How to turn the "dead tail light" light off...

[charliekuney]

Okay, so, I don't like having five tail lights. I only want the outer most two, so I took the bulbs out of the inner two and the center light. This caused that 'stupid' "check tail lights" light to come on the dash. I know replacing the bulbs will turn it off, but I don't want them. Is there anyway to create something to go where the bulb is to make the car think there's a light/connection, but not have any light or heat give-off? I tried covering the bulbs in paint and duct tape (*cough* CAH *cough*), but the heat from the bulbs melted the tape, and the paint flaked off.

Any ideas? What about cutting the wires?

Also, will removing the bulbs from the front corner turn signals cause a light to come on? Minimalism at it's best. (:

[2drSE-i]

Paperclip? Staple? Really anything that will complete the circuit will turn that light off.

[charliekuney]

That's what I thought. It won't get too hot from the current, right? What if I put a big one there? I just don't like the look of the middle tail light, and when I saw Jon's coupe with just the outer lights, I thought it was beyond awesome looking.

[2drSE-i]

If your worried about heat (which you should be :D ) stick a fuse in there. The current will continue, and youll know when it blows or gets to hot. Just match the amperage on the taillight fuses.

[dacantu]

Please post pics of this when youre done with it charlie I want to see what it looks like cause it sounds cool

[w261w261]

I think you need a resistor with the same resistance as a tail light bulb in order to fool the computer. As far as sticking a fuse or paper clip in the socket, you'd be creating a dead short, yes?

[2ndGenGuy]

YES! If you do that you will just create a direct short to ground and blow all your taillight fuses. The "check brake light" indicator relies on a certain amount of load, so you need to get load-resistors or use light bulbs. Or you can redo the entire system (know much about electronics?) or just pull the bulb out of the "check tail light" thing.

To create the load, the energy has to go somewhere. Either though heat, or motion, or light or something. Get some low power 12v motors and put them back there. Or just enjoy the fact that when one of your lights goes out you won't get pulled over, searched, arrested, and ticketed by the WSP for something you didn't do just because they gave you probable cause to pull you over.

[charliekuney]

I have my license plate lights taken out, too. :) Sorry for the horrible quality; blame my iPhone.

http://i45.tinypic.com/dy4z2c.jpg

[Bass Man]

You don't need license plate lights there??

I took out the middle housing and it's giving me the Brake Light Out light, which is nice to know when one of your lights go out... I personally don't like empty light housings (about as much as a little exhaust leak; sends me to the moon!), but I don't like that middle light even more.

[charliekuney]

You don't need license plate lights there??

Uh, of course not. Just like you don't need a middle tail light, back-up lights, front license plates, proof of insurance, updated tabs...

[2drSE-i]

I was thinking about this the same way i treat christmas lights. Not exactly the same. Figure out the resistance of the bulbs and wire in a resistor.

[A18A]

i never ever have known what the point of rear number plate lights are

[Bass Man]

Drive-by's... Stupid, cuz there isn't much....... crime..... in Oregon.

[charliekuney]

i never ever have known what the point of rear number plate lights are

So that cops can see them at night when they're at an angle and not lit up from the cop car's headlights.

[2ndGenGuy]

Ha have fun with the no license plate lights, Charlie. You will get pulled over, very soon. :)

[frantik]

i never ever have known what the point of rear number plate lights are

so cops dont pull you over for not having them

[gp02a0083]

there is a reason for the 3rd brake light also, something was passed in the mid 80's that required car manfaq.'s to add a 3rd brake light , this was a issue with many of my Oldsmobile members with years 84-87 earlier years did not have the 3rd taillight while 1/2 the 85's did and the 86/87's all had them , all and all just keep all the taillights and avoid headaches

[2drSE-i]

yeah honestly your gonna get pulled over for any light thats out. Tag lights especially, but tail lights count too.

