Third brake light option?

So I went to the body shop and got a quote to go wingless, but he's not available until May. So in the mean time I need to figure out a third brake light option. What do you guys suggest??

 

OEM that normally sits at the base of the rear windshield on the parcel shelf.

 

imo two brake lights is good enough, and a third one would seem tacky. I leave those for trucks.

 

But don't I have to have a third???

 

How's the wiring go then what do I tap into just the tail lights?

 

Depends on the state, I'm not 100% sure about mn but many states have a law like this:
"
1. If your vehicle was manufactured in 1987 or later, and came equipped with a supplemental (third) stoplamp, which is required by the federal safety standards, then you are required to keep the vehicle in conformance with that standard. (Veh C 24603, subd. (h).) In other words, if your car has a third light, it is illegal to remove it."

 

You would unplug the wing/3rd light, and remove it,
Then you could use the same wire(plugs should be different)
For your new 3rd light.

 

You have 3 brake lights on your car...

 

I also haven't had my coffee yet either.

Touche.

 

Just stick one of these into one of the existing holes in the deck lid and call it a day.

 

Cut the rear deck lid to fit an OEM piece,
Looks like the plug should be there already. Plug & play

 

I would suspect the car already has the connecter under the package shelf.

 

Don't the wrx have 4 brake lights if you bought the spoiler with the car? That is how mine is, two tail light brakes, spoiler and the third brake light.

 

My 2008 wrx did, but my 07 does not unfortunately!

 

I guess you could just source for one from someone and drill a hole in the back for the wires.

 

Would I just tap the wires into the brake lights then?

 

Mine came with a plug in for the third brake light. Not sure what you would do if you had to put one in, but i'm guessing it would be there also. Maybe someone can chime in.

 

The OEM 3rd brake light will come with a harness wired into it. You'll need to cut the parcel shelf so that the brake light sits flush (not on top of the trim). The harness goes through a hole into the trunk and will plug right into the factory harness that is located near the interior trunk light. You shouldn't need to splice any wires...

 

Did you guys miss this? If for some reason there isn't a built-in wire hanging under the package shelf, there's already the wires you just unplugged from the wing.

I have a feeling that if you tapped into the tail lights you'd end up with the new 3rd brake light flashing with one of the blinkers. Most cars (as far as I know, at least) use the blinker wiring to light up the brake lights as well (since it uses the same filament/bulb).

 

The interior 3rd brake light (equipped on WRX and RS models) plugs in directly below where the 3rd brake light is mounted on the bottom side of the parcel shelf. The 3rd brake light on the STi uses a different wiring harness that runs from the wing, down the trunk lid hinge, to a plug located behind the trim panel on the RH side of the car (behind the same panel where the IC spray tank is located). The plugs are completely different from each other, but BOTH harnesses should already be there from the factory...no need to splice any wiring...you just need the correct harness and/or light.

Note: I cannot confirm, but I would assume the 02-03 WRX does not come pre-wired for the STi 3rd brake light since the STi version was not offered in the US for those model years...I could be wrong

It is illegal and dangerous to roll without a 3rd brake light. I don't know about you, but I'd hate to have some daydreaming asshat rearend me because of it. That, and one less thing for the law to pull you over for!

 

Thank you very much man! Super helpful!

 

No problem...I can snap some pictures if you need further clarification. Good luck!

 

I'm going to order the sti limited wing which comes with a third brake light also, I would just need some guidance as to how you cut the hole in the back matt thing!

 

I'll be ordering the same thing soon. I don't think it'll be possible to cut the parcel shelf trim properly without taking it out first. Shouldn't be too bad. Mark the holes from underneath before you take it out. Then just cut it out in the shape of the 3rd brake light, just large enough so that the brake light will sit flush on top of the metal parcel shelf (not sitting on top of the trim piece).

Where are you ordering the spoiler from? SGP? That's the cheapest I've found anyway...http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_95&products_id=1161

 

Exactly the same place! Lots of cheap replicas but no packages with the light like that one!

 

Yep, not a fan of the Mines spoiler...best to just stay with OEM brand and fitment, plus comes with the 3rd brake light so double bonus.

 

Lol yes! Have you gotten a quote to fill and paint your trunk yet??

 

Last year I found a "wingless" trunk for $40 in the cities, paint was rough, really rough. So I knew it would need paint and maybe a little body work, but for $40, figured why not! I was assured it was a factory wingless trunk...come to find out it was originally a WRX lid that was filled. It was a mess of bondo and cracking/chipping paint...best quote I got was $480 for the whole thing.

Fast forward to last weekend and I finally found someone who wanted to swap truck lids with me. He had a factory wingless trunk off of an RS and it was OBP color. Perfect! After looking for a full year, it finally happened and I couldn't be happier.

Since the swap was so fresh in my mind, that's how I was able to contribute to your thread lol

But yeah...I need to find a 3rd brake light and I want the limited spoiler so going to order that up this week. I should have swapped parcel shelves with him when we did the swap so I could have his 3rd brake light, but didn't want to spend another hour swapping them out and I planned on getting the spoiler/brake light from SGP anyway.

 

Yeah for sure not bad! The place by my house does great work they told me $400 so I can't complain!

 

Well, I have a trunk lid for $40 for sale if you want it
Then you can swap back and forth every day if you wanted!

 

How bad of shape is it? Any pics?? I'm interested!

 

The metal is strait (no dents), but oviously needs some paint. I am not certain how the holes were initially filled (welded, epoxy, otherwise?), not sure...

 

Hmm is the subarau emblem still there????

 

No emblem. Think it was a pre-06 lid. (No subaru emblem from the factory)

 

Okay yeah I'll take it as long as everything is straight and just needs, sand and paint and maybe redo the holes!

 

I'll pull it out into the sun and get some more pics of it. IIRC, it looked fine other than the paint. If you have access to a grinder and a little know how, you might get a break at the shop if you take it down to bare metal first.

 

Sweet thanks and I might just have to try out my skills lol!

 

There are two very tiny dents (like small hail dents). To small to get on a picture. Other than that it looks strait. Just hard to tell because the paint is so rough. I'm located in Austin...

 

Sweet and I'm in brooklyn park willing to meet you!

 

Owatonna?

 

Sure this weekend?

 

Can't do it Saturday unfortunately. Sunday I can get there as early as 4PM if that works. Would you be willing to throw in a extra $10 for the ride and make it an even $50?

 

Perfect! Text me 7638982812!

 

Will do. Thanks!

 

Forgot to ask does it come with a key!!?