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Old 05-16-2016, 10:01 AM   #1
BirdTRD
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DIY: Valenti 4th brake light wiring for no blink brake light. (Triangle)

This DIY covers the wiring modifications only and does not cover the physical installation of the light assembly as there are other DIY's and YouTube videos for that. (I did add 1 physical mod at the end that I think you'll appreciate)


Since the Valenti 4th brake light was not designed with the US of A in mind, some alterations need to be made for it to work in the following manner:


Backup lights on when in reverse.
The --v-- light on when headlights or parking lights are on. (running light)
Triangle light on solid when braking. (4th brake light)


This will require you to open up the back of the light assembly (10 screws) and perform some soldering, so if you don't have good soldering skills, move along. I am also not responsible if you screw up your light and or void your warranty on said light...so there!

Starting at the connector end of the Valenti wiring harness you will see 4 wires. 3 go into a connector, (Green, Blue and Black) and a long red wire.







First you will need to remove the Blue wire from the center position of the connector (by cutting or releasing the pin) and extend that wire so it is the same length as the long red wire. I suggest that you solder and use shrink tube on your connection.







Now the connector is ready to be plugged into the OEM connection in the trunk which will give us our Backup lights. If you notice, there is nothing in that center position for the blue wire to have plugged into, that's why we pulled it out.

Moving to the inside of the Valenti light assembly (remove the 10 screws and pop off the back) you will find 3 small connectors. You may wish to mark them is such a way that you will get them plugged back in to each other correctly (numbering, color code, take pics, etc) or just pay careful attention to where they go.






We will now perform the following modifications:


On the triangle board, de-solder the orange/black wire(s) from the "stop" contact and also de-solder the green wire from the "TA" contact. Now solder together the orange/black wire(s) to the green wire and shrink tube it (don't forget to slide your shrink tube onto the wire BEFORE soldering...ask me how I know). This wire ultimately becomes the red wire outside of the light assembly and gets connected to the red wire (running tail light, 12V is supplied here when lights are on) at the tail light for the --v-- running light.


I then added a ground wire (black "S" shaped wire on the left side of the triangle), soldered from the "GA" contact to the contact shown in the pic below which is the anode (-) side of LED L6, doing this provides a constant return path for all LED's in the triangle, effectively bypassing the Q1 transistor (solid state switch) and the rest of the F1 blinking circuit. The red wire that's soldered to the "fog" contact ultimately becomes the blue wire outside the light assembly, which I connected to the green wire (brake, 12V supplied here when brakes are applied) on the tail light harness for triangle light brake function (no F1 flashing) regardless of whether parking light are on or not.


Note: Use caution when soldering the wire to the leg of L6 LED. As with all soldering, use only enough heat to get the wire attached and avoid overheating as you may damage the LED.






As promised, the one physical mod I did was so that future me is happy. After breaking the OEM light where the 10mm bolts screw into the push on nuts (thanks to rust), I decided to eliminate that possibility and use plastic push pins instead. You have to ream out the hole in the plastic mount to accomodate the size push pin you decide to use (the mounting point on the bumper tab is 10mm I believe)







Running Lights on only







Brake light only







Brake and Running lights on




Enjoy!

Last edited by BirdTRD; 07-04-2017 at 06:57 AM. Reason: because photobucket sucks
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tato.valverde (05-16-2016)
Old 05-16-2016, 12:11 PM   #2
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Nice! It seems like you figured out the connections, so lets see if you can help me out here...

I bought a fog light switch and I'm running a wire from the dash to the rear, and I want to connect it to the lamps to have the following setup:

1) V turns on with headlights (like yours)
2) Backup lights turn on when backup is engaged (like yours)
3) Triangle turns on with fog light switch
4) Triangle flashes with brake when fog lights are on
5) Triangle turns on with brake if fog lights are off (ideally... but optional at this point)

I'm assuming i have to run the fog light wire from the cabin all the way into the lamp through the rubber thingy, and probably disconnect one of their connections that merge 2 wires into one, and tap into one of them, but I haven't had a chance to do testing yet, since i don't have a garage and it's still winter in Chicago...

Any inputs? Any diagrams you may have drawn for the inner connections?

Thanks!!

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Old 05-16-2016, 12:58 PM   #3
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I'm not sure you will be able to get exactly what you want without modifying or adding additional circuitry.

It's my understanding that as originally configured, without modification, the blue wire in the center of the connector (that connects to the "fog" terminal inside the light) is what they use outside of the US to connect to the vehicles fog lamp circuit and powers the --v-- as the rear Fog lamp. The long red lead gets connected to the brake wire on the tail light (other end connected to "stop" terminal inside) which give you the F1 Blinking Triangle brake light when brakes are applied. Apparently this F1 circuit only works if there is power applied to the blue "fog" line as well.

