Rick's Model S Rear Lighted T - No Longer Available

artsci · Jul 16, 2014

Rick's Model S Rear Lighted T

The Rear Lighted T makes your Tesla Model S distinctive, if not unique, from
other cars on the road and other Model S's. This LED powered device is
mounted under Tesla's standard chrome T and arch on the rear of the car.
When the car's running lights are on the T will light red with a color
and intensity that almost perfectly matches the running lights. When the
brakes are applied the T brightens to an intensity equal to the brake lights,
reminding cars behind you that you are driving a very special vehicle. Works on all Model S years and versions. In combination with the front lighted T, it makes your Model S especially distinctive. To order the front lighted T go here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/classifieds.php?p[mshow]=listing&p[id]=tesla-lighted-t-32687

The rear lighted comes with a brightness driver that connects to the rear running and brake lights' 12V output so that the T turns on automatically when the running lights are on and brightens when the brake lights are applied.

As is the case with the Front Lighted T, the rear lighted T is manufactured in Hong Kong under the auspices of Oznium.com. It comes with a no questions asked money-back guarantee for the life of the car.

Installation is an advanced Do-It-Yourself project for Model S owners or an easy 1.5 hour project for a professional installer. Installation instructions can be found here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jsiv5lzn4vm4oyd/Rear%20Lighted%20T.pdf?dl=0

To support Tesla Motors Club (TMC), 10 percent of every order is provided as a commission to underwrite its work for the Tesla community and Tesla owners.

List Date: 7/16/2014

For more info, click here to view the original listing: Rick's Model S Rear Lighted T
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This item is no longer available.

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highedu · Jul 16, 2014

I'm in for this and the front one as soon as professional installers are identified in my area.

Shumdit · Jul 16, 2014

I ordered as soon as I got the email. What number was I? I figure I ordered everything else you have released for the Model S do why stop now!?

artsci · Jul 17, 2014

Shumdit said:
I ordered as soon as I got the email. What number was I? I figure I ordered everything else you have released for the Model S do why stop now!?

First ten

tgp1019 · Jul 17, 2014

I am interested in front and rear lighted T. How do I order?

artsci · Jul 17, 2014

tgp1019 said:
I am interested in front and rear lighted T. How do I order?

Click on the links in my signature below. Those will take you straight to the order pages.

AMPUP · Jul 17, 2014

Ordered, now I should probably order the Front :crying:

3pod · Jul 19, 2014

highedu said:
I'm in for this and the front one as soon as professional installers are identified in my area.

The grey car in the pictures is mine and I live in the East Bay. I'm not a professional installer but I can help you out if you're interested. PM me and we can figure it out.

artsci · Jul 27, 2014

Production begins this week. I'm waiting to get a delivery schedule from Oznium.

artsci · Aug 21, 2014

Start shipping tomorrow.

Klaus · Sep 8, 2014

I installed the rear lighted red T today. It took about 3 hours by myself. A few (lengthy) observations and comments:

I removed the OEM T and reapplied the LED T first (yesterday). I used electrical tape to mask off the position of the T and arc. I found it easier to use than painter's tape because it's stretchy and can be made to hug the curved borders of the arch. Drilled the holes per instructions, without the inside trim removed. Cleaned off the sticky residue with orange cleaner and any leftover glue with isopropanol. Just fed the wires through the holes and stuck on the T and arch, leaving the more arduous task of the trim removal, wiring and reattaching the trim for today.

After detaching the lower trim piece I removed the internal trunk LED light from the lower trim and un-clipped its wire connector, since that wiring was pretty short and was getting stressed with the trim being suspended. After that I could lower the trim more on the passenger side and gain better access to the wiring space.

On my May 2013 MS 60, I had the thick black vinyl covers even though I have a standard sound system. They came off partly by themselves, because the trim clips go partly through holes in the patches and pull on them when the trim is removed.