[itzdave]

dude, i got pulled over all the time here for not having the 3rd brakelight.
cops are gunna shit when u drive by one...

[labeledsk8r]

who wants to starty makeing bets on how long he lasts before a ticket?? i have 5 bucks on 2 weeks and under

[lostforawhile]

i raise you a quarter and a pistachio nut, plus some assorted hardware. (it's all I have) someone's G O N N A G E T A T I C K ET !! this is retarded, did cah create this idea? the point of the lights is to keep people from hitting you,

[carotman]

You don't want the warning light? Put bulbs in the tail lights.

You can't eat your cake and have it.

[charliekuney]

Ha have fun with the no license plate lights, Charlie. You will get pulled over, very soon. :)

I haven't had license plate lights since the week I bought the car, over three months ago.


so cops dont pull you over for not having them

Yes, they do, if they actually think of them. The probably think the ones on my car are just dim from it being so old.


there is a reason for the 3rd brake light also, something was passed in the mid 80's that required car manfaq.'s to add a 3rd brake light , this was a issue with many of my Oldsmobile members with years 84-87 earlier years did not have the 3rd taillight while 1/2 the 85's did and the 86/87's all had them , all and all just keep all the taillights and avoid headaches

It's so taller vehicles can see it when they're really close to you, I think.


yeah honestly your gonna get pulled over for any light thats out. Tag lights especially, but tail lights count too.

Technically, I haven't had the middle light, plate lights, or reverse lights for quite some time.


dude, i got pulled over all the time here for not having the 3rd brakelight.
cops are gunna shit when u drive by one...

I haven't had a problem since.


who wants to starty makeing bets on how long he lasts before a ticket?? i have 5 bucks on 2 weeks and under

I got pulled over on Saturday for expired tabs, and ultimately not having proof of insurance; no ticket, no crap about the lights. (:


i raise you a quarter and a pistachio nut, plus some assorted hardware. (it's all I have) someone's G O N N A G E T A T I C K ET !! this is retarded, did cah create this idea? the point of the lights is to keep people from hitting you,

A lot of cars have less lighting than that. Is everyone forgetting how big the lights on these cars are? Two is plenty. Read above about the "ticket" factor.


You don't want the warning light? Put bulbs in the tail lights.

You can't eat your cake and have it.

Like I said in my first post, I don't want to have to do either. I can have my cake and eat it, you watch. Google: how to make homemade resistors...

[2ndGenGuy]

Oooh 3 months! You rebel you! ;)

[charliekuney]

Yes! I'm just saying; the police around here don't care about the small things. Now, about the time I was pulled over for doing 65mph on a 30mph road...

[lostforawhile]

with the way people drive today, and don't pay attention, and talk on the cell phone, etc, etc, I would want every light on the car working, as far as the license plate light, how much is the ticket vs. the cost of the bulbs? you WILL get a ticket,just a matter of time, cops love to pull people over for that, and who's to say you won't get pulled over by Barney fife, who is having a shitty day, and he finds other little crap. If you get stopped for the license plate light, he's going to then notice the tails aren't working, then you are going to get a ticket for that.The third brake lamp is designed so people notice you stepping on the brake, people are so accustomed to them, if they don't see it,they may end up running into you. Cities and counties are broke right now, the are looking for anything they can do to generate revenue. And a lot of asshole cops would love to give you hell about your "old " car

[dacantu]

is it illegal to not have a rear view mirror? lol I recently got a new windshield and they put the mirror on wrong and it fell but i kinda like it without it too lol.


sorry to whore your thread charlie

[lostforawhile]

is it illegal to not have a rear view mirror? lol I recently got a new windshield and they put the mirror on wrong and it fell but i kinda like it without it too lol.


sorry to whore your thread charlie thats a good question,it probably is, yet i can't figure out how these vans with no rear windows get away with no mirror. Fix your mirror, how can you stand not to have one? get a repair kit from any auto parts store.

