XL Middle Brake Light Upgrade

[Gil_J]

As I install the LED tail light assemblies I designed I'm almost always asked what is the best replacement LED middle brake light to complete their rear lighting upgrade. I've looked at a lot of LED brake lights available and I've only found one unit that covers the placement of the factory Bosch light. It's the Whelen 70BTT (click here for details) (http://www.whelen.com/auto/product.php?head_id=0&cat_id=74&prod_id=127). This is a realatively expensive light manufactured for first responder vehicles. But it's a really great light that comes with Whelen's "Signal-Alert" which is a programmable feature to give 5 quick flashes when the brakes are applied or a typical steady brake light. The default and my recommendation is the 5 quick flashes before going steady. It really gets the attention of anyone following. There's a seller on eBay that offers these and the chrome bezel for about $120.

I've installed the LED tail light assemblies on several coaches now. I just put them on the first Marathon I've done and must say Marathon's stainless steel cap over the tail light bucket is the best fitting one I've seen and I've installed these on most conversions at this point. For anyone that's still interested I'm placing my next materials order now, so I have a set or two that aren't spoken for yet.

13924

[DaneB]

Gil you are a special gift to this group. Big SHOUT OUT to you for this really custom upgrade.

As he said, the assembly fit perfect and the finish is truly a compliment to the rear of the coach. Get your taillight order into Gil so you are cool too!!! Brake light and bezel ordered and can't wait to get the pushers off my BUTT with it.

[Larry Sturm]

Hi Gil, I'm interested in your tail light conversion. If you could give me a call.
Larry Sturm. 352-949-8082

[Larry Sturm]

Hi Gil,
I have been out of town since I spoke with you. Misplaced your number while I was gone. Could you please give me a call again regarding your lights.
Thanks, Larry Sturm 352-949-8082

[Matt_in_AZ]

I just finished installing my Whelen 70BTT based on Gil's recommendations. On a Marathon the Bosch light is backed by a simple rectangular plate. I re-used this plate and simply drilled (4) 1/8" holes in it to line up with the stainless steel hardware (#6 x 1-1/") that ships with the Whelen. For the electrical connection I ended up removing the Bosch, cutting it's male plug off and then soldering the Yellow (+12VDC) and White (Ground) to the Bosch's male plug. A little heat shrink and some loom and it looks factory now.

Mine did not come with a manual and there is no manual online at Whelen. There are four wires that I had to test to figure out their functionality:

White - Common or Ground
Yellow - 12VDC for Brake (higher intensity)
Brown - 12VDC for Run (lower intensity)
White with Violet Stripe - Apply 12VDC power to toggle between Solid and SignalAlert (4 exceptionally quick flashes in less than 1/4 second followed by solid).

Don't forget to buy a bezel because it really make it look like a finished product. I bought the Black bezel (7FLANGEB) in lieu of the Chrome bezel (7EFLANGE) because my paint scheme is solid black with red paint. I nearly bought both just to test which one I liked best; however, after much debate went with the Henry Ford Option. Unless your paint scheme looks like a 90's rock band on tour you should probably go with the chrome option.

[Gil_J]

I too used the existing steel backer plate to attach the Whelen light.

Whelen certainly doesn't target retail customers. That's clearly evident in the packaging and lack of instructions. Their market is solely first responder vehicles. FWIW, I highly recommend the "SignalAlert" function. If anyone is considering wiring the running light function and brake light function, realize you shouldn't. It's illegal and it reduces the attention the brake light gets. Going from off to brake light draws far more attention than going from running light to brake light. Of course, the SignalAlert function will wake up almost any sleeping driver that's following.

[Matt_in_AZ]

As Gil suggested the SignalAlert function is the way to go. The first four flashes are so quick that it is almost like a subliminal message to the brain saying "Look at me now!" rather than anything that may be viewed as flashing. It reminds me of the exact setting I chose on my Bright Ass Lights (www.brightasslights.com (http://www.brightasslights.com)) BAL-1 taillight for my Harley Davidson. Similarly the single taillight flashes 3 or 4 times in rapid succession and then illuminates brightly. I have people all over the country stop me and ask me about that taillight because it clearly tells the following driver that I am stopping or slowing.

Second, keep in mind that this is a much brighter light than the stock Bosch and one of the inherent benefits of LED is that the activation is instantaneous versus an incandescent bulb which ramps up in brightness as the electricity flows through the resistive element causing it to glow and likewise dimming as the electricity stops flowing when the brake is released.