tenspeeds CCFL third brake light

[tenspeed]

Toss out those LED's, in with the CCFL's.

[tenspeed]

Here's an end shot.

[RickHigginsHtbr]

sweet man.... is a how-to to come, cause uh... I'll definately be putting it in my to do list.

[tenspeed]

Not a lot to tell. I got two CCFL red tubes and an inverter from eBay ($8).

Chucked the housing in a mill and removed the plastic with a 1/2" end mill. You can use a hacksaw and file to get the same result.

I sanded the square ends down so the tubes would be closer together and RTVed them in place. The inverter is RTVed on the bottom side and the power wires are soldered to the two copper bars that feed the light bulbs.

The tubes are staggered because the lens opening only goes down about 3/4 of the way and I wanted the light closer together.

Here's a link to the auction. Most of the tubes are to same size so shop around. There's some for $.01 plus shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51064&item=6777882995&rd=1

[pyro]

wow, i was gonna do the impala led thing, but i changed my mind now. very nice, is that like the 3rd brakelights on the old explorers?

[magyver]

cool, im an led guy, but if thats your thing, sexy! i dont think it would last in my truck w/ the subs...

[Dave C]

wow, that does look sweet... I like it a lot.
so are there morepics of the finished product to come?

[tenspeed]

You can see it live at Albany in 21 days.

I have more pictures at home. Anything in particular you want to see?

[DontPassTheFence]

ccfl? cold cathode ? -- looks pretty, though!

[Dave C]

don't think I'll be attending albany this year... :(
do you have a shot from farthur away and maybe at a slight angle?

[RickHigginsHtbr]

so, almost a year later, i finally bought some CCFL bars. Tenspeed, how well do these work as a 3rd brake light? are they instant on or do they take a few seconds?

[Tommy00GT1]

It looks great Jim! Awesome job....

[MantaGreen97]

Originally posted by DontPassTheFence
ccfl? cold cathode ? -- looks pretty, though!

Yep CCFL = Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp

Tenspeed, do these things work in low-temperature environments? I know a lot of fluorescent bulbs don't work properly in low temperatures... Perhaps it's just a ballast issue though?

[tenspeed]

The only negative is that if you listen to distant AM radio, there is some high pitched interference when braking.

The lights come on at all temperatures. I have another pair in the groove in the SC/T wing. I can see them in the rear view mirror, they light up the surface of the trunk.

[RickHigginsHtbr]

damnit, now i need to order another set of ccfl's after seeing that.... quit making me spend more money! :) j/k

[tenspeed]

Originally posted by RickHigginsHtbr
damnit, now i need to order another set of ccfl's after seeing that.... quit making me spend more money! :) j/k

You can always make more money.

You're going to need two inverters for the wing mod. The wiring on a duel kit isn't long enough to catch both lamps. I have an inverter at each leg of the wing tucked in an opening in the trunk lid. Drill a couple of 1/2 inch holes through the trunk lid and wing leg for the wires.

[Cyrix]

ah i like the CCFL brake light, i have an impala one in mine now

[BQfromNY]

VN Jim

[RickHigginsHtbr]

just got done this, suprisingly a very easy mod with a dremel :) I kept mine next to each other as opposed to slightly staggered, still very cool and thanks tenspeed for commin up with this.

[MantaGreen97]

Originally posted by tenspeed
The only negative is that if you listen to distant AM radio, there is some high pitched interference when braking.

The lights come on at all temperatures.

Oh so all temperatures eh? Cool. One other thing I thought of though was the reaction time. Aren't fluorescents rather slow to react? One of the main advantages/features of LED brake lights is that LEDs react far quicker than incandescent lamps. Aren't flurescents even slower than incandescents?

[RickHigginsHtbr]

suprisingly, i dont even notice it if there is a delay.

[tenspeed]

Originally posted by MantaGreen97
One other thing I thought of though was the reaction time. Aren't flurescents even slower than incandescents?

It could be but it's in a third brake light. I don't care if the middle light is a few nano seconds slow to come on.