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Tail Light Retrofit- AMBER turn signal

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One thing I've always hated about my 3 was how they use the Brake light as the turn signal. I'm a big believer in a dedicated color(amber) for turn signal. Unfortunately a lot of manufactures are going away from that in favor for the brake/turn combo. Maybe it's cost savings.IDK, but I am out to change that.

I started looking into just purchasing the European model 3 Tail lights which have an amber turn signal factory(its required by law over seas to have a orange signal). The problem I ran into was the US spec cars are programmed to use the brake AS the turn signal. Which means than even if I got a European lamp, i would still need to find a way to change the computer system to flash a dedicated output for the turn signal.

So I purchased a set of stock tail lights and cut them apart. While inside I painted the chrome black which gave i a much cleaner look. Then I retrofitted a 3" Diode dynamics HD amber LED strip where the OEM reverse was. For the reverse, I retrofitted a 3" white LED strip right next to it(inner). The wiring was a bit tricky as I had to tap off the 3rd brake light for dedicated "BRAKE" then the front camera side markers for a dedicated "TURN" signal. Overall worked pretty well!
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In the trunk, pass side there's a harness. Blue wire is 3rd brake light which is where I tapped off.
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Running the turn wires through the trunk boot. fun stuff
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here's a video showing the functions. They might look dim, but its out in direct sunlight. I assure you they are bright:)
Also you may notice they are hyperflashing because the car isn't seeing any load(i disconnected the stock brake/turn wire) I left them as is, but if it get annoying I will throw a resistor in there.

Also Decided to do blackout headlight, and AMBER DRL mod
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The tungsten carbide burrs are very expensive here in USA. This is the set I bought...

Set 3mm Rotary Burr

But I see they are also sold individually....

Individual 3mm Rotary Burr

They will slowly grind down the hardened steel crimper jaws, afterwards showing no signs of wear. Eye protection and N95 dust mask is recommended.

The 3mm size is what's needed to modify the crimper tool jaws for crimping the terminal to the wire strands and rubber seal in the same operation. You will need to study the terminal shape to be able to estimate the proper depth of each cut with the rotary burr tool.
 
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For the tailgate lamps, besides requiring harness adapters, there are differences in fit-up and lamp brightness.

I did bench fit-up the newer Model Y tailgate lamps with my removed older Model 3 bodyside lamps. It is obvious that the upper mating corners are slightly wider on newer Model Y lamps. Whether more or less obvious, depends on the viewing angle.

Photo below: Bench fit-up of a Model Y tailgate lamp and the older Model 3 body side lamp.
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Photo below: Installed newer Model Y body side lamp with older Model 3 tailgate lamp
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The lamps are labeled to indicate the power consumed for each lamp function, but those may not be a good indicator of LED lamp brightness. I observed that the newer Model Y body side tail lights appear slightly brighter, even though the labels indicate a lower wattage than the Model 3 lamps. Labeling:

Newer Model Y (liftgate) - ‘TAIL 1.1W’

Older Model 3 (liftgate) - ‘POS 2.6W’

Also, the backup lights may be similar or slightly higher brightness based on the labels:

Newer Model Y (liftgate) - ‘REV 4.3W’

Older Model 3 (liftgate) - ‘R Fog 4.6W’

Photo Below: Newer Model Y Tailgate Lamp Labeling
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Photo Below: Older Model 3 Tailgate Lamp Labeling
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Tried buying the taillights through Tesla but was turned away :(

I have a 2019 Model 3 and was able to buy them doing exactly what @Manksgloob did. Maybe you need to choose a different service center? I was able to buy the left tail light (1502086-00-D) at the Fremont, CA service center yesterday. I only needed the left one since I'm getting the right tail light from eBay.
 
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I have a 2019 Model 3 and was able to buy them doing exactly what @Manksgloob did. Maybe you need to choose a different service center? I was able to buy the left tail light (1502086-00-D) at the Fremont, CA service center yesterday. I only needed the left one since I'm getting the right tail light from eBay.
Tried Fremont and Sunnyvale service center, was turned away. Will try one more time. Did you state exactly what @Manksgloob said? Thanks for your feedback!
 
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For mounting the Model Y tailgate lamps on my 2018 Model 3, I made and installed a pair of wiring harness adapters.

I didn’t measure the adapter lengths, but all wires were cut to 6” ( 15cm ) long prior to terminal crimping, and assembly. The wire loom material I used was 7.0mm I.D. flexible PVC tubing and each were cut to 4-1/4” ( 10.7cm ) long.

All parts were, as listed in my recent post in this message thread.
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With the trunk hatch interior panel removed, below photos show the factory lamp harnesses at the lamp connectors.

Right side:
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Left side:
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And below showing the new lamps and adapters installed. Each adapter is held in place with three black zip ties.

Right side:
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Left side:
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In these areas, there is a ton of room between lamp connector and the interior cover panel. So, no concerns about the adapter rattling around there.

