Blinking Third Brake Light
 

Couple of months ago, I installed one of those Blinking LED Third Brake light modules that blinks 8 times before going solid which has been flawless. Being the kind of person that's NEVER EASILY SATISFIED, I realized that my taillights are also LED and since LEDs draw less current than standard filament bulbs, I moved the module which controls the third brake light and hooked it up near the main harness which controls ALL the brake lights. I also installed a 30 AMP in-line fuse for good measure.

The type of module I have is delayed meaning it doesn't blink every single time you press the brake, but instead only blinks if 8 seconds have passed between the last time you pressed it and solid for anything under 8 secs. That way, it's not constantly blinking in stop-and-go traffic. Hooking to all the lights works great but did notice some things that made me scratch my head.

It blinks slower. Hooked only to third, it finished all its blinks in a little under two seconds. Hooked to them all, it takes close to 3.

Clicking sound. With the car off.............I can't describe the sound but when you press the brake, you can hear the "pulses" of each blink. When the engine is running in PARK, pressing the brake makes a very audible tapping sounding, like tapping your key against the radio bezel. And I believe it to be coming from the fuse relay box.

Funny thing is once it's in any gear, it's quiet as a mouse. I've already disconnected it to prevent any unseen damage, but wondering what these symptoms sound like to you guys. Too much power? Not enough? Would a relay resolve this?

Slower: Maybe the other lights are functioning as load capacitors. I bet the module has a(or a few) caps in it, so the fact that they deplete quicker, its taking more energy to fill them up, so the unit can blink again. Just a theory though.

The tapping might be a relay kicking on and off. If the line is backfeeding power to the relays in the fuse box, it might cause them to tap. No idea why in gear would make a difference though. Maybe try putting some blocking diodes in-line w/ the power supply to the unit?

Blocking diode? Got a website where I can get one of these from? Or local stores?

radioshack sells them. like.. a .99 for 2. check your power draw though. some only work for 1A. i think the highest they carry is 3A