3rd Brake Light Woes

So thought it would be a great idea to swap some of the lights on my truck for LEDs and in the middle of changing the cargo lights in the 3rd brake light housing I fumbled a standard bulb into the hole just below fixture and into the void brake light housing sits in. After trying to fish it out I effectively flipped it further into the passenger side of the cab. Is there a effective way to retrieve the lost bulb or am I just S.O.L? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Try a magnet with a telescope feature. Also Ron’s idea is good too.

 

Or fishtape wire like a bike brake line, double sided foam tape... whatever you can McGyver with existing supplies.

 

Due to the angle and the size of the hole whatever I stick in has to be flexible. I tried zipties and even tried jerry rigging some hose to my shop vac with no luck.

 

Does anybody know if it's accessible by dropping the headliner?

 

I’ve heard that’s quite the task.

 

You can try a flexible claw tool, I bought one years ago and its saved me to many times to count. It's got a 24" flexible shaft and a retractible pick up claw.

$8 24" Claw Pick Up Tool

https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Claw-Automotive-Mechanic-Generic/dp/B000RB7AGY

 

Dropping the headliner is a huge PITA, I wouldn't recommend going that route.

 

How about using a vacuum?

I have taken a vacuum hose attachment and reduced it down to a 1/2 hose from a hand pump I have which is flexible which you can fish in the cavity and the suction drew the part in like a magnet

 

Went in that hole and I literally had finger on it for 15-20 minutes trying to fish it back and forth before it got flicked further into the passenger side.

 

What will happen if you leave it there?

 

Go by your local airport and ask for the A&P mechanic. They might have a flexible LED borescope that they will help you fish out the bulb. If they don’t have one, they might know a pilot on the field that does. Some of them have magnets on the end, or you might have to be creative. At least you can see where it is.

 

There is a cavity or sub-shell around the 3rd brake light housing, I've had the headliner partially down on 2 Tundras to install aftermarket 3rd brake lights (huge pain) and I have dropped the securing nuts twice its a tight space for hands and tools. I have been lucky both times and fished out the nuts with a flexible magnet tool. If you have driven the truck since the bulb fell back in there its possible that its has gone into the void

 

If I recall from previous posts, taking the light out requires taking the headliner loose.

 

@TundraCoast yeah it's in that subshell area, and unfortunately I had to drive it and if took the corners hard enough I could hear it bounce/slide around. Maybe I'll get lucky and it's back a little more center now but that's wishful thinking. At least the replacement lights look good

 

We dropped my headliner to install the 3rd brake light. It is a pain but certainly doable. Took out seats.

 

I have a rigid brand flexible borescope from Home Depot. It has a magnet attachment. I wish I could help you.

 

if it happened to me I would just leave it, not going to hurt anything. my time is money and I'm not going to "spend" $100 to retrieve a $1 light bulb. I have a bag full if bulbs in my garage collecting dust from when I put LEDs in my truck, probably never be used again

 

@15whtrd thanks for the idea, I didn't realize borescopes were priced at what they are. Amazon has some options that hook directly to a phone or laptop may be worthwhile for some other projects around the house.

 

I would not worry about it personally if you have tried this many times and cannot figure it out. It would bug the crap out of me too, I get it, but it will eventually find a happy home up in there at some point. Maybe a Toyota garage has had this happen and has a fix for fishing the bulb out.

 

there are aluminum flex handle magnets that can be bent in many ways. I use one for retrieving dropped hardware. your only challenge is if the bulb dies not have a ferrous body for the magnet to work.

 

Ordered a 36in "magic" claw and a cheapy wifi borescope with some attachements to hook up to my phone and see if I can't fish it out, hopefully I can get sometime in the next few days to fish around.

 

Taaadddddaaaaaaaa! After I ordered this

FOXWELL Wireless Endoscope, WiFi Borescope Inspection Camera with 5.5mm Lens, 1080P HD Waterproof Snake Camera for Android, iPhone - 16.5FT

Wireless Endoscope FOXWELL WiFi 5.5mm Borescope Inspection Camera 2200mAh Battery 1080P HD Semi-Rigid Snake Camera Compatible with Android and iOS Smartphone Tablet off Amazon this morning I was able to find the bulb then pull the borescope back out and attach the magnet end and fish it back out. Thanks for all the help/ suggestions!!!

 

just a tip... make sure you tape the attachments down before attempting a rescue. sometimes they snag and pop off specially if the magnet grabs something that does move.

 

@ardnutoz that was one of my concerns when looking at all the borescopes that were available. The extra tips that are included are threaded and I was confident the magnetic tip was on securely before I fished it back down. I heard/saw it doing magnet things on the way back down so it should definitely be a concern for anybody that has a tip that slips on or pops over the camera especially with it being open like a hook on the way back out, there are plenty of small rivets, braces and holes in that area that can catch if you aren't careful.