Volkswagen did not do a very good job with making the headlights and taillights very functional (read not very bright). Add over thirty years of life to the electrical system and it is surprising you can see the road ahead or those coming up behind you see you at all. And don’t get me started on the functionality of the backup lights.
My first step was to upgrade the headlights and then upgrade the running lights and taillights with brighter LED bulbs. The LED bulbs really help make the turn signals and brake lights much brighter. However, a compounding issue with the brake lights is there relatively low position of the lights on the van. I decided it was time to upgrade the brake light with a third light that installs on rear hatch glass. This is a kit from GoWesty and it relatively simple to install. Because my Vanagon is the Country Homes Camper conversion, the instructions on routing the power to the third break light left me needing to improvise a bit but it all came together fine. The wire runs down the along with the A/C hoses. I used the factory ground that is next to the A/C relays.
With the taillight removed it was easy to access the wiring harness to tie the third brake light into the brake light circuit.
With the wiring done…a quick test and now the Vanagon has a third brake light.
While I was at it…I decided to install the “The Big Backup” Auxiliary LED Reverse Light Kit from GoWesty. With the taillights out it was easy to splice into the wire for the stock backup lights to power the LED modules that make up the kit. This project required some drilling to install the brackets for the lights but the directions for this project were easy to follow.
Now when I get on the brakes…people behind me will more likely know I am slowing. And when it is time to back up I will have move confidence that I will be able to see what I am going to back into!