Since I did not want the F1 flashing brake light (which I do not like and I think is illegal in the states) I started poking around. I initially thought my light was not working properly because while testing, when I connected black to ground and green to 12V and got backup lights, then 12V to blue and got the --v-- light, but when I applied 12V only to the red...got nothing.


You might find that wiring it as originally intended will get you close to how you want it.


1) V turns on with fog light switch or headlight (depending on how you wire blue)
2) Backup lights turn on when backup is engaged
3) Triangle flashes with brake when fog lights are on
4) F1 brake will not function unless fog light/headlights are energized.
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Old 05-16-2016, 01:27 PM   #4
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here's the notes from my discovery process. Sorry for the chicken scratch, they were only meant for me.
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Old 05-18-2016, 07:39 AM   #5
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Here's another easy option. Use a SPDT (single pole, dual throw) switch for your "Fog" function. The common terminal will go to the blue lead on the Valenti 4th light, one side of the switch gets tied to 12V from the fuse box and the other side taps into the Red lead on the OEM tail light harness. This way you will have the --v-- on as a fog light or when headlights are on and the Triangle Brake light will flash in either of those 2 conditions. The only time the Brake light will not flash is when the switch is in the "headlight" position and the headlights are off. Make sense?


Of course, the rest of the connections will still need to be made...long red lead tapped into the brake wire (green I think) on the OEM tail light harness and the backup connector plugged in.
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Old 05-19-2016, 10:37 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BirdTRD View Post
Here's another easy option. Use a SPDT (single pole, dual throw) switch for your "Fog" function. The common terminal will go to the blue lead on the Valenti 4th light, one side of the switch gets tied to 12V from the fuse box and the other side taps into the Red lead on the OEM tail light harness. This way you will have the --v-- on as a fog light or when headlights are on and the Triangle Brake light will flash in either of those 2 conditions. The only time the Brake light will not flash is when the switch is in the "headlight" position and the headlights are off. Make sense?


Of course, the rest of the connections will still need to be made...long red lead tapped into the brake wire (green I think) on the OEM tail light harness and the backup connector plugged in.
The only problem with this is that i need the actual triangle to be the fog light, not the V. I'm doing this because I'm importing an american frs to europe, and we are required to have rear fog lights, and it should be a bright ass light, visible through fog from far behind. I don't think the V would cut it
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Old 05-20-2016, 06:05 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tato.valverde View Post
The only problem with this is that i need the actual triangle to be the fog light, not the V. I'm doing this because I'm importing an american frs to europe, and we are required to have rear fog lights, and it should be a bright ass light, visible through fog from far behind. I don't think the V would cut it

Maybe someone outside the US with the Valenti 4th brake light can chime in regarding how theirs works. I just don't think your going to get the triangle light to be both an F1 style brake light and the fog light. (at least not without someone more skilled in electronics then me coming up with a tricky circuit!) Good luck.
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Old 09-03-2016, 08:14 PM   #8
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I really wish I would have read this BEFORE I installed them. I'm pretty disappointed that the vendors don't warn you about this before purchasing. They even call it a "4th brake light" but in stock form there is no way to make the "brake" operate at all without the "fog" wire hot.

Anyway, thanks for the how-to. Eventually I'll pull mine out again and make this quick modification.
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Old 11-30-2016, 11:08 AM   #9
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Gonna bump this since I'm picking up these lights soon and now I'm confused.

I saw this guide last night:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyQSlMxT5RA"]DIY: Valenti 4th Brake Light Wiring Mod- HOW TO -Separate "V" and Brake - YouTube[/ame]

And the instructions there are completely different from yours. Trying to figure out why :\
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Old 12-01-2016, 05:45 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PandaSPUR View Post
Gonna bump this since I'm picking up these lights soon and now I'm confused.

I saw this guide last night:


And the instructions there are completely different from yours. Trying to figure out why :\
Interesting. Looks like there are 2 ways to get this done (his version 3 mod accomplishes the same thing as my method).
I have to admit, his way looks a bit easier than mine as you don't have to add the "S" shaped wire from GA to the leg of LED L6 as I did.
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Old 12-01-2016, 09:59 AM   #11
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Great video.
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Old 12-01-2016, 01:18 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PandaSPUR View Post
Gonna bump this since I'm picking up these lights soon and now I'm confused.

I saw this guide last night:


And the instructions there are completely different from yours. Trying to figure out why :\
The OP in this thread basically switched up the Brake and Running wires that go outside the lamp assembly and tapped into the car.

