the 3rd brake light is supposed to lights up dim when your trunk is open right? well mine does and the darnest thing happened. i switched out the bulb in the trunk with some leds and for some odd reason the 3rd brake light doesnt light up anymore. its still functional when the brake pedal is pressed, but it doesnt dim like it used to when i open the trunk. any ideas/solutions?


thnx,

mike

 

I've never notice my 3rd brake light illuminating when I open my trunk. Could it just have been the trunks interior light that made it look that way?

 

The voltage to run the regular bulb in the dimmed state, may be too low to power the LEDs

 

He says he swapped the light in the trunk out, not the actual brake light. I do think it's likely that the much lower resistance of the LEDs is screwing things up. If it's really that important to have the brake light on when the trunk is open you could solder a resistor in to the LED bulb replacement to increase the resistance. This should trick the electrical system into "seeing" the bulb... though why this is necessary I don't fully understand. It would seem to me that the 3rd brake light coming on should be entirely independent of what's going on with the light in the trunk.

 

The third brake light shouldn't light up with the trunk open. If it does, something is wrong with the wiring.

 

Really? Mine has always done this. It's very dim and only visible when it's dark. I don't really know what the point of it is. I have an 04 so it's possible that it's just some voltage bleed that they have subsequently fixed. It's nothing I'd be particularly worried about though.

 

This is for my TSX, my old 4dr integra and my old 4dr civic, as well as other Hondas/Acuras my friends and family have owned. I've never seen the 3rd brake light light up when the trunk is open.

 

If it's happening to your 04, then the first thing I would check is the trunk wiring recall. When the trunk is open, the driver side hinge could potentially pinch and short out the wiring. If the recall is already done, go back and check it again as the repair may not have been done correctly. It's definitely something you should be worried about as the wiring also ties to other rear lighting.

 

Got a link to the TSB handy? I'll take a look at it tonight if it's easy enough to get to then hassle the dealer about it if need be when I get back from a trip. Hopefully my car won't burst into flames while sitting in the airport lot in the mean time.

 

mines an 07 btw.

 

its not that it really important but im just wondering if anything went wrong.

 

I have noticed a glow from the 3rd brake light in the dark with the trunk open. It's simply reflected light from the trunk light bulb showing through the 3rd b/l lens. I'd guess your LED bulb in the trunk light is more directional and thus doesn't reflect light "up" into the 3rd b/l housing.