I wish the wires on the LED T and arch were about 6-8 inches longer than they are. Since I had no helper, I kept the large bottom trim piece hanging from the lift gate using packaging tape (the kind that tears across without needing a cutter works really well!). Suspending the trim limits the access to the wiring space somewhat, and I had to stretch to get to the wire ends, trim the insulation and crimp connectors to them - longer wires would make this easier.

On my car, the brake light LED bar wiring joins the passenger side rear defroster wire into one cloth-wrapped bundle, which then joins others near the lower panel cutout below the running light access. That bundle contains the blue and black wires for the brake LED, and a thicker gauge white wire for the defroster. I triple checked to make sure I had the correct wire bundle. I had to cut open a section of the cloth wrapping with small scissors to get access to the wires.

I tested the LEDs with a 9V battery before completing the wiring, just to be sure.

Reattaching the lower trim piece was not too difficult gradually taping the packaging tape shorter and holding it close to the final position that way. The bottom clips can be guided into their holes feeling for them through the grab handle openings. Aligning the top end was easiest from the sides but the final push to make it stick was best done kneeling in the trunk. The corresponding clips are not visible any more when the piece Is close and a combination of gentle touch and determined pushing is needed. I would really like to see how they do that at the factory ...

Attempting to reattach one of the corner trim pieces made one of the clips pop lose and drop into the space between the rear seat backrest and the trunk floor. Getting that clip back out from that space was one of the greater challenges of this project ;-)

Overall, not too difficult for a DYI project, but a degree of mechanical and electrical wiring skill is definitely required - this one is not for beginners!

A big thanks to Rick for getting all the details figured out and for organizing the production of the lighted Ts and the excellent instructions!

ChrisPDX · Dec 22, 2014

I just recieved the rear light and will install it in a few weeks after I get back from a trip. However, the directions appear to have been removed. Is there an updated link for: Dropbox - Link not found

Thanks.

artsci · Dec 22, 2014

My drop box is screwed up. I'll post the file tomorrow.

I found the file but without the photos. Here's a link. I'll have to add the photos back and repost it in a few days.

highedu · Dec 24, 2014

artsci - I recall you said you were going to get a list of installers put together. Any luck in that? Know of any installers in the San Francisco Bay Area?

artsci · Dec 24, 2014

You might contact Amir Makleff ([email protected]). He found an installer in the Bay Area to install the camera switch and front T.

Rick

- - - Updated - - -

Klaus Fechner said:
I installed the rear lighted red T today. It took about 3 hours by myself. A few (lengthy) observations and comments:

I removed the OEM T and reapplied the LED T first (yesterday). I used electrical tape to mask off the position of the T and arc. I found it easier to use than painter's tape because it's stretchy and can be made to hug the curved borders of the arch. Drilled the holes per instructions, without the inside trim removed. Cleaned off the sticky residue with orange cleaner and any leftover glue with isopropanol. Just fed the wires through the holes and stuck on the T and arch, leaving the more arduous task of the trim removal, wiring and reattaching the trim for today.

After detaching the lower trim piece I removed the internal trunk LED light from the lower trim and un-clipped its wire connector, since that wiring was pretty short and was getting stressed with the trim being suspended. After that I could lower the trim more on the passenger side and gain better access to the wiring space.

On my May 2013 MS 60, I had the thick black vinyl covers even though I have a standard sound system. They came off partly by themselves, because the trim clips go partly through holes in the patches and pull on them when the trim is removed.

I wish the wires on the LED T and arch were about 6-8 inches longer than they are. Since I had no helper, I kept the large bottom trim piece hanging from the lift gate using packaging tape (the kind that tears across without needing a cutter works really well!). Suspending the trim limits the access to the wiring space somewhat, and I had to stretch to get to the wire ends, trim the insulation and crimp connectors to them - longer wires would make this easier.

On my car, the brake light LED bar wiring joins the passenger side rear defroster wire into one cloth-wrapped bundle, which then joins others near the lower panel cutout below the running light access. That bundle contains the blue and black wires for the brake LED, and a thicker gauge white wire for the defroster. I triple checked to make sure I had the correct wire bundle. I had to cut open a section of the cloth wrapping with small scissors to get access to the wires.