[dacantu]

it might seem funny and irresponsible of me but I think our cars are small enough to the point of where it isnt necessary to see anyone around. im a very cautious driver and exactly what youre saying lost I cant imagine being the driver of those delivery vans that have no rear view mirror.

[lostforawhile]

it might seem funny and irresponsible of me but I think our cars are small enough to the point of where it isnt necessary to see anyone around. im a very cautious driver and exactly what youre saying lost I cant imagine being the driver of those delivery vans that have no rear view mirror.

what i don't get is you can get a ticket for not having one, or blocking your rear window, but they don't. cops say it's for safety, but you can have a van with a solid steel rear door, you do need the mirror though these cars have hidden blind spots.

[dacantu]

or even those catering trucks with huge silver boxes with food as the bed of the truck. theres no way of seeing anything even through the passenger side mirror. its pretty unsafe.

I guess the same goes for anyone who is towing a tall trailer also.

[lostforawhile]

or even those catering trucks with huge silver boxes with food as the bed of the truck. theres no way of seeing anything even through the passenger side mirror. its pretty unsafe.

I guess the same goes for anyone who is towing a tall trailer also.I wonder what a hatch with a steel door where the glass is on the back,would look?

[dacantu]

like a military tank. lol it would look pretty badasss though!

[carotman]

Like I said in my first post, I don't want to have to do either. I can have my cake and eat it, you watch. Google: how to make homemade resistors...

I'm watching alright.

[charliekuney]

[huge post]r

I think cops would be more worried about Savage Sally weaving through traffic, than an old Accord having dead lights. Even so, they'd probably be like, "Show me that you've fixed them in a week, and I'll drop the ticket, blah blah blah". My nephew gets that a lot with his cars.


is it illegal to not have a rear view mirror? lol I recently got a new windshield and they put the mirror on wrong and it fell but i kinda like it without it too lol.

The middle one? Yes, I'm sure of it. It's a safety thing, even though these cars have almost no blind spots (the coupes, at least). The right-hand side mirror mandate happened in the early 90's.


I'm watching alright.

:)

[accordion89]

just drive with no lights like a real gangster

[charliekuney]

But, not even gangsters do that...

Oh, that reminds me! Dank status:

http://i46.tinypic.com/2ih5oie.jpg

[accordion89]

looks like everett, lol

[Bass Man]

You gotta have 1 rear-view mirror in Oregon. Either drivers side or middle. I don't have door mirrors on my Sidekick cuz they don't fold in when you hit a tree, so I just leave them off.

[Juggalo88Accord]

wow your just beggin to get pulled over an fucked over. I got pulled over cuz my blinkers were tinted and still working. Just one bulb out they might leave you alone but all of those out is begging for trouble:slap:

[itzdave]

i offically label Charlie as the Pacific North West CAH...

[MessyHonda]

im sorry but that looks kinda dumb....old cars only had 2 tail lights that also were turning singnals but that was in like the 70s.....you will get pulled over...cuz some douche cop is going to go by the book and pull you over...trust me....i had over 10 fix it tickets from tinted windows, loud exhuast, no front plate, busted light, driving late at night, being latino...lol....what i did to make it look better was to tint my rear taillights....it looks clean when everything is smoked out

[dacantu]

im sorry but that looks kinda dumb....old cars only had 2 tail lights that also were turning singnals but that was in like the 70s.....you will get pulled over...cuz some douche cop is going to go by the book and pull you over...trust me....i had over 10 fix it tickets from tinted windows, loud exhuast, no front plate, busted light, driving late at night, being latino...lol....what i did to make it look better was to tint my rear taillights....it looks clean when everything is smoked out

Did you smoke your own tail lights? Pics please? Thisvis probably emway safer than removing bulbs. As long as you didnt smoke them too dark

[itzdave]

