall be equipped with
two stoplamps, except that trailers and semitrailers manufactured
after July 23, 1973, which are less than 30 inches wide, may be
equipped with one stoplamp which shall be mounted at or near the
vertical centerline of the trailer. If such vehicle is equipped with
two stoplamps, they shall be mounted as specified in subdivision
(d).
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (h), stoplamps on vehicles
manufactured on or after January 1, 1969, shall be mounted not lower
than 15 inches nor higher than 72 inches, except that a tow truck, in
addition to being equipped with the required stoplamps, may also be
equipped with two stoplamps which may be mounted not lower than 15
inches nor higher than the maximum allowable vehicle height and as
far forward as the rearmost portion of the driver's seat in the
rearmost position.
(d) Where two stoplamps are required, at least one shall be
mounted at the left and one at the right side, respectively, at the
same level.
(e) Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured on or after January 1,
1979, shall emit a red light. Stoplamps on vehicles manufactured
before January 1, 1979, shall emit a red or yellow light. All
stoplamps shall be plainly visible and understandable from a distance
of 300 feet to the rear both during normal sunlight and at
nighttime, except that stoplamps on a vehicle of a size required to
be equipped with clearance lamps shall be visible from a distance of
500 feet during such times.
(f) Stoplamps shall be activated upon application of the service
(foot) brake and the hand control head for air, vacuum, or electric
brakes. In addition, all stoplamps may be activated by a mechanical
device designed to function only upon sudden release of the
accelerator while the vehicle is in motion. Stoplamps on vehicles
equipped with a manual transmission may be manually activated by a
mechanical device when the vehicle is downshifted if the device is
automatically rendered inoperative while the vehicle is accelerating.
(g) Any vehicle may be equipped with supplemental stoplamps
mounted to the rear of the rearmost portion of the driver's seat in
its rearmost position in addition to the lamps required to be mounted
on the rear of the vehicle. Supplemental stoplamps installed after
January 1, 1979, shall be red in color and mounted not lower than 15
inches above the roadway. The supplemental stoplamp on that side of
a vehicle toward which a turn will be made may flash as part of the
supplemental turn signal lamp.
A supplemental stoplamp may be mounted inside the rear window of a
vehicle, if it is mounted at the centerline of the vehicle and is
constructed and mounted so as to prevent any light, other than a
monitorial indicator emitted from the device, either direct or
reflected, from being visible to the driver.
(h) Any supplemental stoplamp installed after January 1, 1987,
shall comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 (49
C.F.R. 571.10
. Any vehicle equipped with a stoplamp which complieswith the federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable to that
make and model vehicle shall conform to that applicable safety
standard unless modified to comply with the federal motor vehicle
safety standard designated in this subdivision.
Now, as a practical consideration, a policeman won't pay too much attention to auxilary lights that are intended to improve safety without being too garish or distracting. A flashing 3rd brake light probably won't get his attention unless it is an unusual color, flashes unusually fast, or is unusually bright. Forget installing that blue strobe brake light!
George
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Posts: 332
From: South Orange County, CA
Peugot's come from the factory with a device that flashes all the tail lights if the anti-lock brakes are activated. Pretty cool.
I see Honda Goldwing style motorcycles with blinking rear lights all the time....heck....allot of motorcycles have a qiuckly diming(blinking) headlights.
I doubt it's illegal, but since Squirrel is a cop...let's let him tell us.
I see Honda Goldwing style motorcycles with blinking rear lights all the time....heck....allot of motorcycles have a qiuckly diming(blinking) headlights.
I doubt it's illegal, but since Squirrel is a cop...let's let him tell us.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,627
From: North Los Angeles County
Here's another section that applies:
Section (a) addresses a "cyberlight" device, which varies its flashing with the rate of deceleration. Cool device, but not what we are talking about here.
Section (c) is what we are looking for. It allows the third brake light to flash, as long as it does not flash too much. The intent as I see it is to have the light flash three times and then light steadily.
Here's the section that relates to flashing headlamps:
Unfortunately, it only applies to motorcycles, so us 4-wheeled folks are out.
