JCiesla

Well that response seems like overkill. FWIW, in NY and probably other states, at least the first part of his statement is still a reasonable thing to mention. Yes, a third brake light is federal law and if the camper shell has a third brake light then that satisfies that law. HOWEVER, as ifallsron said too, in many (maybe all) states all lights on a vehicle whether they annoy you or not do need to be in operational order. In NY, I'll say I've never been pulled over for a side marker or cab clearance light being out but I sure have failed inspections for it. I don't think ifallsron was trying to be on a high horse but maybe just save OP some trouble down the road with at least inspections.

To the original post, I agree to just pop the bulbs out and see what happens. I don't think the third brake light has a bulb out warning (though I'm not sure) but if it does, you could always try to remove the bulb(s) and replace with a comparable resistor.

fordguy2100

Well he did it on his old truck without issue so I doubt he's worried about that. Also i doubt a cop will write you a ticket because a light you can't see isn't working. No way is a cop going to pull you over when your campershell 3rd light is working and a covered light isn't.

Also not an overkill response, guy comes in and just starts saying what you're doing is illegal then leaves with nothing. Didn't say hey man while it's technically illegal (here's the statuette) you can do it but be mindful. He just comes swinging full force it's illegal. No need to hound someone when he clearly still is obeying the rules of the road with a functional 3rd brake light.

JCiesla

Fair enough, I see your perspective and I agree it could be written differently. All good! I wasn't trying to be argumentative at all either, just siding with the premise that in many states it is technically illegal and mindfulness is recommended. I do agree no cop would ever write that ticket though- just inspection stations can be a PITA sometimes but again, you're right, if he did it before he can probably just do it again without issue.

In any case, OP, hopefully just removing the bulb is the solution and report back with your findings

fordguy2100

Steve83

Why? It's the exact solution to your issue. No reflection; no disassembly; no removal of the camper; no electronic problems; no legal violation, technical or otherwise.Not really. The circuit is a voltage divider; when the resistance is changed in part of the circuit, the voltage in the other part changes. The logic of the cruise system interprets that voltage as the brake being constantly applied, which is what disables cruise.

RLXXI

Generic Electronic Module.
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ShirBlackspots

Ah, basically the precursor to the BCM?

ProjectSHO89

'03 was the last year for the GEM on the F150 series. Starting in the '04 MY, the functions that the GEM previously performed were distributed elsewhere (PCM, cluster, BSM, etc)
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