how to turn that rear triangle reflector into working brake light

[chris's fr-s]

I found this how-to guide on his to do this here

first thing first, make sure you have the following tools:

-Jack
-Jack Stands (please use them for your safety)
-8mm wrench
-10mm wrench
-Flat tip screwdriver
-Hole saw
-Dremel (rotary cutting tool)
-soldering kit
-wire skinners/cutters
-electrical tape/heat shrink
-6mm circle connector for ground and male/female for + on tail light


0. raise and support car

1. start off by removing the two back-up light sockets




2. using your flat tip screwdriver, pry out the pushpins.
[IMG]http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h219/silverdub/986be***.jpg[/IMG]



3. take your 10mm wrench and remove the 2 bolts seen on the picture below.



4. using your flat tip scewdriver again, pry open gently the two tabs at the bottom of the lighting assembly. this is not easy so be patient, keep in mind that you dont want to break anything on your brand new car!



5. Locate the area that you need to make a hole



6. Source out an old corner light with the bulb and socket. Cut the old corner light and use for template. Cutting the housing will make some plastic dust in the unit, just blow it out through the hole you just made AND the back up lights holes. Do not attempt to open the housing to clean it or i promise it will break!





7. Once the hole is done insert the socket and bulb, skin your wires and test the results.



8. Open the trunk, take the carpet out and then using a srewdriver pry the trunk latch close in order to save your battery life.



9. Remove the drivers side tool tray by grabbing it with two hands and pulling upwards. You will then hear a loud POP but dont worry its normal





10. Now take this piece out by prying out the 3 pushpins and then pulling the piece upwards









11. Now take out the inner side cover by taking out the clips just like in the previous step.



12. Disconnect the trunk bypass switch



13. Disconnect the backup light connector located below the trunk latch hook. Follow the harness to the grommet and pull it put from underneath the car







14. Put the sockets back in the assy and solder 2 very long wires approximately 5 feet long. Then remove zip ties from the harness and feed a steel wire starting from the connector. You could also just tape them around the harness. When you are done feeding the wires in the harness put back new zip ties in the exact same location.













15. Install the lighting assembly and feed the harness the way it was. Make sure the plastic protection is place like the picture below. Then get back in the trunk and cut the ground wire to the desired lenght and hook it up to the oem grounding point where the connector is located.







16. Remove the drivers side tail light and skin a small piece of the green/yellow wire and install a short wire and connector. This way, your tail light will be removable in the future without having to cut any wires. Once hooked up protect your connector with tape or something simillar.







Now put everything back together, turn your headlights on and enjoy!!!

But there is a couple things to add

If you want your new brake light to stay lit and get brighter when brakes ar pressed connect to the wire that it shows in the guide, but if you want to have it only light up when brakes are pressed this is how

Disconnect the 4 pin plug from the left brake light, peel back the plastic protector, find the solid green wire and that's where your positive wire needs to be connected, you can strip a little section and solder the wire to it or use on of those quick crimps.

Also you do not have to pull the existing harness out the way he does just run your wires
and zip tie or tape your new wires to the old ones

The two silver screws on top of the reflector are a bit tricky to get but just work at it, they are 3/8in screws or Phillips screwdriver

I also wired up a toggle to kill the light when I feel I dont need it just buy a basic toggle and cut your power wire, put some wire connectors that fit the toggle on each piece of the cut hook it up and your good to go

I've completed mine and will add a link to a video when it's darker to show y'all mine

[DarkCard]

Well there was a guy on here doing retrofits until the mods got overzealous and banned him.

I'll see if i can help you out

[firebert]

cool beans

[WOW86]

Very nice!

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by chris's fr-s

Video removed by user..

[chris's fr-s]

Originally Posted by Sportsguy83

Video removed by user..

Sorry man i made a new one

[Dezoris]

Good work. I'd honestly prefer turning it into a rain light for track use that flashes on it's own every .25 seconds. I assume the process would be similar?

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by chris's fr-s

Sorry man i made a new one

Embedded:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycS5aTbF9I0"]Scion fr-s backlight #2 - YouTube[/ame]

[chris's fr-s]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Good work. I'd honestly prefer turning it into a rain light for track use that flashes on it's own every .25 seconds. I assume the process would be similar?

Yes you would just have to find the light and controller and wire it up like he diy, I actually put a toggle on mine for stuff like stop go traffic, car cuises ect...

If you have any questions just pm me

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by chris's fr-s

Yes you would just have to find the light and controller and wire it up like he diy, I actually put a toggle on mine for stuff like stop go traffic, car cuises ect...

If you have any questions just pm me

Thanks when I start it I will contact you.

[AlexTheGreek]

Wait wait wait... You're from Beaumont, TX and you have a Québec license plate? lol

You sure travelled far to get screwed on taxes and registration fees.

[drei]

Originally Posted by AlexTheGreek

Wait wait wait... You're from Beaumont, TX and you have a Québec license plate? lol

You sure travelled far to get screwed on taxes and registration fees.

read first post again

[chris's fr-s]

Originally Posted by AlexTheGreek

Wait wait wait... You're from Beaumont, TX and you have a Québec license plate? lol

You sure travelled far to get screwed on taxes and registration fees.

no i found this diy and shared it, added a little bit

[AlexTheGreek]

Originally Posted by chris's fr-s

no i found this diy and shared it, added a little bit

My bad. Thanks for sharing!