My Tail Lights Must Be Invisible...

ERdoc has turned me on to a mod for the 3rd brake light that blinks when you hit the brakes. 

As far as your issue with people not seeing you it is typical and its not just the Spyder as its the worst time to be riding a motorcycle or being a cyclists as the accidents have gone up substantially. 

In the end however it will always be your fault if your car is totaled. I don't mean about the insurance or officer issuing you a ticket as it will go in your favor however it will be your fault to go though the hassle which can be avoided.  

 You need to have the mindset that you are not visible to others so you make an effort to be visible and practice defensive driving where you don't put yourself in certain situations where incompetent people can take you out.  

 I always made it a point to be in a position where Im not in anyones blind spot and I will often give people the right of way by waving them on even though I have the right of way because I don't trust them.  This doesn't mean im passive as I will speed up aggressively  to get myself out of a potential siltation where it will be difficult for me to avoid an accident.  Always look three or four cars ahead and see for potential issues with certain drivers as they are weaving  or driving well below the speed limit.  Driving below the speed limit is a good indication they are preoccupied. 

Having a loud exhaust helps.  

  You should try to follow DOT regulations when it comes to lighting. Blinding the guy  is probably not a good idea as you can startle the driver and make him overreact. This is also the reason why I don't like big air horns. 

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Im currently using the LED replacements that Hal0 recommended on the other site. They are much brighter and it should solve your problem and not blind anyone. 

Another good side effect for those running a light weight battery is a lot less amps wasted when you hit the brakes. 

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When the car is running the engine supplies mechanical energy to the alternator which then provides electrical energy to the battery (its charging) and all of the other electrical loads. 

Oh, and higher end batteries are more efficient so they need less energy for a full charge which also reduces the alternator load -> Lead Acid is only about 80% efficient while a LiPo battery is in the 90% to 95% efficiency range.

Once the car is turned off, the battery supplies electrical energy to the starter and all of the other electrical loads that happen to be on, like the lights, so the lower LED power consumption could help the battery here if the lights were on. 

The best thing about LED's is they reduce the power delivered by the alternator when the engine is running, which in turn increases the engine power to the wheels, ever so slightly -> 1 HP = 746 Watts...

I bought the third brake light flasher below for each of my cars. It is adjustable for how rapidly it makes your brake lights flash, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FADDOL4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think it makes my cars much more visible from behind.

Posted by: neomr2

When the car is running the engine supplies mechanical energy to the alternator which then provides electrical energy to the battery (its charging) and all of the other electrical loads. 

Oh, and higher end batteries are more efficient so they need less energy for a full charge which also reduces the alternator load -> Lead Acid is only about 80% efficient while a LiPo battery is in the 90% to 95% efficiency range.

Once the car is turned off, the battery supplies electrical energy to the starter and all of the other electrical loads that happen to be on, like the lights, so the lower LED power consumption could help the battery here if the lights were on. 

The best thing about LED's is they reduce the power delivered by the alternator when the engine is running, which in turn increases the engine power to the wheels, ever so slightly -> 1 HP = 746 Watts...

Just prior to going LED I was having a voltage stiffening issue with using a light weight AGM battery up front. Every time I got on the brakes the lights would dim slightly and then recover. I basically had a voltage stiffening issue. When there are quick demands on the electrical system the battery is called upon like a capacitor to stiffen the voltage but if the battery is weak it may not be able to keep up.  This is why some audio people run two batteries so their subs don't turn their headlights into a disco.  

 I was able to calculate the amount of amps that goes into all the rear bulbs that is used for braking and it was a lot more than I assumed, there is quiet a bit of load there.  My lithium battery is much stiffer than a normal lead acid battery and can easily keep up having a very low ESR where it will not be noticed  however having less electrical loads  desirable so it doesn't get beat up from having to repeatedly discharge current.  

There have been owners that have reported an increase or a better word would be restored power from just replacing a tired battery.  

I am not sure what voltage stiffening issue is in the context you are using it.  

The battery has an internal resistance that is a function of charge where fully charged = very low resistance and partially discharged =  increased resistance.

The cabling also has resistance, so when the lights come on a voltage is dropped across the battery's internal resistance (which reduces the terminal voltage), voltage is dropped across the cabling, and voltage is dropped across the load.

Kirchhoff's voltage law states the sum of these voltage drops must equal the battery's open circuit, or steady state voltage.

Most of the audio guys I know use a very large capacitor across the amplifier's input voltage/ground terminals - this keeps the voltage stiff or close to constant at this node pair.

Yes, lithium batteries do have a much lower internal resistance when fully charged as well as a higher efficiency so it is a definite energy upgrade.

I think visibility is more tied to surface area and motion.   I agree with the flashing-steady third brake light and I have them on both my spyders.   

For increased surface area I added an additional brake light inside the rear “grill” just below the engine lid.  I selected a heavy aluminum cased LED strobe light.   It worked beautifully, but I think the heat finally toasted it.    I’ll dig up the video I made.

I suggest adding more light sources on the rear, assuming the real problem is people registering that you have slowed to turn.

This was before I put LED bulbs in the upper third-brake-light.    Only the bottom one can react fast enough for the fast-flash at the start.   It should be more dramatic if both upper and lower third-brake-lights did the fast flash together.

Here’s my thread on the chat.   With more videos and photos...

https://www.spyderchat.com/threads/blinky-3rd-brake-light.47284/post-775668

well, videos are gone, but photos remain...

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LED modules have a much higher efficacy than incandescent lamps, so power usage when using them will be much lower.

If you are talking about flashing the OEM incandescent lamps, then the average power dissipated by the lamps will be nearly a wash between steady on and flashing due to the changing filament resistance values from on-off.

Flashing 3rd brake LED's would be an improvement over OEM since they can be over driven for a brighter output and respond quicker.

Posted by: NottaMiata

After calming down a bit with the assistance of a couple of barley sodas, I am back to my original idea of a flashing third brake light, but in addition to some more oomph in the tail lights.

(I love how everyone jumped in, even though this started out as the ravings of a mad Frog Dad.)

I saw a u-toob vid on a flashing 3rd light a while back by a young man using the channel handle "Dimly Lit Garage". In it, the light bar he used, or maybe it was just a module spliced into the existing wires, but whatever he got was programmable with some brake pedal dancing, which seemed pretty cool. I will look into that more later.

Good to have some starting points on researching drains on the voltage (wouldnt it be the hit to the amperage? Isnt that the actual concern?)

I got the idea from viewing his video. The link below is, I believe, the one he used.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FADDOL4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1