LED CHMSL because why not?

"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit) 03/15/2016 at 11:07 • Filed to: mazda3, lame car mods

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For 2004-2006 the Mazda3 hatch Center High Mount Stop Lamp had a single incandescent “921" bulb behind a red lens. 2007+ repositioned the lamp to the spoiler, and was a clear lens with red LEDs.

Having a surplus of red LEDs salvaged from the running lamps of old warranty scrap RX-8 tail lights from back in my Mazda Parts days, I decided to upgrade my CHMSL, without the cost of swapping the whole spoiler which is one way of doing things.... the other would be to buy a “921" bulb that was LED, but I already had some. And I’m cheap.

I wired and zip-tied the LED boards together into a string 6 wide and 2 high, which fit the dimensions of the brake light cavity perfectly. I crimped on a couple terminals to push into the bulb socket, and BAM. Brighter. Faster. Redder.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Takuro Spirit 03/15/2016 at 11:12

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Random fun fact: Other than badges, the easiest way to tell the difference between a 2000-2005 Buick LeSabre 2000 Limited and a Buick LeSabre 2000 Custom is that the third brake light on the Limited is LED, and the Custom has an incandescent bulb of eternal sadness.

for Michigan > Takuro Spirit 03/15/2016 at 11:48

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It’s probably more work than it’s worth, but I think it’d be cool to retrofit something like this:

I think that would look sharp in the hatch window of our 3s.