George
25251.5. (a) Any motor vehicle may also be equipped with a system in which an amber light is center mounted on the rear of a vehicle to communicate a component of deceleration of the vehicle, and which light pulses in a controlled fashion at a rate which varies exponentially with a component of deceleration.
(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with two amber lamps on the rear of the vehicle which operate simultaneously with not more than four flashes within four seconds after the accelerator pedal is in the deceleration position and which are not lighted at any other time. The lamps shall be mounted at the same height, with one lamp located on each side of the vertical centerline of the vehicle, not higher than the bottom of the rear window, or if the vehicle has no rear window, not higher than 60 inches. The light output from each of the lamps shall not exceed 200 candlepower at any angle horizontal or above. The amber lamps may be used either separately or in combination with another lamp.
(c) Any stoplamp or supplemental stoplamp required or permitted by Section 24603 may be equipped so as to flash not more than four times within the first four seconds after actuation by application of the brakes.
(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with two amber lamps on the rear of the vehicle which operate simultaneously with not more than four flashes within four seconds after the accelerator pedal is in the deceleration position and which are not lighted at any other time. The lamps shall be mounted at the same height, with one lamp located on each side of the vertical centerline of the vehicle, not higher than the bottom of the rear window, or if the vehicle has no rear window, not higher than 60 inches. The light output from each of the lamps shall not exceed 200 candlepower at any angle horizontal or above. The amber lamps may be used either separately or in combination with another lamp.
(c) Any stoplamp or supplemental stoplamp required or permitted by Section 24603 may be equipped so as to flash not more than four times within the first four seconds after actuation by application of the brakes.
Section (c) is what we are looking for. It allows the third brake light to flash, as long as it does not flash too much. The intent as I see it is to have the light flash three times and then light steadily.
Here's the section that relates to flashing headlamps:
25251.2. Any motorcycle may be equipped with a means of modulating the upper beam of the headlamp between a high and a lower brightness at a rate of 200 to 280 flashes per minute. Such headlamps shall not be so modulated during darkness.
George
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 795
From: San Fernando Valley, CA
Originally Posted by George
Here's another section that applies:
Section (a) addresses a "cyberlight" device, which varies its flashing with the rate of deceleration. Cool device, but not what we are talking about here.
Section (c) is what we are looking for. It allows the third brake light to flash, as long as it does not flash too much. The intent as I see it is to have the light flash three times and then light steadily.
Here's the section that relates to flashing headlamps:
Unfortunately, it only applies to motorcycles, so us 4-wheeled folks are out.
George
25251.5. (a) Any motor vehicle may also be equipped with a system in which an amber light is center mounted on the rear of a vehicle to communicate a component of deceleration of the vehicle, and which light pulses in a controlled fashion at a rate which varies exponentially with a component of deceleration.
(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with two amber lamps on the rear of the vehicle which operate simultaneously with not more than four flashes within four seconds after the accelerator pedal is in the deceleration position and which are not lighted at any other time. The lamps shall be mounted at the same height, with one lamp located on each side of the vertical centerline of the vehicle, not higher than the bottom of the rear window, or if the vehicle has no rear window, not higher than 60 inches. The light output from each of the lamps shall not exceed 200 candlepower at any angle horizontal or above. The amber lamps may be used either separately or in combination with another lamp.
(c) Any stoplamp or supplemental stoplamp required or permitted by Section 24603 may be equipped so as to flash not more than four times within the first four seconds after actuation by application of the brakes.
(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with two amber lamps on the rear of the vehicle which operate simultaneously with not more than four flashes within four seconds after the accelerator pedal is in the deceleration position and which are not lighted at any other time. The lamps shall be mounted at the same height, with one lamp located on each side of the vertical centerline of the vehicle, not higher than the bottom of the rear window, or if the vehicle has no rear window, not higher than 60 inches. The light output from each of the lamps shall not exceed 200 candlepower at any angle horizontal or above. The amber lamps may be used either separately or in combination with another lamp.