Did you smoke your own tail lights? Pics please? Thisvis probably emway safer than removing bulbs. As long as you didnt smoke them too dark

heres some tail light tinting stuff, dunno if this is what he used or not...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=vht+nightshades&aq=2&oq=vht+&aqi=g10

[dacantu]

heres some tail light tinting stuff, dunno if this is what he used or not...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=vht+nightshades&aq=2&oq=vht+&aqi=g10

vht has some quality paint for sure. thanks dave

[AccordB20A]

ok back on topic, has anyone ever pulled apart one of the black boxes in the tail lights?? they are what controls that little light somehow, they have coils and reed switches so when no current flows through the coil the reed switch will send a signal to the dahs controller for the light telling it a bulb has failed, There is a way to wire the lights so it shuts up, i had to do it for my warrant as i converted from a 88 bootlid to a 86 one which doesnt have brake lights in the boot. either that or pull ur dash apart and remove the bulb.

[lostforawhile]

ok back on topic, has anyone ever pulled apart one of the black boxes in the tail lights?? they are what controls that little light somehow, they have coils and reed switches so when no current flows through the coil the reed switch will send a signal to the dahs controller for the light telling it a bulb has failed, There is a way to wire the lights so it shuts up, i had to do it for my warrant as i converted from a 88 bootlid to a 86 one which doesnt have brake lights in the boot. either that or pull ur dash apart and remove the bulb.

there is no bulb, it's an LED in the warning lamp unit, it's all one piece.

[lostforawhile]

the sensor is a low impedence relay that is normally closed, the coil doesn't provide much resistance, so it doesn't restrict voltage to the bulb, but it produces enough magnetic force to open the contacts and keep the lamp from being lit. if the bulb fails it breaks the circuit and the contacts close. it's more like a shunt in a set of christmas tree lights. the reason that LED brake light bulbs and third brake light bulbs trigger the warning, is that LED's are high impedance devices, and require very little current, not enough current flows in the circuit to keep the contacts open.

[w261w261]

I remember when high-mounted brake lights first came in (1985). Prior, the Feds had done some studies which demonstrated clearly that having a light up there helped significantly with rear-end collisions. For my own two cents, anything I can do to keep people from smacking me in the rear is worth it, and the more lights are better. I think this is a case where style should give way to preserving your own butt. Our cars are relatively tiny little things, and when you have some dickhead multi-tasking behind you in a Tahoe in stop and go traffic, you want everything visually to throw at him that you can.

I got my SE-i in 2001. From that date until early this year I did not have a front plate, because I didn't like the look of the clumsy mounting bracket. Finally, with an elderly person on board, I got stopped. The officer looked in the window at me and granny, gave me a warning and split. So I thought about it. I took and bent the top and bottom of the plate back, essentially leaving just the numbers exposed, and attached it directly to the grill with 4 screws through the bent-back flange. It looks fine, kind of European-like.

[cameron7710]

wow ok charlie not trying to be a dick but what is the point of this. it doesn't look good it just makes your car look like a piece junk with that when lights out because everyone on the roads knows they are supposed to light up. then u have the light on in the dash that is annoying and u wont know if any of your other bulbs burn out so you will have almost no lights back there and are just begging to get hit. and u may not get pulled over around were u live but if u ever plan on leaving your area u will not make it very far especially since if im remembering right u also dont have a front plate. so lets see your 17 driving a old honda with no front plate and most of the lights not working, dude u are exactly what every cop fresh out the academy is looking to mess with. so dude just put the light back

[charliekuney]

Okay, I understand everyone's points, and here's what I have to say:

Everyone has their opinion, that I respect, but I like the less-lights look better. People do stuff to their cars that they like that I find unappealing. Even the new 2010 Odysseys (http://www.japanesesportcars.com/photos/d/64902-2/2010-honda-odyssey+_13_.jpg) have "lights" that don't light up when you hit the brakes (okay, they are driving lights, I'll give you guys that).

