Removal of Brake Flashing System

[karstenb]

I just got a 2017 Civic Si coupe, the dealer had put some electronic system on it that flashes the thurd brake light when you push the pedal. I do not like what it looks like and im embarrassed to press the brake pedal. Does anyone know how to get rid of this so my lights dont flash? thanks!!!

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[syncro87]

I just got a 2017 Civic Si coupe, the dealer had put some electronic system on it that flashes the thurd brake light when you push the pedal. I do not like what it looks like and im embarrassed to press the brake pedal. Does anyone know how to get rid of this so my lights dont flash? thanks!!!

These systems are typically a small electronics module wired in near the third brake light. Find the wiring inside the car as close as you can to the light itself. Examine the wiring closely, you'll probably eventually see the small module. Remove that, you're good to go. You can buy the modules on Amazon, they usually just have a few wires and are simple to install/remove.

 

[karstenb]

These systems are typically a small electronics module wired in near the third brake light. Find the wiring inside the car as close as you can to the light itself. Examine the wiring closely, you'll probably eventually see the small module. Remove that, you're good to go. You can buy the modules on Amazon, they usually just have a few wires and are simple to install/remove.

Do you know where i would start taking things off? Would I take the housing of the brake light off or the headliner?

 

[syncro87]

Do you know where i would start taking things off? Would I take the housing of the brake light off or the headliner?

I don't know. Impossible to say without looking at the car. The module is a little thing, typically the size of a pack of matches or smaller. It's just a little electronic box or wafer with some wires coming out of it. When you install them, you typically access the wiring for the third brake light from some place convenient. If it's a car with the third brake light at the bottom of the glass, you usually get the wiring in the trunk somewhere. If the light is up top like on a Civic, you either stuff the module under the headliner, or access that third brake light wiring somewhere else. I haven't dug into it enough to know where that third brake light wiring meets the rest of the harness for the tail lights.

The key is to find what the easiest access point is for the third brake light wiring. That is the logical place to install the module, and where I'd look first.

The simplest thing to do would be to contact the dealer. They have someone installing the modules for them, so that person knows where they put the thing. I'd be getting in touch with that person. Once you find out from them where the control unit is, simple to remove it. The dealer either has someone in house doing it, or they have a vendor doing the work. Either way, it's a simple install, and that person isn't spending a lot of time per car doing the job, so it's probably somewhere easy to access.

Get in touch with them, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be able to square you away with the information you need. I'd tell them I didn't even need them to remove it, I just needed to know where the module was located.

 

[CivicChina]

Yes, please remove that dangerous crap. Usually it is just a cheap chinese led bulb with flashing function built in.

 

[syncro87]

Yes, please remove that dangerous crap. Usually it is just a cheap chinese led bulb with flashing function built in.

It's actually been shown to reduce braking time for people following you.

http://media.daimler.com/marsMediaS...ning-of-rear-end-collisions.xhtml?oid=9905287

• Standard equipment on the new generation E-Class

• Braking distance reduced by over four metres at 80 km/h

As with the airbag, seatbelt tensioner, ESP® and other pioneering Mercedes safety systems, the development of the adaptive brake lights and Brake Assist also focused on the types of accidents that commonly occur under real conditions. More specifically, the researchers took into consideration the high number of rear-end collisions, which account for over 17 percent of all traffic accidents that result in fatalities and injuries in Germany.

In the USA, rear-end collisions account for 31 per cent of all accidents that result in deaths and injuries, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Flashing brake lights can contribute effectively to preventing these kinds of accidents. Studies carried out by Mercedes engineers show that drivers’ braking reaction time can be shortened by up to 0.2 seconds on average if a flashing red warning light is substituted for a conventional brake light in emergency braking situations. As a result, the braking distance can be reduced by 4.4 metres at a speed of 80 km/h, and by as much as 5.5 metres at 100 km/h. Flashing brake lights are therefore an effective means of preventing rear-end collisions. This technology means motoring also becomes safer even for those road users not driving a Mercedes-Benz.

The Mercedes experts tested various types of hazard lights for their study. Brake lights that flash four times faster than yellow hazard lights proved to be particularly effective in warning drivers of a possible rear-end collision. The Mercedes study also revealed that activating the hazard lights in dangerous situations had only a minor effect on drivers’ reaction times.


(5.5m=18 feet)

 

[CivicChina]

If these criteria are met, which is not the case of the cheap chinese systems i have seen:

if a flashing red warning light is substituted for a conventional brake light in emergency braking situations

Brake lights that flash four times faster than yellow hazard lights proved to be particularly effective

Chinese flashing lights are always flashing, they are very slow to turn on and blink very slowly, which in certain situations can be very dangerous, since the following driver might think you released the brakes

 

[syncro87]

If these criteria are met, which is not the case of the cheap chinese systems i have seen:


Chinese flashing lights are always flashing, they are very slow to turn on and blink very slowly, which in certain situations can be very dangerous, since the following driver might think you released the brakes

I'm not sure of the exact flashing pattern of the OP's light module. They aren't all programmed the same. Some flash continuously, some a few times then solid, etc. I've had several of the modules on motorcycles in the past. Every one I've had experience with has activated instantly, was very quick to turn on, flashed rapidly. One system I had, you could program it in various ways. You could choose slower or more rapid flash, the flash pattern (short or long on times), how many blinks, whether the light would stay solid after the brakes were applied for a specified period of time, etc. There were a lot of parameters that were programmable.

On the fixed systems I've seen, generally the light flashes rapidly 3-5 times then goes solid until the brake is released. Cycle starts over when brake is reapplied.

 

[karstenb]

I'm not sure of the exact flashing pattern of the OP's light module. They aren't all programmed the same. Some flash continuously, some a few times then solid, etc. I've had several of the modules on motorcycles in the past. Every one I've had experience with has activated instantly, was very quick to turn on, flashed rapidly. One system I had, you could program it in various ways. You could choose slower or more rapid flash, the flash pattern (short or long on times), how many blinks, whether the light would stay solid after the brakes were applied for a specified period of time, etc. There were a lot of parameters that were programmable.

On the fixed systems I've seen, generally the light flashes rapidly 3-5 times then goes solid until the brake is released. Cycle starts over when brake is reapplied.

Would you have any idea how to remove the third brake light on a coupe like mine. I've since narrowed it down that once I remove this I will have access to the module.

 

[josby]

I wouldn't think they would've gone to a lot of trouble to install something like this. Have you tried checking the plug? Maybe it's just an inline module between the factory plug and the taillight bulb. It could also be the bulb itself. I know they sell replacement bulbs that flash for motorcycle brake lights. Either of those two things would be simple to access from the trunk.

 

[himecraig]

Our local honda dealer installs in every new vehicle that 'pulse' device.
You could ask your dealer to remove but prob best to leave alone since you don't see it.

It comes at 'no extra cost' ~ claims to be safer (like DTRL) and used imo as a selling point:
http://www.walnutcreekhonda.com/what-is-pulse-.htm

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