24 replies to this topic

[Tds76]

I was rear ended while stationary at a roundabout by a Mitsi pick-up - he started to go when I didn't. His excuse was that he couldn't see my brake lights so thought that I was going. With driving of that quality around anything that helps is a good idea IMO.

 

I used a Lucas L488 mounted on a folded steel bracket I made, then painted with crackle black.

 

 Rear End.jpg   106.69K   2 downloads

 

 Brake Light 1.jpg   63.92K   2 downloads

 

 Brake Light 2.jpg   81.24K   1 downloads

 

Cheers, Paul. 

[a1astair]

Great post this - nice one Vincent

 

Here in Aus most cars are either 4x4s or utes which tower over the mini and I am constantly looking in the mirror when waiting to turn off a road, just waiting for someone to plough into me

 

Will be copying your LED solution - it looks fairly unobtrusive when off.. It also look like the LEDs in the Mk1 are significantly brighter than the neon flex rope used in the cooper, would you agree?

[Deeppockets]

Hella do a LED brake third light which seems equivalent to the units fitted at factory, though I have only seen them available in New Zealand. Possibly only type approved for Oz & NZ (ADR approval stated).

 

LED Centre High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSL) (hella.co.nz)

[beardylondon]

The main reason the Mk1 LEDs look brighter is because it was in the garage at the time and the Cooper video was outside at sunset with some annoying reflections, and I ran out of time to redo it, but was keen to post before I went on hols.

 

I will redo the video with a proper comparison when I get back.

 

By the way, my name isn't Vincent, I have corrected the channel name!

 

Great post this - nice one Vincent

 

Here in Aus most cars are either 4x4s or utes which tower over the mini and I am constantly looking in the mirror when waiting to turn off a road, just waiting for someone to plough into me

 

Will be copying your LED solution - it looks fairly unobtrusive when off.. It also look like the LEDs in the Mk1 are significantly brighter than the neon flex rope used in the cooper, would you agree?

Edited by beardylondon, 25 August 2021 - 08:05 AM.

[fokko]

Looks like a neat solution! Well done   .
A while ago, I took a different approach and used a race/rally rain light (one like this: https://www.competit...-led-rain-light). It's pretty bright... I had to cut the housing diagonally to match the rear window rake, but it works great. There is a hole in the middle of the backside with an M5 thread (if I remember correctly). I used a small bolt to mount it to a 90 degree angle bracket. See pictures below (the brackets on the rear window are from the previous third brake light);

[Chris1992]

I also fully agree that a 3rd brake light is one of the most important additions to a Mini. So much so that I added a 4th one too! 

 

 

I went the cheap route; The top one cost about £1.50 from china and is horrible quality, but works perfectly, and I was able to simply stick it to the inside of the screen with a tiny bit of double sided tape at each end. 

 

The bottom one is made from 2 cheap motorbike LED tail lights glued together and mounted on a homemade bracket. It's then wired through a flasher module to so that it flashes like a real rain light which I'm pretty chuffed with. Here's a little video of it working.

 

 

 

And one last pic of them off. You can kind of see the top brake light which is a bit annoying but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. 

 

Edited by Chris1992, 25 August 2021 - 11:03 AM.

[Mini Manannán]

A few years ago I used some flat sticky SMD LEDs to create a third brake light and indicators on my Mk1, as per this video:

https://youtu.be/x_ClZ2I1lIM

I wanted to do the same for my Rover Cooper and decided to use the newer strip LEDs, really designed for outdoors, but they are more of a solid light, as you cant see the individual LEDs, and hence I think more clear and also compact.

I used a solid piece of L shaped plastic last time, but this time I wanted something for the strip sit in, so I used 13mm flexible conduit, which already had a slot, but I needed to widen it slightly. We had to make some custom brackets, which slid underneath the rear screen rubber, but it all seems to work quite well. There are two different varieties of brackets, the main 4 are also used to cover the joins and then the two larger ones to hold in the middle section, without covering the light.

