High Level (3rd Brake Light)

Hi  Can Anybody tell how to change the High Level (3rd  Brake Light ) on My 2011 Cotswold or is it a job for a Dealer

I believe it is stuck into place with sealant, so can be eased out carefully with a palette knife or similar.

Hi I have eased the  light away  but there is only about an inch of cable showing, do you know if the connection is under the rubber seal on lamp or inside vehicle. If inside will there be enough slack in cable to be to pull it clear so as to get at connection

Sorry, I haven't done it so can't advise further. A call to AS might get construction info.

I had a real tussle to deal with mine.  As has been said the light is stuck to the body.  In my case it was with some blobs of sealant around what were supposed to be fixing bolts to be inserted from behind, obviously impossible for a coachbuilt.


I used a combination of putty knife and a fine wire to cut the sealant.  As you can see from the photos there was NO sealant round the rim where it would have been easy to break the seal and I had to do quite a bit of careful prising to break the heavily recessed blobs. 
As you say, the cable is very short and in my case it was held firmly by its own sealant blob which I had to carefully remove - notice the knot to stop the wire disappearing into the hole!  I don't think that there were any spade connectors - A/S probably used the crimp connectors they use elsewhere but there was no way that I could even see them, let alone retrieve them.  I made new soldered connections to the new light.  As you can see the gel coat had a broken bubble where it is not close to the matting (most of the way round that complex moulding).  When replacing the light I put a blob of Sikafex 291 around the cable, leaving plenty of slack in the recess and then a careful bead all around the perimeter where it should be!  I then held the light in place with some gaffer tape for the sealant to set overnight.  Obviously, I tested the new light at several stages before and after sealing it into place.
The old one had lost 3 of its LED's, presumably because of water penetration through bad installation -
I hope that helps.

Mine was held just the same as Ron's. The original had about 50% of the LED's working, with about half an inch of water sloshing about in the unit.
There was very little play in the wires, just enough to solder an extension on.
I searched online for a replacement, but although cheap, none were the correct dimensions, so I bought direct from AS, about £35.
Al.

bikeralw wrote:Mine was held just the same as Ron's. The original had about 50% of the LED's working, with about half an inch of water sloshing about in the unit.
There was very little play in the wires, just enough to solder an extension on.
I searched online for a replacement, but although cheap, none were the correct dimensions, so I bought direct from AS, about £35.
Al.

 I, too, searched online but A/s at about £45 inc postage in my case, were about £20 cheaper than elsewhere.  I would like to run that poor installation of Alan Curry (for information - not seeking any recompense) but can't find his contact details and an email to A/S asking for it elicited no response whatsoever.

Peter Brown wrote:Ron, I suggest you go via Dennis.

Thanks, Peter - will do.

HI Everybody  thanks for info have managed now to replace light.
After easing of lamp and gently pulling cable there was enough slack to be able to cut wire and use connectors to attach new lamp . Had to buy replacement lamp from  AS at a cost of £40.74 which includes postage

Well done, Tugg. Glad it worked. Was your housing intact or did you have gel coat fractures that revealed gaps needing filler? I am sure that correct dealing and fitting will result in s light that lasts. Although I could have bought s new light on  eBay they were over £60 there compared with A/S £40!