Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 3rd Brake Lite: RATTLES !!!!

Ok... I won't take it anymore !!! I hate that hi-mount brake light...

I want it out of my life !!!

I have the Ford CD manual.. it says there are 2 screws holding the hi-mopunt light...

But I cannot find it !!!!

Anyone ever removed this brake light ???

And don't tell me i am paranoid... I done some search.. and I am NOT ALONE !!!
:p :p

There been some complains about the same problem...

Link to another complain

Any thoughts would really be appreciated...

Nobody is helping with that one ??

No brake Lights experts in here ??

Is it rattling because of your stereo??

Or is it just from driving?
My car's thrid brake light rattles from the stereo... was gonna take it off and jam something in there to stop it.....

I'll probably do it tommorow so I'll let you know how I got it off.... (provided I'll be able to!!)

Jason

Well the thing: i used to listen to a lot of HipHop... and by doing that i think my brake light got loose.. ( u know... the BEATS are to strong... ) ... just like women after u abuse them,.. u know.. U use them too much and they get loose.. JK !!

Now even when I DO NOT have the radio on the thing rattles !!!

I tried to find the screw.. no success though...

If you DO remove urs let me know how u did and what u gonna do to stop the rattling...

Thanks !!!

Mine broke due to bass. I left mine out. It looked a lil nasty, but I dealt with it.

You meanit literaly broke ???

Or u removed it after the rattle started ??

How did you get it out of the luggage tray ???

Alright man, here you go. I had the same EXACT problem in my 98 and I wanted to stick an M-80 on the thing and blow it up because not only was it rattling like CRAZY with bass, but when I drove the car it was the worst rattle ever. I broke down one day and started ripping it apart and here's what I found and here's how I fixed it.

I took the back deck off. To do this, you need to pop the side pannels a little near where they cover the top piece a little to get it out. Then I folded the seats down and there were a few screws along with the plastic covers that cover the seat latches. You will also need to disconnect the stupid middle seat belt and pop the plastic cover off of the deck. Then it just simply slides towards the front of the car. Don't forget to dis-connect the 3rd break light from the trunk. It won't just slide right foreword, you will need to bend it and finess it a little bit to get it out.

Once out, you will notice 2 (or 3) clips on the under side of the part that faces the front of the car... those slide into place and hold it down. On the back portion, you will also notice 2 clips that need to slide into place to hold it down.

On my car, the dude before me pulled the cover off to dynomat the living $hit out of my car (nice of him to do for me :p ) and when he put it back on, he missed the rear clips and it sat ON them as opposed to them falling into place and sitting down, so it was way up and the 3rd brake light housing and everything was constantly rattling against my rear window.

All I did was get pissed because I didn't find anything wrong and put it back in. When I did this, I noticed that the front two clips were visible and you could line them up and see that they were into position... the rear two you can't because of the trunk frame. I then for $hits and giggles slid it forword again and kinda put a little weight on where the back two clips were and wiggled it back into place till they slid down... and they did. Once back in, there is SO much room between my 3rd light and the glass... THAT WAS THE PROBLEM THE WHOLE TIME!!! It just wasn't clipped in right.

Ever since then, I haven't heard a peep from it! I am SO happy that it's fixed... you have no idea. Try this out and see what you come up with.

P.S. There are no screws holding the 3rd brake light to the deck... it is held in by clips. I was going to pull mine off but I realized that I would have to find some way to cover the narsty ass hole that it would have left. Jamming stuff under the deck just makes matters worse, try this out first... trust me, you can be peaceful about it, you don't need to kill it. Just give it a shot and if it rattles, at least you know how to get it out. :rolleyes:

Holy $hit !!! that's what I call an explanation !!

Geez man... that little phucking lite is gonna make me put my whole car apart ??!!

Everything seems to be clear (your steps) so far... let me see if I can apply them to real life...

The thing is.. I always thought my back seats were permanently "glued" in that position !! Maybe i am wrong... Do all Contours have inclineable back seats ???

You now what... maybe i'll stick to the M-80 idea.. it might be easier...