2004 to 2020 Mazda 3 Forum and Mazdaspeed 3 Forums banner

Kahtec Smart Stop Delay for third brake light

4K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Skyactiv2012 
#1 · (Edited)
Here's a quick video of the smart stop delay I did on the third brake light. It's a cheap and easy mod. Kahtec has a few different choices, I chose the second called 'smart stop delay.' This causes the third brake light to flash. Within 8 seconds any other brake depressions, the light appears normal and after that it will flash again. The first option available is a flash every time you brake. Here is the link to the YouTube video. Also a link to their website!

Products

https://youtu.be/h3WybIiqASk


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#4 ·
Yes! The LED would look nicer, and be simple to add later on.

I don't have any pictures:( but it comes with some basic instructions and it is pretty straightforward. For reference it's no bigger than 2 quarters or like when you put your pointer and thumb together to make a circle. The relay fits well back behind and stays hidden like oem. We just used small tie wraps and electrical tape to secure it!


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#3 ·
Yup. It'll look nicer if its LED third brake light.
 
#6 ·
Where I live, there are a ton of college students & I always see them texting while driving. I'm afraid that one of them will plow right into the back of me one day.
I had Kahtec on my old Honda CRV & never had an issue. I will be installing this on my "New to Me" Mazda 3 Hatch. Trying to decide of the standard or smart delay. The standard would be good for constant stop & go if you're in an area with a lot of traffic.
I discovered Kahtec while driving one day. The driver in front of me had it on their car & got my attention right away..almost mesmerizing to where I didn't want to take my eyes off of it. It does what it's supposed to do. I recommend it.
 
#7 ·
Oh good, I may buy one of these.

The one I used to have if you were sitting in traffic, inching forward, tapping brake pedal, inching forward, tapping, would coooonstantly flash, and it bugged the crap out of me since I can see my upper taillight through the glass, and became so irritating I just removed it.
It had no "reset delay' if you want to call it that; meaning each time it would flash X times. It was only like a 3 burst, but since it was every time I touched the pedal it became obnoxious.
Having that reset timer in there would be much better.

But I want something back, because having that flash is really quite nice to have while in traffic.
And as far as I've noticed, it helps grab some attention.
 
#8 ·
Yes! The device is very small and was only like 20 dollars. I did Google search before I bought this and someone had seen one but it constantly flashed too. I almost bought the first option but I decided
otherwise not to annoy other drivers as well. I would like the LED upgrade though.








Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#9 · (Edited)
mine didn't flash constantly, it had a pin switch so I could adjust how fast to make it flash and how many count to flash; the issue was just... anytime I tapped the pedal, it would blink whatever I set it to.

If I tapped the pedal constantly, it would just keep going.

And that's.... obnoxious.
Needs to be a timer in there, so if you brake within X seconds, it won't flash. And that's what I want.

especially with winter coming soon and going back to winter setup:


This is what I mean when I say it lights up my "interior"
lol

 
#10 ·
Found one of these as well, found it first on ebay.
Amazing how small these things have gotten; the one I had from two years ago was like a 1x2x2" box!

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Flasher-Module-Safety-Universal/dp/B00FADDOL4[/ame]

Brake Taillight Flasher Light for Ducati Multistrada Hypermotard 1000 1100 | eBay

This also has a time-out that can be set, this one is actually heavily programmable.
3 patterns, 4 delay times.

Much better than the Kehtec

The one cool thing that Kehtec does have is the lane changer; some cars like all SUVs these days when you tap the turn signal it flashes 2 or 3x. I don't know if that's the case in gen2s or 3s, but in the gen1, it just blinks while you have your hand holding up, so this is a plus:
http://www.kahtec.com/lane_changer.htm
 
#11 ·
Kahtec Smart Stop Install

Just installed my new Kahtec (Smart Stop verson) on my 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback.
Kahtec is located right here in Austin, so I got mine in like a day.
Wiring is very, very easy. All you need are wire cutters & pliers to clamp down on the provided plastic wire connecters. Things you may want to have on hand could be electric tape and sticky velcro strips to mount the Kahtec module. I chose to just tape it in place so that it doesn't bounce around. There is PLENTY of room under the plastic cover.

See the attached photos. The 1st is of the wiring. Extremely easy. You can't mess it up. Now, after conducting a comparison test, I DO NOT recommend the LED bulbs. YES, they have a faster response time but look at the 2nd photo & you'll see that the LED is just way too dim. Now, compare that to the 3rd photo with the standard incandescent bulb which is actually brighter & fills in the whole light lens.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Just installed my new Kahtec (Smart Stop verson) on my 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback.
Kahtec is located right here in Austin, so I got mine in like a day.
Wiring is very, very easy. All you need are wire cutters & pliers to clamp down on the provided plastic wire connecters. Things you may want to have on hand could be electric tape and sticky velcro strips to mount the Kahtec module. I chose to just tape it in place so that it doesn't bounce around. There is PLENTY of room under the plastic cover.

See the attached photos. The 1st is of the wiring. Extremely easy. You can't mess it up. Now, after conducting a comparison test, I DO NOT recommend the LED bulbs. YES, they have a faster response time but look at the 2nd photo & you'll see that the LED is just way too dim. Now, compare that to the 3rd photo with the standard incandescent bulb which is actually brighter & fills in the whole light lens.

If you used that kind of bulb for sure it will suck. We're talking about the LED third brake lights from speedline.us
 
#13 ·
Actually XCNuse gen 2s do have a factory option called tap to pass. I had to pay like 30 some dollars to have my dealership activate it.

Also yeah, I think the multiple led strip would be better. I'd like to someday convert to all LED lighting.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top