I tested the LEDs with a 9V battery before completing the wiring, just to be sure.

Reattaching the lower trim piece was not too difficult gradually taping the packaging tape shorter and holding it close to the final position that way. The bottom clips can be guided into their holes feeling for them through the grab handle openings. Aligning the top end was easiest from the sides but the final push to make it stick was best done kneeling in the trunk. The corresponding clips are not visible any more when the piece Is close and a combination of gentle touch and determined pushing is needed. I would really like to see how they do that at the factory ...

Attempting to reattach one of the corner trim pieces made one of the clips pop lose and drop into the space between the rear seat backrest and the trunk floor. Getting that clip back out from that space was one of the greater challenges of this project ;-)

Overall, not too difficult for a DYI project, but a degree of mechanical and electrical wiring skill is definitely required - this one is not for beginners!

A big thanks to Rick for getting all the details figured out and for organizing the production of the lighted Ts and the excellent instructions!

Thanks for the post Klaus. I'm glad it went well, especially given that you did it without a helper.

towelie · Dec 26, 2014

Any installers in or near NYC? I'm pretty sure I'd mess this up if I tried it myself.

highedu · Dec 27, 2014

Thanks will do!

ChrisPDX · Jan 5, 2015

I just finished installing mine. Here are some notes of issues I came across that aren't mentioned in the directions:

There was another wiring connector. It's white, between the two speakers and does not disconnect like the others. You need to take a small tool like a screwdriver and press on a small white square between it and the grill. This releases the tab and it can be pulled out. I spent over 30 minutes trying to figure out that connector!
I added some RTV Silicone inside the trunk where the wires come through. This should prevent any chance of the wires rubbing against the rough metal from car vibration. It will also prevent water from entering inside the trunk lid.
The large panel also had some double sided adhesive tape (similar to the 3M stuff used with the T) that secured it to the trunk lid. So even after I removed all the fasteners, it still took some effort to remove the panel before the adhesive let go. This was placed near the handle on the passenger side.
Test the lights before installing them! I only quickly tested after I installed but before reinstalling the panels. If I had looked more closely, I would have noticed the right 3-4 LEDs in the arch are not working. Now that everything is back together, it's not worth the effort to take it all apart again just to address a minor issue most people won't notice. I'll probably deal with it the next time I have to go into the trunk.

Otherwise the rest of the install went pretty smoothly and as expected. Now that I've removed the panels, I could probably cut the install time in half. The only other issue I had was the panel clips. I found what I thought were similar replacements at Autozone, but they didn't work at all. So for now my panels are missing about 4 of the clips which doesn't seem to be an issue. But if I remove them again, I'll probably have to just bite the bullet and buy replacements direct from Tesla unless somebody mentions a suitable crossover.

Now I can't wait until the next local club meetup where I can show this off. It looks slick!

Definitely not for beginners, but if you've done other car projects where you do basic wiring and interior panel removal, it's not too bad.

pmoa · Jun 27, 2015

Rick's Model S Rear Lighted T

Just finished my install and went fairly smoothly. I drilled holes with a 5/32 drill bit instead of the 3/16 bit.

Also put some silicone on the inside of the trunk lid.

The plastic pry tools from Amazon that are yellow in color are worthless.

Get some extra clips that hold the panels. I broke at least a couple.

rekoh · Jun 27, 2015

ChrisPDX said:
Test the lights before installing them! I only quickly tested after I installed but before reinstalling the panels. If I had looked more closely, I would have noticed the right 3-4 LEDs in the arch are not working. Now that everything is back together, it's not worth the effort to take it all apart again just to address a minor issue most people won't notice.

I have gone through 3 different rear lights.. all have the same issue with the arch leds not working. It isnt permanent -- meaning sometimes they are off, sometimes they work fine. I have also had the same issue on the front lighted T and have replaced that 1 time. I LOVE the look, but in hindsight wish I didnt have this mod due to all of the grief it has caused..

Rick's Model S Rear Lighted T - No Longer Available

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