Now, with the Model Y liftgate lamps and Model Y body lamps paired, the Fit-and-finish is improved on my 2018 Model 3.

As for functionality, at night when the head lights or parking lights are on, the tail lamp brightness is now consistent between the four lamps. That wasn’t the case on my car with the Model 3 and Model Y lamps paired. The Model Y tailgate reverse lamps are indeed brighter, but nothing to write home about.

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But there is now a 1/8” ( 3mm) gap on one edge that was not present prior to this installation. The gap is only viewable when the trunk lid is opened. This probably makes removing the tailgate lamp easier with pry tool, should that ever be necessary.

I looked at a couple new Model Y’s in the Tesla Delivery and Service Center in Camarillo. The gap is less wide on the new Model Ys which I looked at.

I was surprised to see that the tail lamp fit-and-finish does vary slightly between cars on the showroom floor.

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Update: tried again and was turned down once again with the same dreaded message. eBay is is
I saw a company selling new grey market lamps on Alibaba.com. Discounted price seems reasonable, but not sure if these are seconds, Could be a problem if they arrived defective in some way.

They sell lamps for Model 3 and Model Y by part number. Hunt around there and you should find the parts your looking for.

Model Y Lamps on Alibaba.com

Buying on eBay can be a pain because many sellers are not providing full disclosure of the used products they sell.

The Tesla Parts Catalog lists the Model Y lamps and for them, it states "No VIN required". They should be selling to anyone off the street, Tesla owner or not. I would make a trip to the Service Center in person.
 
For mounting the Model Y tailgate lamps on my 2018 Model 3, I made and installed a pair of wiring harness adapters.

I didn’t measure the adapter lengths, but all wires were cut to 6” ( 15cm ) long prior to terminal crimping, and assembly. The wire loom material I used was 7.0mm I.D. flexible PVC tubing and each were cut to 4-1/4” ( 10.7cm ) long.

All parts were, as listed in my recent post in this message thread.
.........

The chance of improved fit and finish by replacing the inner lights sounds super promising!
I've received all of the parts except for the ones from China (haven't ordered the lights themselves yet though), so I'll be sitting here twiddling my thumbs for a few more weeks/months before everything arrives to make those harnesses myself.

@borland are you able to confirm what the part numbers for the inner/trunk lid lights are? Thank you in advance!


P.S I do have a service center in a couple of days, will they give me any trouble from this mod lol

In my experience I have had zero issues with any service calls despite my other modifications, but at the same time I haven't had any service calls directly related to any of the parts that I've modified/replaced. Given the stark differences in experiences the folks here have been having I don't want to set the wrong expectations though. YMMV!
 
@borland are you able to confirm what the part numbers for the inner/trunk lid lights are? Thank you in advance!

For small packages, Economy shipping from China is by Air Mail. Shipping out of country and US Customs usually happens very fast. The slow down is after clearing US customs, when small packages go by private carrier or by USPS which can take several days to be processed before being delivered to local postal offices. AliExpress Standard shipping is only a few days quicker than Economy. Typical Economy shipping times to California destinations are currently running 2-1/2 to 4 weeks.

For the Model Y liftgate lamps, the Tesla Parts Catalog lists two different part numbers for each side ( Left and Right). The model 3 part numbers are there because Tesla manufactured the early Model Y's with the older model 3 lamps. The newer tailgate lamps ( the one you want ) have part numbers starting with "150". Here's a screenshot of the appropriate page of the parts catalog...

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I just installed the Model Y taillights with the harness adapter. Took about 20 minutes. No errror messages, no fast blinking issues. Fit was comparable to the Model 3 taillights. I noticed the foam gasket around the Model Y taillight connector was much thicker, so I swapped the foam gaskets from the existing taillights. This made it easier to set them flush with the bumper.

Before and after:
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There seems to be the three hyperflashing on the left hand side of the light. This is from a 2021 Model 3

There seems to be the three hyperflashing on the left hand side of the light. This is from a 2021 Model 3
P.S added a video of the 3 hyperflash only on the left hand side. It is with the brakes applied. The part number is 1502086-00-D. This isn't notable on the right hand side. Also have tried swapping the adapters, same thing. otherwise very happy with this mod, super bright as well! Ignore the crappy gif file lol
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P.S added a video of the 3 hyperflash only on the left hand side. It is with the brakes applied. The part number is 1502086-00-D. This isn't notable on the right hand side. Also have tried swapping the adapters, same thing. otherwise very happy with this mod, super bright as well! Ignore the crappy gif file lol View attachment 814374
Hyperflash is usually a load thing. It's weird that it only happens on one side (same in my case). Are you getting any errors when driving around about turn signal failure?
 
I am experiencing the hyper flash in the left side, with another product, the lower lights streamers. I installed those last year as I was concerned about the small stop light also the streamers look oem. It only happens sometimes when stepping the brakes. Maybe the left side circuitry has a over sensible.load sensor or something.