Stop light upgrade to avoid getting rear ended.

[Riekert]

So this is what I've been up too...

I've worked with these LED's before and they are really bright.

See pic below:

Threre are 6 of them in this indicator ^^

Here are the little guys:

And a very crude first attempt at the indicator light.

I will do the brake as well as the running light in the same style.
I will just run a resistor to the indicator and running lights to dim thr brightness that bit. but should still be brighter than stock.

I average about 30 LED's per light. So 10 for indicator 10 for brake and 10 for running light.

I might do that the outer ring flashes and the inner just stays on, or something... but will see when I'm done

Lemme know if its ok to post here if if I should rather create a new post!

Thanx!

[Yabbadubbadoo]

I know the thread topic is about brake lights but the theme is increasing visibility/safety through improving the old lights - so your post is relevant IMO.
Post away!
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Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[Bobnotch]

[Yabbadubbadoo]

[Riekert]

[Bobnotch]

[ataraxia]

[Riekert]

@Ataraxia - Do you have a link to the 6v version you did?

And I will have all my components necessary for the conversion by next week so will post up the results and costs soon.

[ataraxia]

[sjbartnik]

With regard to the idea of flashing the brake lights, as a motorcyclist I think it's a useful attention-getting feature and especially on a vehicle like a motorcycle which does not have a dedicated brake light like cars do with the center high-mounted stop light, it definitely helps to differentiate taillight and brake light for those behind me.

On one of my motorcycles, which has an LED tail & brake light, I used this device:

http://3rdbrakeflasher.com/

Despite the cheesy web site, the product works great - have been using it in the bike for more than three years now with no issues.

Nice thing is you can use it with LED or incandescent bulbs - the flash rate is programmable as are the number of flashes. So on my bike with LED brake light it gives 4 fast flashes then steady light. For an incandescent bulb you could set it for slower flashing which is more suitable for incandescent bulbs.

So you could use this with any LED strip you might install or you could use with the stock brake lights as well.[/url]

[ataraxia]

[Eodguy]

I don't remember where I got this from but it works good and is bright and visible, I just ran a wire to the brake light.

[shortride]

I don't think I've read any statistics that identify lack of rear lights as to the reason for rear-end collisions. I've ridding motorcycles for 48 years and have yet hear anyone say they rear ended someone because they didn't have enough lights or they weren't bright enough. There are plenty of vehicles with more than enough lights on the back that get rear-ended every day.

If more or brighter lights make you fell more secure then go for it.
_________________
Pearl White 1966 Sedan

Retired US Army - 21 years 11B40, 173rd Airborne Brig. - Vietnam Combat Veteran

[vlad01]

[sjbartnik]

From a common sense standpoint it would seem to be reasonable that the addition of a brief couple of flashes of brake light before solid on might be helpful in signaling a following driver that you are braking, especially in an older car built before the center high-mounted stop light mandate in 1985.

The CHMSL gives a very good visual indicator to following traffic that the brakes are on as opposed to just tail lamps. Especially for those vehicles that use the same bulbs for tail lamps and brake lamps as opposed to having two separate bulbs for that function. That strong visual signal could be replicated with the addition of an aftermarket LED CHMSL or just with the addition of a flasher as described above. With the stock setup, if someone behind you happens to look away just for that instant when your tail lamps transition to brake, it would be easy to miss that you have applied the brakes - just eats up more reaction time is all.

In reality, though, the real weakness of old VWs in terms of brake lights is the fact that the brake lights are lit via a pressure switch on the master cylinder as opposed to a switch that detects the motion of the brake pedal as on pretty much everything modern.

It would be better to have the brake lights come on with first movement of the pedal as opposed to waiting for brake pressure to build in order to give following drivers that much more time to react. Definitely not a good design on VW's part.

[eyetzr]

good point sjbartnik. The trucks I work on use pressure as well as motion switch for brake lights. I feel better knowing my brake lights will be noticed by the guy following me texting his girl that he is on his way.
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I think he meant "rare", as in "not well-done"

[Bobnotch]

But you still have to remember, it ALL depends on the idiot behind you, and whether or not he/she's paying attention.

What I'm getting at, is that IF he's texting his GF, he won't notice your lights flashing.
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Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[sjbartnik]

[t3kg]

Josh very kindly lent me a CuLayer LED to test in my 6V Type 34. First of all, I have to say that the bulb is very well made. I can see why they cost what they do. In a Type 34 tail light housing the only socket that the bulb will come close to fitting in is the center one, which is intended for the tail light. It's a very tight fit -- I would say uncomfortably tight, because the bulb's heat sink bottoms out on the reflector and I had to struggle a bit to get the bulb back out after the test.

All that said, it did work, and the CuLayer bulb is REALLY bright.

So it can be done, but if you want to run CuLayers as brake lights in your Type 34 you'll have to rewire so that the brake light is in the center and the tail light is in the lower half.
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5/62 343
I WAS THERE! The 2017 Type 3 Rally / September 29–October 1 / Cayucos, CA
2014: The 2014 Type 3 Rally / October 3–5 / Cayucos, CA
2011: 50 Years of the VW Type 3 / September 29–October 1 / California Central Coast

[ataraxia]