(c) Any stoplamp or supplemental stoplamp required or permitted by Section 24603 may be equipped so as to flash not more than four times within the first four seconds after actuation by application of the brakes.
Section (c) is what we are looking for. It allows the third brake light to flash, as long as it does not flash too much. The intent as I see it is to have the light flash three times and then light steadily.
Here's the section that relates to flashing headlamps:
25251.2. Any motorcycle may be equipped with a means of modulating the upper beam of the headlamp between a high and a lower brightness at a rate of 200 to 280 flashes per minute. Such headlamps shall not be so modulated during darkness.
George
so my question is this, will this module fit in our rear upper brake light casing?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2462407949
it is round, 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.....
i was checking out the casing and it looks like it might hold the module but i did not try and open it....
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From: San Fernando Valley, CA
Originally Posted by Stylis
Originally Posted by squirrel
me too, me too!
is it anyone on the boards here?
i wanted to ask them about how it was installed....thanks....
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My 3rd brake blinks when the brakes are applied. The first time you push the brakes, it flashes about 5-7 times, if you press again within 30 seconds, it only does it 3-5 times and if you press again in 30 seconds it only flashes once or twice.
It's meant to alert the moron behind you, but also meant to not become a distraction in stop-and-go traffic by constantly blinking all the time.
Yes, the entire assembly fits inside the 3rd brake housing. After I'd gotten it wired up, I actually shoved the whole assembly inside the hole in the hatch (there's a big rectangle hole in the metal) so it was totally out of the way.
If I recall, it was a two-wire hook-up. One splices into the power wire and the other is grounded to the chassis with a self tapping screw (that's not provided).
I get a lot of comments about that blinking light - most want to know if it's stock. I forget all about it until someone brings it up, but it tells me that it is getting people's attention - and that is what it was meant to do after all.
____
It's meant to alert the moron behind you, but also meant to not become a distraction in stop-and-go traffic by constantly blinking all the time.
Yes, the entire assembly fits inside the 3rd brake housing. After I'd gotten it wired up, I actually shoved the whole assembly inside the hole in the hatch (there's a big rectangle hole in the metal) so it was totally out of the way.
If I recall, it was a two-wire hook-up. One splices into the power wire and the other is grounded to the chassis with a self tapping screw (that's not provided).
I get a lot of comments about that blinking light - most want to know if it's stock. I forget all about it until someone brings it up, but it tells me that it is getting people's attention - and that is what it was meant to do after all.
____
Last edited by MR_LUV; Apr 21, 2020 at 01:57 AM. Reason: Awarded 15 Yr Badge
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From: FL
I dont know about other states,I can say it is legal here.
All of the ambulances and some of the fire ans rescue trucks use modules like these on their LED tailights.
Here is the one I used on my other car.I havent got one for the box yet.
I want one that blinks fatser and less often.
I think it was a one wire hookup.Never had any problems with it.
Not to mention it did work!
These were designed for motorcycles.
http://signaldynamics.com/
All of the ambulances and some of the fire ans rescue trucks use modules like these on their LED tailights.
Here is the one I used on my other car.I havent got one for the box yet.
I want one that blinks fatser and less often.
I think it was a one wire hookup.Never had any problems with it.
Not to mention it did work!
These were designed for motorcycles.
http://signaldynamics.com/
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 369
From: Virginia Beach
California has some weird laws, so look out. I'm currently in Washington (originally from FL) and here I had put a blinker modual (bought at schucks, for those of you in FL it's like a discount auto) in my Miata's third brake light. Most states either do not have a law that covers this, or allow this. Most use wording like "The supplemental stoplamp on that side of a vehicle toward which a turn will be made may flash as part of the supplemental turn signal lamp." The key word is may. this means it is NOT required. Also it Did not say anywhere in the statutes ANYTHING about the "supplemental" brakelight not being allowed to flash, thus, it is NOT illegal. Does this mean you won't get a "fix it" ticket? No, it just means when you contest it, it'll get thrown out.
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All three brake lights
Would it be wrong to have it so all three of my brake lights flash. Does anyone know of a module I could hook up in the drivers foot well to make this work? That way I only have to do one splice.
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