Behind the spare tire 3rd brake light

MexiJeeper

MexiJeeper

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 29, 2015
Messages
235
I always wanted that behind the spare 3rd brake light but living in Mexico gave me few purchase options short of ordering one from the USA so I decided to fab one up on my own.

I found that the perfect platform was to use a lid from a 5 gallon plastic bucket. It was a perfect fit.

An electronics store nearby had a nice assortment of 5 red LED modules all wired together.

After doing the appropriate drilling for the hub center and and mounting studs I was on my way.

After the modules were mounted the most tedious part was cutting little 3/16" masking tape squares to cover the LEDs themselves to prep for paint. The bucket lid and the LED modules were white but I wanted black.

Total cost was less than $10.00 USD

Here's the result.

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Nice, that's a creative use of cheap parts to get the job done.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
MexiJeeper said:
I always wanted that behind the spare 3rd brake light but living in Mexico gave me few purchase options short of ordering one from the USA so I decided to fab one up on my own.

I found that the perfect platform was to use a lid from a 5 gallon plastic bucket. It was a perfect fit.

An electronics store nearby had a nice assortment of 5 red LED modules all wired together.

After doing the appropriate drilling for the hub center and and mounting studs I was on my way.

After the modules were mounted the most tedious part was cutting little 3/16" masking tape squares to cover the LEDs themselves to prep for paint. The bucket lid and the LED modules were white but I wanted black.

Total cost was less than $10.00 USD

Here's the result.

View attachment 58327 View attachment 58328 View attachment 58329 View attachment 58330 View attachment 58331
Click to expand...
Well if no one notices you hitting your brakes now, they're blind. :)
 
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Love this idea. I've got the lid & the LEDs. Looking for the power for the 3rd brake light on my 02 TJ. I bought the Jeep without the 3rd brake light. It does have a 4 flat trailer light plug, but I'm only seeing power for right or left turn signals or parking lights.
Any suggestions where I can find power for the brake light, but not flashing with the turn signals?
 
Airjunky said:
Love this idea. I've got the lid & the LEDs. Looking for the power for the 3rd brake light on my 02 TJ. I bought the Jeep without the 3rd brake light. It does have a 4 flat trailer light plug, but I'm only seeing power for right or left turn signals or parking lights.
Any suggestions where I can find power for the brake light, but not flashing with the turn signals?
Click to expand...

When I took off my stock tire carrier for an aftermarket one I just cut the wire and used that for an aftermarket light


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Airjunky said:
Love this idea. I've got the lid & the LEDs. Looking for the power for the 3rd brake light on my 02 TJ. I bought the Jeep without the 3rd brake light. It does have a 4 flat trailer light plug, but I'm only seeing power for right or left turn signals or parking lights.
Any suggestions where I can find power for the brake light, but not flashing with the turn signals?
Click to expand...

Wish I could assist you brother. The only think of is to tap the brake circuit and run a line thru the rear door behind the spare
 
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Man that looks Awesome! The nice thing is, the blackened out lid makes everything look nice and dark when the red is off and helps make the red super bright when it's on. I don't think it's better or worse than any of the $60-$80 ones online and you have the pride of telling someone that asks, that you made it yourself, killer job man! Kevin.
 
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DNBELOWRUBICON1 said:
Man that looks Awesome! The nice thing is, the blackened out lid makes everything look nice and dark when the red is off and helps make the red super bright when it's on. I don't think it's better or worse than any of the $60-$80 ones online and you have the pride of telling someone that asks, that you made it yourself, killer job man! Kevin.
Click to expand...

Thanks Kevin. When I painted my rims I painted the inside gloss black so I thought that painting the bucket lid gloss black would make it somewhat invisible during the day. Thanks for noticing. Hope you had a great Christmas and I wish you a happy New Year.
 
Man that is a good mod. I grew up in the island and used to think outside the box like you.
Now that I have been into the mainland for long time where everything is easily accessible, I became mentally "lazy".
My hats off to you Mexijeeper!
 
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TJ2 said:
Man that is a good mod. I grew up in the island and used to think outside the box like you.
Now that I have been into the mainland for long time where everything is easily accessible, I became mentally "lazy".
My hats off to you Mexijeeper!
Click to expand...
Thanks brother. What island are you referring to?
 
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