3rd Brake Light/Chase light

jtgensler

Good morning,
I broke my OEM 3rd brake light while doing an offroad rally last weekend.
So now, I have to replace / get to upgrade to a new brake light.

I decided to go with this option from turn offroad, as it incorporates a set of chase lights & a set of reverse lights into the light.

https://turnoffroad.com/products/20...-3rd-brake-light?variant=45096994799794&gQT=2

Has anyone installed this yet? From what I can tell, the wiring is a bit DIY. Which is fine, I think.
I'm already running a set of Diode Dynamics SS3 pods in my rear bumper that are wired as reverse lights & use the factory aux switch that runs to the rear panel for being able to turn on without being in reverse.
So I should be able to tap into that harness for the reverse light portion of this.
And the brake light will tap into the OEM brake light power wire.

So that leaves the chase lights. I'll have to run a wire from the aux switches all the way to the back to power the amber lights.
Any suggestions or tips for installing this?
Also, has anyone added a strobe feature to any lights they installed?

I havent bought anything from Turn Off Road, but I think most of their stuff seems to be well made.

I have however had all this apart on the truck. For wiring in the chase lights, if you have the Aux switches, there is a prewired wire in the passenger side rear trim. That might save you a step. If not, pop up the door sill panels and run the wire in the channel there. It's pretty easy to do and will hold a lot of volume.
The wire pick up is over there by the amp near the wheel well. Lots of room to snake wiring around there if you need to run it. I dont think you need to pull the whole side pannel off to get to it, but they arent hard to remove if you need the access.

Here is what the wire channel looks like on the driver front. Passenger side is the same, but you know, on the other side.

Wire channel on the rear passenger side.

I am curious about the mounting here. It looks to be a metal setup instead of the OEM plastic. I swapped out my mirror for one of those screen displays (so I can see out of the back with the top folder back) and I mounted my camera on my third tailight. Most of the time this is no problem, but sometimes rough road makes the camera bounce around. If the mounting is stout, this may be a fix for this problem.

Also for the wiring- you might see if the SPV wiring harness would work.

https://specialtyperformanceparts.c...onco+tail&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=42595947741416

It plugs in between the taillight and the wiring harness and gives you a clean take off point for the tailights and backup lights. I have their one for the headlights (to run the backlights on some stuff) and it was a super clean set up.

Good luck!

Mal

I havent bought anything from Turn Off Road, but I think most of their stuff seems to be well made.

I have however had all this apart on the truck. For wiring in the chase lights, if you have the Aux switches, there is a prewired wire in the passenger side rear trim. That might save you a step. If not, pop up the door sill panels and run the wire in the channel there. It's pretty easy to do and will hold a lot of volume.
The wire pick up is over there by the amp near the wheel well. Lots of room to snake wiring around there if you need to run it. I dont think you need to pull the whole side pannel off to get to it, but they arent hard to remove if you need the access.

Here is what the wire channel looks like on the driver front. Passenger side is the same, but you know, on the other side.

Wire channel on the rear passenger side.

I am curious about the mounting here. It looks to be a metal setup instead of the OEM plastic. I swapped out my mirror for one of those screen displays (so I can see out of the back with the top folder back) and I mounted my camera on my third tailight. Most of the time this is no problem, but sometimes rough road makes the camera bounce around. If the mounting is stout, this may be a fix for this problem.

Also for the wiring- you might see if the SPV wiring harness would work.

https://specialtyperformanceparts.c...onco+tail&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=42595947741416

It plugs in between the taillight and the wiring harness and gives you a clean take off point for the tailights and backup lights. I have their one for the headlights (to run the backlights on some stuff) and it was a super clean set up.

Good luck!

So, I'm already using the pre ran aux wire for the Diode Pods in the rear bumper.
They use a similar brake light harness off the passenger side to activate the reverse light function, then I have the aux wire to power them when I want them on without being in reverse.
They're also backlit red anytime the taillights are on.

My initial thought was to just split into that harness for the reverse light & floodlight features, since this brake light doesn't have an OEM style connector.

However that SPV harness may come in handy just to extend my taillight harnesses down below the body, as I'm basically out of room in there with trailer light & the reverse light inline harnesses already stuffed in.

I'm curious about going down the driver side & across the trunk though, it would likely be easier than trying to follow the OEM aux wire behind the dash & up the passenger side.

It is a metal mount & housing, which also appealed to me. it's also height adjustable for different tire sizes.

Mal

It plugs in between the taillight and the wiring harness and gives you a clean take off point for the tailights and backup lights. I have their one for the headlights (to run the backlights on some stuff) and it was a super clean set up.

Good luck!

Mal, Where is the rear wire? Near the Sub? Do I need to remove that entire panel to access it?

jtgensler

I'm curious about going down the driver side & across the trunk though, it would likely be easier than trying to follow the OEM aux wire behind the dash & up the passenger side.

Thats how I ran the wires for the ARB twin on the AGS bracket on the tailgate. That was a whole host of wire too, so you should be fine to move that through the grommets and wire channels. There is a load of space under the trim that runs behind the rear seats. Pop that up and your golden.

Here is my write-up on that install. https://thebronconation.com/bronco-how-to-n.141/ags-airgate-arb-twin-install-t.20684/#post-314051 That may help out with some of the wiring.

Michael Grasso

Mal, Where is the rear wire? Near the Sub? Do I need to remove that entire panel to access it?

It right there on the wheel well. I think you can get to it without pulling all the trim loose, but I dont know that for sure. Its not really that big of a deal though to pop the panels loose though. I would think you would almost have to do the front side of the panel to put hands on the wire. If you are going to the back anyway, it may be easier to just go ahead and take it out.

Just go slow, and work from one direction. Trim tools are helpful, and do it in a warm shop or warm day to make it easier.

I'm wanting to get this. I would ask like to setup it up so the lights come on in reverse and with the zone lighting (which I assume would is set to with the reverse). I want to get rear lights as well for extra reverse and flood lights. I'm terrible with electrical so I'll need to find someone to do that or give me kindergarten instructions on how to do it. Can't wait to see the finish setup

HarrySquatch

I'm wanting to get this. I would ask like to setup it up so the lights come on in reverse and with the zone lighting (which I assume would is set to with the reverse). I want to get rear lights as well for extra reverse and flood lights. I'm terrible with electrical so I'll need to find someone to do that or give me kindergarten instructions on how to do it. Can't wait to see the finish setup

Yeah. Unfortunately, the Turn Offroad product isn't really plug & play. I'm excited by the looks & the functionality, but it's definitely going to require some thought for wiring.
I'll try to take some pics & explain how I end up doing it when I get it installed.

I have a roll of 7-wire trailer wire and I ran that from the front to back so I can control a few things. I also ran a 4 Guage wire to run my ARB Compressor and my ARB Fridge on. slowly adding a few things that the Bronco is lacking. going to run a 12 volt wire to charge my battery jumper I keep in the back compartment that only takes power when the Bronco is running.