Problems: The socket to my middle light looks fried (from my ingenious idea above), and the light stopped working (this is what initially gave me the idea, since this caused the warning light to turn on). Another thing; when I bought the car, both of the housings to the inner tail lights and reverse lights were all fugged up. So, I don't even have reverse lights. The piece of metal that directs the lights out are all bent up, and both screw holes on both sides are broken off, so right now, they're duct taped to the inside of my trunk lid. Even with bulbs there, you can barely see the lights.

If what everyone says is true about all these asshole cops, I would have a dozen tickets by now. But, I only have one, and it's from the accident. I've been pulled over for doing 50mph in a 35mph (no ticket), "running" a red light (ticket, but dropped), and for having expired tabs (no ticket). The first two were in my first coupe, which had all five tail lights, but no license plate lights and no front plate.

More feedback, please. This is helping a lot with my decision. And, no, I'm not the NorthWest CAH. Don't insult me for trying.

[itzdave]

haha, that was an inside joke...

[2drSE-i]

I will definitely agree with you that its your car. Do with it what you will, and ignore everyone else. What is your goal with this again? You removed the center tail correct? Did you want running lamps only on the center ones, or did you want them completely off? I know your original question was how to get the dead tail light indicator off, but these are questions that need answered.

If you want them completely off, you will need to get an ohm meter to measure the resistance in the original bulbs, and wire in resistors of the same resistance. The wiring intact on the fried socket?

[charliekuney]

I think the wiring and socket are fine, but the bulb just went out. I don't want any light at all in the middle section, like there is (isn't?) now.

[2drSE-i]

I think the wiring and socket are fine, but the bulb just went out. I don't want any light at all in the middle section, like there is (isn't?) now.

Then you might just splice the wires for the middle sockets to the outer sockets. This should provide resistance i would think.

[charliekuney]

Huh?

[2drSE-i]

Never mind. I basically just suggested you fry another socket, and then realized i was being stupid.

[A18A]

just wire in a relay or something in place of the inner bulbs, that should provide enough resistance to make the fail light go out

[charliekuney]

Never mind. I basically just suggested you fry another socket, and then realized i was being stupid.

Don't worry, because I didn't understand a word you said.


just wire in a relay or something in place of the inner bulbs, that should provide enough resistance to make the fail light go out

But, people above said no relays...

[lostforawhile]

just wire in a relay or something in place of the inner bulbs, that should provide enough resistance to make the fail light go out

i think what he means is the coil of the relay replace the bulb.

[lostforawhile]

here you go, you would only need to use one side of this but it's basically a power resistor that loads the circuit to make it think the bulb is good. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290352682833&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

[charliekuney]

here you go, you would only need to use one side of this but it's basically a power resistor that loads the circuit to make it think the bulb is good.

So, I would get three, and splice those into the wires?

[lostforawhile]

So, I would get three, and splice those into the wires?

well on that one it would have two wires one to load each turn signal,probably with internal diodes to isolate one from the other, one wire on the unit goes to ground, and one of each other wire goes to the hot wire at a bulb. you would need two units one unit for the two center lamps and one for the third brake lights. they create a load from the lamp through a resistor to ground

[A18A]

if you have a fuel injector lying around, use that, its perfect :D

[lostforawhile]

if you have a fuel injector lying around, use that, its perfect :Di never thought of using the resistor box,

[kentwat]

The more and brighter the lights in back, the better. If you have ever been rearended by some idiot snapping your neck is not fun. Trust me the pain doesn't go away in a short period of time. It sucks when you can't turn your head real fast to the left or right for fear of cracking your neck. You can do like they do here in Alabama and just bust it out then you won't have lights in the center. ;-)

[charliekuney]

I think I'm going to put the lights back in. I was following a newer coupe with the exact same "modification" and I almost rear-ended him because I didn't know he was stopping.

[lostforawhile]

http://www.fsu.edu/~crimdo/images/anirocket.gif

[Xybris]

Back to the running lights then.