Third (center) brake light - help

steve911 · steve911's Garage

I'm thinking of installing a third, center-mounted brake light to ward off tailgating SUVs.

What are the different styles available, particularly for a Targa? I've searched the archives and only come up with a couple of examples, both the 'ET-style' mounted on the rear lid. My red book refers to the center mounted brake light being moved to the bottom of the rear window.

PP doesn't have pictures of their third brake light.

Any pictures would be greatly appreciated.

RickC · 12:24 PM

In 1987, the third light was at the bottom of the window in Targa's. I seem to recall hearing that it was up top in 86, 88, & 89.

Targa Dude · Targa Dude's Garage

Hi Steve, They do make a low profile Third break light of the "ET"
Style that mounts on your deck lid. All the window mounted versions I've seen that were not a factory install seemed to have a cloudy look where the adhesive was. I think the factory uses a different adhesive but I'm not sure.

Jorge (Targa Dude)

Wavey · 11-15-2002, 12:59 PM

Steve -

There are 4 types of 3rd brake lights from the factory:

Inside the rear window, mounted at the top.
Inside rear window, mounted at the bottom (may be the same part as the top mounted?)
Mounted flush to the top of the decklid.
Mounted on a stalk at the top of the decklid.

My '88 Carrera has the high inside type and I hate it. It's almost constantly in the way. However it's probably the most effective because of the position.

Good luck with it!

n8marx · n8marx's Garage

My '86 coupe has the brake light at the top. As Wavey suggested, I believe this is the most effective location given the number of trucks on the road these days. I really don't think it blocks my vision to the rear that badly.

falcon · falcon's Garage

steve,

For the targa or coupe there are the inside mounted lights. For the rear deck mounted lights you need to ask yourself if you will be adding a tail. The "low" brake light cannot be seen by the car behind due to the height of the tail lip. I had this safety problem and purchased the ET style brake light.

weber92037 · weber92037's Garage

My 87 Targa has the light on the inside of the window at the bottom. It does not interfere with vision out the rear and is hardly noticable in the rear view mirror.

carnut169 · carnut169's Garage

My 87 Cab had the 3rd brake light mounted on a stalk.... really is ugly. Looks like an afterthought. I have thought about removing it but it is safer, and the car is supposed to have it so what the heck. Good thing is that it is invisable from the driver's seat unlike my 1st 911- an 86 coupe mounted at the top of the back window.

If I was going to add one I would look into the cool led type on the 993's. Perhaps it could be made to fit your car- much more visable than the older types, and less blockage.

GSpreeman · GSpreeman's Garage

On that note, is it easy to take them apart to clean the 3rd brake light lens and housing? Mine is really, really, really foggy on the inside.

RatBoy4 · 11-16-2002, 01:03 PM

The ET style ones are easy to clean, just two screws on the top to take out and it comes apart.

47silver · 47silver's Garage

would the newer style fit in the rear window (bottom) of a 75 targa? that light is a good idea

gar

RatBoy4 · 11-17-2002, 12:13 AM

I believe that the rear Targa glass did not change from 74-89, so I would think that the inside lower light would work.

weber92037 · weber92037's Garage

The lens just pull off on the 87 Targa. No screws or fasteners.

Seven-Seven · Seven-Seven's Garage

Steve

I've l-o-n-g considered the feasibility and possibility of installing a 3rd brake light on my '77 Targa, but the thought has been more recurring in recent years as I now have kids riding with me in the back seat. (I realize that there are many out there who feel that the presence/installation of a 3rd brake light is more gimmick than safety based, but after having been rear ended twice (hard) I'm willing to try anything to prevent clueless/blind people from hitting me again.)

Anyway, my '85 Targa came with a factory-installed 3rd brake light mounted up high; directly where you WOULDN'T want an obstruction in the view of your rear view mirror. That $&#*! thing prevented me from seeing cars (read: cops) that were far off in the distance because it created a blind spot back there. (duh) I am aware that in later years the light was placed closer to the rear deck (like Rick's), but because of the customized Z-box sound enclosure I have mounted on my rear deck, placement there wasn't an option for me.

About a month ago I purchased an "E.T. style" 3rd brake light that I modified to bolt to my grill --not the deck lid itself-- because I was hesitant about drilling holes in my car. The light was tight and looked okay, but I wasn't happy with it. It was about that time that I was experimenting with several different LED bulb --fascinated by the response of the diode and their longevity-- and I decided to look for a way of installing an LED, 3rd brake light fixture.

What I eventually came up with was not spectacular in execution, but I believe the idea is a good one and will be significantly improved upon the second time around. Here's what I did:

I purchased a cheap, 12-volt, 12-light LED "brake light" from JC Whitney. Then I looked for a place and way to mount it. I tried ALL KINDS of crazy ideas before I came up with the placement shown here:

The little light fixture fits perfectly, and by all appearances looks factory installed; much more factory and sleak (in my opinion) than my '85's brake light ever did. In order to power the brake light I tapped the passenger-side brake light hot lead at the harness in the engine compartment, then ran a wire through the firewall, up over the targa bar and enventually to the light.

Because the location where I afixed the brake light slightly angled, down and because my car is lowered, the beam of light from the narrowly focused LEDs was shooting too low to be effective. I needed to come up with a way of changing the angle of the beam so that the row of LEDs aimed closer to eye level of a driver at least 12-15' away. After trying rubber wedges, aluminum housings, rubber bumpers, and ALL KINDS of overly complicated ideas, the eventual fix involved NO additional parts at all. All I had to do was snap off the red lens of the light, unsnap the stick of LEDs from their base, and tweaked their position by about 22 degrees. A little bit of crazy glue here, here and there, and VIOLA! The angle of the housing and red lens is the same as before; all that changed was angle of the row of diodes inside.

Below are some pics of what the 3rd brake light looks like during the day and night. (much more effective at night, wouldn't you say)

Now that the overall idea has worked, I'm going to be installing a new 20-light fixture when it arrives next week. I'll post pics of that IF the installation is a success.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Wavey · 11-21-2002, 06:07 AM

Wow, Carlton, that's the kind of response we like!

I also hate the way the high-mounted light blocks the view of road at a distance - I always feel like there's a cop lurking back there.

I've been thinking of installing a similar LED light in the small vent area at the back edge of the roof on my '88 coupe. The wiring should be easy to access through the sunroof mechanism zipper in the headliner.

Thanks for a great post!

Wavey

NoLift911 · 11-21-2002, 02:25 PM

I installed the 3rd light in my 84 Carrera per factory specs. Which included a new rear window with the correct etching, factory harness etc. Cheap...NOT, but it is the way the factory intended.

I get alot of comments about the light when I tell people it is an 84..."but it has the window and third light of an 86" ?

-Jeff Kramer
nolift911@hotmail.com