The red wire was always intended to be the brake wire, and is used as a running light instead, and the blue wire was intended to be the running light, and is used as a brake light instead.

I'm not sure about the S shaped ground cable though...

Anyhow, I finally did my wiring this weekend to have a separate Fog Light switch, and it works like a dream =) I still need to install it on the car though, it's cold here in Chicago...

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Old 05-09-2017, 06:41 PM   #13
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Your board looks exactly like mine, so I'm guessing you got the v2 'V' bar as well. I have a 2015 FRS and for the damn life of me, I can't get the center triangle to flash when the car is on, only when it's off. Is there anything I'm doing wrong or wiring up wrong? All help would be greatly appreciated.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tato.valverde View Post
The OP in this thread basically switched up the Brake and Running wires that go outside the lamp assembly and tapped into the car.

The red wire was always intended to be the brake wire, and is used as a running light instead, and the blue wire was intended to be the running light, and is used as a brake light instead.

I'm not sure about the S shaped ground cable though...

Anyhow, I finally did my wiring this weekend to have a separate Fog Light switch, and it works like a dream =) I still need to install it on the car though, it's cold here in Chicago...

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Old 05-09-2017, 09:16 PM   #14
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What if I wan to run the same thing as you, but instead of having a solid brake triangle, having it flash, how could I achieve this? I already re-wired my Valenti V to stay on with with lights on, but the issue in having is my triangle break light is only flashing brightly when I step o the brakes when the car IS off, but once its on, the LEDs dim and don't flash.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BirdTRD View Post
This DIY covers the wiring modifications only and does not cover the physical installation of the light assembly as there are other DIY's and YouTube videos for that. (I did add 1 physical mod at the end that I think you'll appreciate)


Since the Valenti 4th brake light was not designed with the US of A in mind, some alterations need to be made for it to work in the following manner:


Backup lights on when in reverse.
The --v-- light on when headlights or parking lights are on. (running light)
Triangle light on solid when braking. (4th brake light)


This will require you to open up the back of the light assembly (10 screws) and perform some soldering, so if you don't have good soldering skills, move along. I am also not responsible if you screw up your light and or void your warranty on said light...so there!

Starting at the connector end of the Valenti wiring harness you will see 4 wires. 3 go into a connector, (Green, Blue and Black) and a long red wire.







First you will need to remove the Blue wire from the center position of the connector (by cutting or releasing the pin) and extend that wire so it is the same length as the long red wire. I suggest that you solder and use shrink tube on your connection.







Now the connector is ready to be plugged into the OEM connection in the trunk which will give us our Backup lights. If you notice, there is nothing in that center position for the blue wire to have plugged into, that's why we pulled it out.

Moving to the inside of the Valenti light assembly (remove the 10 screws and pop off the back) you will find 3 small connectors. You may wish to mark them is such a way that you will get them plugged back in to each other correctly (numbering, color code, take pics, etc) or just pay careful attention to where they go.






We will now perform the following modifications:


On the triangle board, de-solder the orange/black wire(s) from the "stop" contact and also de-solder the green wire from the "TA" contact. Now solder together the orange/black wire(s) to the green wire and shrink tube it (don't forget to slide your shrink tube onto the wire BEFORE soldering...ask me how I know). This wire ultimately becomes the red wire outside of the light assembly and gets connected to the red wire (running tail light, 12V is supplied here when lights are on) at the tail light for the --v-- running light.


I then added a ground wire (black "S" shaped wire on the left side of the triangle), soldered from the "GA" contact to the contact shown in the pic below which is the anode (-) side of LED L6, doing this provides a constant return path for all LED's in the triangle, effectively bypassing the Q1 transistor (solid state switch) and the rest of the F1 blinking circuit. The red wire that's soldered to the "fog" contact ultimately becomes the blue wire outside the light assembly, which I connected to the green wire (brake, 12V supplied here when brakes are applied) on the tail light harness for triangle light brake function (no F1 flashing) regardless of whether parking light are on or not.


Note: Use caution when soldering the wire to the leg of L6 LED. As with all soldering, use only enough heat to get the wire attached and avoid overheating as you may damage the LED.






As promised, the one physical mod I did was so that future me is happy. After breaking the OEM light where the 10mm bolts screw into the push on nuts (thanks to rust), I decided to eliminate that possibility and use plastic push pins instead. You have to ream out the hole in the plastic mount to accomodate the size push pin you decide to use (the mounting point on the bumper tab is 10mm I believe)







Running Lights on only







Brake light only







Brake and Running lights on




Enjoy!
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