Toyota Yaris MK3 2013 Centre 3rd Brake Light LED replacement solved in less than half an hour and cheap

[montur]

Hi

Advisory on MOT in UK - Stop lamp(s) non-obligatory stop lamp not working Central [4.3.1(a)(ii)] Toyota wanted £130 for the LED strip so I thought I would just replace the internals myself as there is no justification for that price for 6 LED's.

I did not get all steps in photos but hopefully explanation is clear.

Removed by opening hatch, pull off black rectangle trim with fingers, then with fingers pinched in the metal retaining clips and removed from car from outside, unplugged the 2 core cable.

Remove the 2 metal clips, the white plug by pry gently. The red bit removed with screwdriver down the side pressing 2 tabs removes the whole diffuser. Remove the cable connector by prying and the PCB slides out of the 3 holders. Once fitting dismantled could not see anything obvious failed so no point wasting time testing it.

From my stash of LED strip lights (Electrican by trade) I found an IP rated 12V RGB strip where the LED roughly lined up the same and trimmed to same length 20cm.

Soldered on some blue and white tri-rated cable to match what was in the car about 100mm long. Soldered the White cable onto the LED strip+12V and the blue onto the R.

Then crimped on narrow male spade insulated red connectors Tab size: 2.8 x 0.8mm. Clipped back into the clear diffuser and then pushed into the red bit.

Took back to the car and from outside connected the cables to match colour. Turn on ignition and tested with braking. Insulated connections using electrical tape.

Clipped fitting back into place by inserted and the whole thing from outside (will have to remove again as seal not very good so that will need replacing before winter). Then refitted the black cover.

I cannot recall part number for the LED strip it is just leftovers from a 5 metre colour changing roll. You could use white as well as the red bit has no clear bits.

 

Hope it makes sense any questions let me know.

[CPN]

Excellent work Montur! ...and wow! £130 is indeed a ripoff for that small strip of LEDs! Thanks for sharing 🙂

[mrpj]

Excellent job. At least you know, if you make a complete Horlicks of it, that will be an extorionate £130 please!

On a different subject, re that "Fail" and I know it's part of the MOT. It does seem odd that a rubber dust cover in poor condition will lead to a fail. But the joint, at the time of testing, must not be worn. That would be noted and also a fail.

My old Morris Minor, although MOT exempt, is tested annually - passed last week. There are rubber seals on the front swivels (king pins) which form part of the suspension and steering (trunnions). Those seals have been rotten for years because of grease escaping the trunnions. They, particularly the lower one, are there to prevent dirt/rubbish/water etc. entering the trunnion. There has never, ever been any mention of that which is strange bearing in mind the o.p.'s failure point.

The tester I use is not young, a proper old school mechanic, who is well experienced in older cars. He buys, sells and repairs them as well as working on more modern cars.

Sorry for the ramble, but it just seems a bit unusual.

[Starensis]

They are only an advisory, so not an MoT failure. So, you could not do anything or carry out your repair. I’m sure though, many won’t attempt such a technical piece of work.

Always wary about LED lamps, so I’m happy my mk3 has bulbs in the main.

[CPN]

21 minutes ago, Starensis said:

They are only an advisory, so not an MoT failure. So, you could not do anything or carry out your repair. I’m sure though, many won’t attempt such a technical piece of work.

Always wary about LED lamps, so I’m happy my mk3 has bulbs in the main.

Just curious but why? LED lamps use less current have a longer life and don't produce as much heat as the filament equivalent...

[bathtub tom]

1 hour ago, CPN said:

 LED lamps have a longer life

Not on mine. I've a LED gone in my high level rear brake light, but never had to replace any incandescent bulb on the car.

[CPN]

1 hour ago, bathtub tom said:

Not on mine. I've a LED gone in my high level rear brake light, but never had to replace any incandescent bulb on the car.

Ok but statistics show that that is not typical of LED devices generally...

[Starensis]

18 hours ago, CPN said:

Ok but statistics show that that is not typical of LED devices generally...

If a bulb blows, it’s £3 or £20 for headlamp. If LED goes it’s £100, even £700 if it’s an headlamp.

Don’t get me wrong, LED are better for visibility, so I tend to buy LED bulbs and use those, opposed to built-in units.

 

[Cyker]

Theoretically LEDs should last the life of the car - They don't wear out unless they're being overdriven and usually only stop working if there's some sort of external damage or circuitry fault. I suspect a lot of illumination LEDs are being driven too hard tho', as they often get hot enough to require a heat sink!

[MikeSh]

51 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I suspect a lot of illumination LEDs are being driven too hard tho', as they often get hot enough to require a heat sink!

I have been wondering about the relative brightness of the OP's fix vs the OEM strip.