Third Brake Light project

[Tang]

So, in what seems to be a financially smart move, Ford brought the third brake light assembly over from the 2002+ Explorer to the 2008+ Escape. Unfortunately, no one makes cool aftermarket assemblies for the third brake light... after 2005. It also appears as though the assembly is different than the 2007+ Expedition, but I have not been able to prove this true or false. If it's the same as the Expedition, I might be in luck. But I have my doubts.

Question is, Sylvania says that the third brake light is not five LED bulbs as other sources state - it's actually five small bulbs (2825). They light up pretty fast though, so I was convinced they were really LEDs. Can someone validate this and then, if it really is just bulbs, provide a guide as to how to remove that assembly? I have a few brake light assemblies on eBay watch to set up LEDs before/in case I break anything.

In case you're wondering, I am turning my Escape into a light show. I'm trying to reach a guy on Ranger-Forum who did a 4157 LED conversion with the Osram L1224R LED bulb used in the Taurus X's brake lights... nothin' like confusing lingo in that last statement, huh.

Thanks in advance!

[jpark]

They are definitely five W5W bulbs. Removing the assembly is so simple that you won't need a diagram. Just remove the two screws, disconnect the electrical connector, then carefully pull the washer hose off of the nozzle by grasping the hose at the nozzle, then slowly turning it while guiding the hose away from the nozzle.

I'm sure nobody will be surprised when I say that I'm already designing an LED replacement for my 2010's third brake light. I'm using 50 Osram PLCC-4 50ma LEDs, arranged in a 25x2 array. This will replace the factory reflector, but I'm designing the board to snap into both the housing and the current bulb carrier so that it can be changed back to the bulb-and-reflector setup when I sell this Escape.

This one will be 2-3 times brighter. The LEDs will run at about 17ma each, so they're not being overdriven (25 pairs, each pair in series with a 560-ohm, 1/2W 1206 SMD resistor).

Ford also changed the third brake lamp on 2007-2010 Edges. My 2007 Edge had an LED third brake lamp assembly, even though most early 2007 Edges had an incandescent assembly.