So I had to replace the passenger side tail light on my '08 due to a wayward tree branch. I bought one on ebay and when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had a third hole for a light where the factory housing was just blanked off.

Here's the factory housing, note the blank spot on the right/top.


Here's the new housing with the bulb opening. It uses the same bulb socket as the back-up light, a 3156 single intensity bulb.


The new housing came with a socket and bulb for both the tail/brake light and the back-up light so all I had to order was a back-up light pigtail connector from Rock Auto and a 3156 LED bulb from superbrightleds.com. I tied it into the brake/turn signal wire and voila!, much improved rear visibility when braking and turning. It could also be wired to the tail light so it's always on. I got the parts to do the driver's side as well, took me about half an hour total.
I already converted all exterior lighting to LED bulbs so it's a significant improvement over stock. If anyone is interested I will post the part numbers as well as the ebay listing for these specific housings since I'm not sure if they all come with the third hole.

 

Having just replaced my original OEM T/L housings with self-retrieved OEM housings for addition of Whelan Hide-A-Strobe system this had me pondering if that third hole was also blanked out---it was. Wow---never paid any attention!

I'd be interested in any part numbers, especially the LED replacement bulbs. I've read elsewhere here on FTE occasionally including diodes or resistors in order for them to work properly----any input on that?

Looks like an interesting modification for sure, thanks for posting this!

 

I've replaced all exterior and interior lighting with LED bulbs from Superbrightleds.com, except for instrument panel and head lights. I installed the HID bi-xenon kit for the headlights.

This is the bulb I got for the tail light.

3156 LED Bulb - Single Intensity 18 SMD LED Tower | LED Brake Light, Turn Light and Tail Light Bulbs | LED Car Bulbs | Super Bright LEDs

I got the electronic flasher from them as well, I believe it was this one. Eliminates the need for load resistors.

CF13JL-02 LED Bulb Electronic Flasher | LED Lights for Cars | 12v | Super Bright LEDs

This is the connector from Rock Auto for the 3156 socket.

More Information for STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS S893


If you're good with a Dremel you could always create your own openings.

 

Yes, it "Looks like an interesting modification for sure".

Wish you'd posted a pic of the rear at half way point, with one tail light converted to LED & the other stock - so as to show the difference in brightness.

Have always liked the earlier tricolor Econoline tail lights & intend to retrofit them onto my next Club Wagon. FORD did a great job fitting '92 Econoline with tail lights having separate amber turn signal & trailer wiring that ran the simple combined turn/brake lights.

Have not priced the LED conversion bulbs lately. How much did the set of 6 for the rear set you back?

 

Depending on which LED bulbs you get, most of the cheaper ones are not significantly brighter than their incandescent counterparts. CREE makes some higher-end LEDs that are quite intense, and pricey as well.

The LED bulbs are not cheap for sure, I got the highest intensity bulbs for the main tail/brake, they were $25 each. The reverse light bulbs were $13 each, the aux tail light bulbs were $18 each.

I too like the tri-color housings found on the older vans, never got around to running a separate wire for the turn signal function though. Come to think of it, there are not many vehicles on the road today with amber turn signals on the rear. Why is that? One would think it's easier to see the turn signal when it's a separate bulb and different color than the brake light.

 

Back when I looked into the LED conversion bulbs some weren't even as bright, but were similarly expensive. For the $112 price of 6 LED "bulbs" you could buy a lot of "their incandescent counterparts".

Do you know the wattages of the CREE "highest intensity" bulbs? They have 5 watt LED's for flashlights. Just how "pricey"?

Drove SAAB, Citroen, Volvo & then '92 Club Wagon, all with tri-color tail lights, for decades. It is definitely much "easier to see the turn signal when it's a separate bulb and different color than the brake light". The 4-Way Flasher function is dramatically better. It's a shame Econoline reverted, but bet you can blame the Bean Counters to answer "Why is that?".

 

Some of the single LED bulbs use Cree 1 or 3 watt LEDs, they are $20 to $25 or more. The prices have come down quite a bit since China started flooding the market with cheap led bulbs.

 

I have the LED DRLs set up in the grill openings, and upgraded to HID bi-xenon last month.

 

Finally took a few minutes to see eBay LED offerings. Hadn't looked at this stuff in about a year. Was staggered by the variety. From conversion bulbs peppered w/64 LEDs to 7W LED driving lights, to little 'End Cap' interior lights.

Many were considerably cheaper than the 6 tail light LED bulbs for $112.

Do you know if any of the under $10 auto LED bulbs are worth a crap?

 

Those cheap ones just don't have the intensity of even a standard incandescent bulb. You CAN get good interior bulbs such as the festoon style for dome lights and wedge base for courtesy lamps for around $7 to $8, here's the bulbs I got for mine. They are much brighter than stock with very low current draw so they won't kill your battery.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/festoon/3710-led-bulb-3-smd-led-festoon/239/
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/festoon/3710-led-bulb-6-smd-led-festoon/661/

 

Resurrecting an old thread...

I replaced my tail lights over the weekend (with the Sylvania ZEVO LED bulbs) and was surprised to find the "blanked out" compartment on the housing assembly. Not that I need another project, but adding another single intensity bulb for brake lights would add significant visibility. If the housings were already cut for sockets it would be an easy upgrade, but cutting your own holes would be a PITA. I'll add it to the "to do list" but will probably never get around to it...

If anyone is interested in LED upgrades, the Sylvania (OSRAM) ZEVO bulbs are a nice upgrade. Although they *are* brighter, I wouldn't say they are "super-significantly" brighter. The big difference is that they also fill up the entire housing instead of brightness mostly from the bulb center point (as is the case with incandescent bulbs). The really big advantage though is the "instant on" properties of LED lights, which side by side is *REALLY* surprising at the difference. That alone was my incentive to upgrade as it could definitely make the difference between being rear-ended or not.

I did also change to an electronic flasher relay (~$8) to eliminate the "hyper flash" turn signals.

 

FYI, I bought a set of replacement rear housings on eBay and they came with a socket in that location.

 

Yeah, I saw that from the original post, but I'm not sure I want to go to that expense when the existing ones are perfectly fine (other than *missing* holes! LOL!).

 

Do you have a brand or a link? I just picked up a 2012 and want to do LEDs for all the lights. I was looking at some IPCW LED tail lights from vantage optics...wasnt sure if I wanted to go that route or just swap out the OEM bulbs to LED.


Have any other pics or vids? You have it wired to just the brake light or on all time time?

Thanks

 

May not be legal in some states that's why. Federal law is that only red can be showing on the rear of vehicles. And for you who want to install LED's in your head lights, make damn sure you aim those lights properly when you do. Most are not aimed correctly and blind the **** out of everyone else on the road. I have taken to carrying a hand held spot light to remind these morons what their lights look like to others. If the cops won't do their job in this, then I will.