Morimoto 3rd brake light clear coat burnt thru quickly

[ATestBishop]

Heads up for anyone, installed a morimoto 3rd brake light, was gloss black and the clear coat on top of light burned thru in a few months...just stuck a sticker over the top to make it not look like junk but was definitely surprised just how quickly the clear coat burnt up. I did retrofit a different model from F150 that's the same except the wire harness and did buy it from a reseller cheap so maybe it was a rejected batch but didn't expect that. I should have taken a photo before putting the sticker on but it just looked like burnt clear coat...

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[CACTUSGREYFX4]

What king of bulbs were in it. I know halogen bulbs get really hot vs LED.

 

[ATestBishop]

It's an led unit

 

[Sauce]

Thats weird. Ive had that 3rd brake light for over a year with no issues. Could the retrofit have wired something hot?

 

[ATestBishop]

Certainly possible as I had to cobble together a harness with the additional wiring that was included in the non-Ranger kit. It was definitely a different kit I believe for F150, I'd need to check for the exact part number. Seems to be working the same as when it was installed though, let me see if I can find the link

 

[ATestBishop]

Here's the link-https://www.ebay.com/itm/226700471909
Looks like it's out of stock now but at one point it was at $50-60 I forget so if it's just mine that this happens on not a huge loss. I just got it at the time because it was a much cheaper option

 

[Sauce]

Also notice that version has a camera housing which mine (for the Ranger) didn't have. Either way, Im willing to bet the wiring was overheating something.

 

[ATestBishop]

I did call Morimoto tech, they indicated that they have seen the issue before but after a longer time of 2-3 years and they indicated that it was unlikely due to a wiring issue. Being that it works as it always has I'm just not certain it's the wiring heating up, although the pattern of coat coat damage does seem like it radiates from a central point on top

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