3rd brake light - Vauxhall Vectra (bear with me...!)

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Been trying to find an OEM looking but at the same time removable 3rd brake light. Some random googling turned up the MK1 Vauxhall Vectra 3rd brake light that Chavalier and Calibra owners retrofit.

 

The Cavalier seems to have the similar piece of plastic that runs along the rear hatch and if it fits a calibra should have a similar profile too. Should be a cheap item to source as hundreds of Vectra's about.

 

Has anyone managed to get a OEM looking light fitted without having to hack the original trims?

[Critical_Mass 10]

How does the vectra light fit against the rear screen. Does it fit flush with no modding?

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Only one way to find out as they say :)

[RW1 0]

Went round this a long time ago. Ended up with a Rover 800 Coupe one. Rover is irrelevant here as a unit but....

 

The lesson I learned along the way was that it may look OK but the angle of the rear hatch glass has to be the same otherwise the lens part of the 3rd brake light points downwards or skywards and the light does not shine rearwards at the following traffic.

 

I eventually made a card template and went measuring other rear screens to see how the level edge on the glass compared to the Corrado's level. Amazing what the eye thinks is correct and the card showed me otherwise.

 

The Corrado is quite flat to the horizontal compared with other rear hatch glass of cars that look similar. So what ever was taken from the other car would point skyward and not be seen easily or throw full illumination onto following traffic.

 

Thats how I ended up with the Rover 800 Coupe unit as the rear glass had the exact same angle of slope as the Corrado.

 

.

Edited December 12, 2011 by RW1

[James. 9]

An interesting mod you have there. Are you looking to add it for extra safety or are you genuinly concerned for your safety ( been rear ended before, or added bigger brakes etc ) ?

[KADVR6 0]

how did kev do he's??

[Stonejag 10]

Thats how I ended up with the Rover 800 Coupe unit as the rear glass had the exact same angle of slope as the Corrado.

Have you got any pics of yours fitted?

 

Stone

[RW1 0]

Have you got any pics of yours fitted?

 

Stone

 

The Rover part number is XFG100240 and was £28.50 + VAT in early 1997.

 

Quite a big item. The first photo is the Rover part. All the rest are homemade components. The plastic cut sheet with two holes was sprayed satin black. This was needed as the glass on the 800's tailgate came with a pre-fitted black mask stuck to the inside glass surface which could not be bought separately.

 

As said, the Rover 800 glass has the same angle of slant on it, so the unit point horizontally back down the road at following drivers (as it should).

 

Rear view intruded by about 1cm in the rear view mirror / rear window.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50622[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50623[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50625[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50624[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50626[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50627[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50628[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50629[/ATTACH]

 

Removed due to concours competitions.

Edited December 13, 2011 by RW1

[24V Renshaw 0]

Very interested in this following some late braking by people following me over the last week of driving a corrado again.

 

Jay

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

How does the vectra light fit against the rear screen. Does it fit flush with no modding?

 

Hi mate, I haven't done it yet :) I'm just trying to find a car with an OEM looking unit.

 

Ideally Kev's Hella one would be the easiest option. But can't find anyone that supplies it anymore. Halfords only do a horrible looking square one now.

 

Best find an 800 Coupe then :) lol

[Critical_Mass 10]

Ill keep my eye out for other potential candidates with similar rear ends to the corrado.

[davidwort 0]

If you want something cheap but effective then I fitted one of these for a fiver deleivered: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24-LED-Car-Third-3rd-Brake-Stop-Rear-Tail-Light-Lamp-/300552827177?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item45fa583129

pretty slim and you can't see it's body in the rear view mirror when mounted at the very top of the screen

it can be angled how you like and seems very effective

[JMC 0]

Did one years ago using a cheapy ebay kit (some pics below). Did require a bit of modding thought to make it look stock.

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

JMC, do you have the name of the eBay user you bought it from? :)

[JMC 0]

Oooh, doubt it, it was 6 years ago mate. Looks something like one of these....

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-LEVEL-AUXILIARY-3rd-CENTRAL-REAR-BRAKE-LAMP-LED-STOP-LIGHT-36-x-LEDs-12V-/180740192819?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a14f47a33

 

I had to cut the ends off and then cut a slot in the trim, graft it in, filler it and paint it. Took just a couple of hours in total.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I've got a spare Hella one Patty..... maybe dock some off what I owe you and it's yours? ;)

[Marshall936 0]

This looks quite good:

 

http://www.virtualvillage.co.uk/extra-third-brake-safety-light-with-48-red-led-s-002510-251.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shcomp&utm_campaign=google_shopping_feed

[fendervg 33]

I tried this several times on my MkII GTI and the aftermarket ones never worked well or looked quite right without a lot (and I mean a lot) of modifications. VW did make a 3rd brake light for the Golf, and of course the C had one in the states - best bet is to buy a US boot lid or cut and weld an OEM 3rd brake light in - that's my plan anyway - I have all the parts and just need toget round to it.

 

I also have rear fogs on both sides - so if I want to warn someone off I can turn them on and touch the brakes at the same time - that usually gets the message across.

[Critical_Mass 10]

I like the US third brake light under the spoiler. BUT imo it doesnt sit high enough on the car - which is the point of the third light isnt it? One on top of the window would be better placed.

[fendervg 33]

I've seen the US third brake light in action and would say it works fine where it is - sure, higher up would be better, but simple having a third set of lights there when you hit the brake makes a huge difference.

[Jim Bowen 1]

on a similar note, has anyone considered fitting daytime running lights to a corrado, or would it be wrong?

 

saw this thread recently and thought the install was quite neat

 

http://www.corsasport.co.uk/board/viewthread.php?tid=622256&page=1

 

DRL's annoy me, and i think the best way to overcome that, is get them myself

[Critical_Mass 10]

hmm wouldnt look right and i hate those LEDs people have started to fit.. looks tacky. The Audis can pull it off.

 

They do annoy me also as i find it frustrating to see someone with lights on when its daylight and good weather and they're really blinding.

 

rant over! :lol:

[24V Renshaw 0]

Its all been discussed before.....

 

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?12437-Third-brake-light

[JMC 0]

Problem IMO with the US one is that it's not very high, especially if your car is lowered.

[Stonejag 10]

The Rover part number is XFG100240 and was £28.50 + VAT in early 1997.

...

Removed due to concours competitions.

Does that mean you still have it in the garage, then? ;)

 

That looks very good actually, the sticky-top screws are a cunning way to fit it. You can't see out of the very top bit of the rear window anyway so it shouldn't get in the way too much.

 

I think people are so used to the third brake light now that any older cars are always at risk, especially when it's getting dark and you have your sidelights on. Unfortunately you can't do much about the single fuse that runs all the brake lighting (!) without running new wiring. I found this out when a bulb popped the fuse as the brake-light filament burned out - in an auto the solenoid that unlocks the gear selector runs off the fused brake light feed as well so when it's blown you can't get it out of Park! Could have been done that way as a safety feature but it's mighty unnerving when you don't know it works like that. Of course it's not mentioned in the user manual or in Bentley :roll:

 

On a related note I saw this the other day:

 

 

Overkill? :lol:

 

Stone