The video isn't great, as there were too many reflections, but you'll get the idea

https://youtu.be/vn483O7L-Dc

Close up of the indicator:

https://youtu.be/aAtGp7eh0VE

Parts used:

RED & ORANGE LED rope (tons of other sellers)

 

https://www.ebay.co....m/275117353173?

 

Conduit, 13mm, split (open) version

https://www.ebay.co....m/283818025967?

 

Cable: (as recommended on forum as thinnest I could get away with) 0.5mm² 11 Amp 20AWG
It's probably 6 or 7 metres of cable, I didn't measure what I used, I bought 20 so I had some spare.

https://www.ebay.co....tm/183074481849

DISCLAIMER:
I have no affiliation to these sellers. Also this is for information purposes only, please consult a qualified automotive electrician if you are not competent to install yourself.

 

 Beardy, does this latter setup need drivers or resistors to work or just chop 'em and wire them up to 12v?  Reason I ask is my car is a clubman estate so I'd need 2 lights of about 12" for my rear windows. I have high-level brake lights: https://www.theminif...hts/?hl=lights  but those you've linked to look a lot better.

[Mini Manannán]

I also fully agree that a 3rd brake light is one of the most important additions to a Mini. So much so that I added a 4th one too! 

 

 

I went the cheap route; The top one cost about £1.50 from china and is horrible quality, but works perfectly, and I was able to simply stick it to the inside of the screen with a tiny bit of double sided tape at each end. 

 

The bottom one is made from 2 cheap motorbike LED tail lights glued together and mounted on a homemade bracket. It's then wired through a flasher module to so that it flashes like a real rain light which I'm pretty chuffed with. Here's a little video of it working.

 

 

 

And one last pic of them off. You can kind of see the top brake light which is a bit annoying but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. 

 

 

Sorry, off topic but what's your rear roof spoiler Chris? 

[beardylondon]

Nope, no drivers or resistors, the LEDs are 12v, so I just wired them straight into the loom, both set ups have been working without issues for years.

A few years ago I used some flat sticky SMD LEDs to create a third brake light and indicators on my Mk1, as per this video:

https://youtu.be/x_ClZ2I1lIM

I wanted to do the same for my Rover Cooper and decided to use the newer strip LEDs, really designed for outdoors, but they are more of a solid light, as you cant see the individual LEDs, and hence I think more clear and also compact.

I used a solid piece of L shaped plastic last time, but this time I wanted something for the strip sit in, so I used 13mm flexible conduit, which already had a slot, but I needed to widen it slightly. We had to make some custom brackets, which slid underneath the rear screen rubber, but it all seems to work quite well. There are two different varieties of brackets, the main 4 are also used to cover the joins and then the two larger ones to hold in the middle section, without covering the light.

The video isn't great, as there were too many reflections, but you'll get the idea

https://youtu.be/vn483O7L-Dc

Close up of the indicator:

https://youtu.be/aAtGp7eh0VE

Parts used:

RED & ORANGE LED rope (tons of other sellers)

https://www.ebay.co....m/275117353173?

Conduit, 13mm, split (open) version

https://www.ebay.co....m/283818025967?

Cable: (as recommended on forum as thinnest I could get away with) 0.5mm² 11 Amp 20AWG
It's probably 6 or 7 metres of cable, I didn't measure what I used, I bought 20 so I had some spare.

https://www.ebay.co....tm/183074481849

DISCLAIMER:
I have no affiliation to these sellers. Also this is for information purposes only, please consult a qualified automotive electrician if you are not competent to install yourself.

Beardy, does this latter setup need drivers or resistors to work or just chop 'em and wire them up to 12v? Reason I ask is my car is a clubman estate so I'd need 2 lights of about 12" for my rear windows. I have high-level brake lights: https://www.theminif...hts/?hl=lights but those you've linked to look a lot better.

[Chris1992]

Sorry, off topic but what's your rear roof spoiler Chris? 

 

 

 

It's from ABS Motorsport mate, this one:

 

https://absmotorspor...r-rear-spoiler/