3rd brake light out, not bulb, options?

[AlienInv8r]

My 3rd brake light is out on my car, and I figure before it gets cold for the winter maybe I oughta try fixing it. My mechanic over the summer told me the bulb was fine and it was a wiring deal, but he just didnt have time that day to fix it. Well, I ran out of time before college so now I'm down here on my own. I was wondering if I could just buy a little led-type bulb or strip thing, and then just splice into the wires for my regular brakelights? Would this work, or would it like draw too much power from my lights? Also, anyone who's ever done this before have any sort of a walk through? Sorry if it's a dumb question, but I have no idea about electronics and wiring stuff. Thanks guys!

[megabass]

That would probably work. But I think the 3rd brake light is wired on a different circuit for safety purposes. I had the exact opposite trouble with my blazer. It was pretty new, but my buddy said my left and right brake lights didn't work, but the 3rd was working. It's a good thing that at least one of them was working. So I got under the dash and checked the wiring at the brake switch. Sure enough, there was some connectors inside that harness that weren't making good contact.

Maybe that's your trouble too. Other than maybe a fuse or a loose wire, it's possible that one of the wires has been cut or shorted out. Have you done any work in that area. Like put in some stereo equipment? Maybe you can trace the wire and test it in several places with a multi-tester.

I don't think connecting the 3rd to your other lights would blow a fuse or cause any problems. But if they went out for some reason, you would have no brake lights at all and that's not the safest thing in the world.

[AlienInv8r]

cool, I didnt know the actual connections for the brakes were right by the brake pedal, I hadn't looked there yet. I'll go ahead and give that shot. I have no idea if any wires were clipped or anything during my sub/amp install. Like I said, I have no idea about anything when it comes to that, and I bought the car with the amp already installed and all. But I'll check out the wires around the brake pedal first. Then I think I may go ahead and see if I can pull off wiring an led off the side brake lights. Thanks for the input dude, I appreciate it!